The Guardia Civil nabbed a man from Chipiona (Cádiz) with a catch of sea anemones, which are a delicacy at that end of the Andalusian Coast.

The 34-year-old man has a criminal record where illegal fishing, especially shellfish, are concerned, in the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga.

When the police stopped him he had a catch of 24 kilos of sea anemones, which he had fished out along a beach within the municipality of Motril.

A patrol car from the Guarda Civil traffic police based in Motril stopped him on the N-340 near kilometre point 343. After checking his ID and car docs, they looked in the boot and found scuba-diving equipment and a large bucket with his illicit catch.

You can catch up to 12 kilos in one day, so he had double the amount that is legal to fish. The officers called in colleagues from their Environmental-Protection branch, Seprona to take charge.

The man had no fishing licence, so they took him to the Guardia post in Motril where Seprona have their office to book him. Once this was done, they returned the catch to the sea.

He was down this end of the coast because this creature is almost extinct from overfishing in the waters off Cádiz and Málaga.

In southwestern Spain and Sardinia, the snakelocks anemone (Anemonia viridis) is consumed as a delicacy. The whole animal is marinated in vinegar, then coated in a batter similar to that used to make calamares a Romana, and deep-fried in olive oil.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Sea Anemones, Illegal Catch, Seprona, Traffic Police, N-340