Devon fishermen celebrate ‘gold rush’ of anchovies
Fisherman are celebrating a “gold rush” of anchovies after hauling in £75,000 of the fish in two days, attracted to the coast of Devon by the warmer weather.
The tiny fish are usually found in the balmy Mediterranean but two UK trawlers have caught 36 tonnes in British waters.
The crews, based in Brixham, Devon, have refused to comment on the haul or reveal the exact location for fear of attracting other trawlers keen to cash-in.
Dave Bartlett, the Brixham deputy harbour master, said the catch is like ‘’striking gold” and said the trawlermen are ”overjoyed” with the hauls.
He also fears an invasion from rival fishermen in Spain and France who may descend on the area.
Mr Bartlett said: ”We heard what they’d caught over the radio way before they came back in – there were a lot of happy faces on the vessels.
”They were over the moon, you’re talking about one boat possibly making £40,000 to £50,000 in a day. It’s amazing. It’s a once in a lifetime moment.
”The whole of Brixham benefits from and it’s great for the harbour as a whole. It’s literally like striking gold.
”They use their sonar to determine what type of fish to try and catch, and they usually look for sprats and anchovies come up on the sonar as around the same size as sprats.
”So until they bring the nets in, they have no idea what they’ve caught until they bring them up. It’s like digging for oil.”
The first boat back to report an anchovy haul was The Constant Friend, owned by Dave Efford, ex coxswain of the Brixham lifeboat, who netted 18 tonnes on Wednesday.
Another vessel, The Girl Rhona, based in Teignmouth, Devon, bagged 14 tonnes and the two boats caught a further four tonnes on Thursday.
Mr Bartlett said the sailors are currently working 12 hours a day at sea searching for more anchovies, which are worth £2,000 a tonne.
But they do not want to discuss their hauls for fear of tipping off foreign rivals.
He said: ”What were are worried about is the French and Spanish getting wind and coming over to start fishing in our waters.
”Because they are not a British fish they are not protected by British quotas and as such it could be a free for all.”
Anchovies are most commonly known as a pizza topping, a main ingredient in Caesar salad and as a component of Worcester sauce.
They are generally abundant in the Mediterranean but large schools can suddenly moved in to estuaries and bays if the temperature and salt content are right.
Experts say the large population could have been tempted to Britain by the warm end to the summer.
There are about 140 species of anchovies found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans and the coast of northern Africa.
