

Flyer 6 SPACEdeck
Palamos, Costa Brava (ES)
Even before the Greeks had their first settlements in the Palamós area, this place had a close relationship to the Mediterranean Sea. Palamós is a city with great love of sailing and fishing. This is where the unique Palamós Prawns are caught.
If the tramuntana allows it, it is always a good idea to go fishing in Palamós. In the coastal waters you can jig or fish with live bait for dentex and amberjack. Inshore trolling will produce bonito, horse mackerel and mahi-mahi. The months of April to September are ideal for deep-sea fishing in Palamós for bluefin tuna.
It is not surprising that the fishing in Palamós is extraordinary. To the north of the port is the Fonera canyon, to the south the Blanes canyon and in front there's the Palamós canyon. Tremendous underwater slopes go down from 100 meters to more than 1000 meters deep. Further off shore, the depths even drop to 2,300 meters.
These spectacular slopes cause tremendous marine currents - very rich in nutrients - that come from as far as the Gulf of Lion. The huge underwater valleys are the fishing grounds for the Palamós shrimp, swordfish, bluefin tuna and shark. This area is also home to whales and dolphins.
The dentex (Dentex dentex) is a common saltwater fish in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and sometimes they appear in the Canary Islands, Morocco and Senegal. They have very strong teeth to feed on fish, squid and mollusca. Dentex are a great species for sportfishing and are targetted mainly trolling or jigging. The larger fish are 1m long and can weigh up to 15 kg (35 lb).
The Little tunny or False Albacore (Euthynnus alletteratus) is easily identified by the dark spots under its pectoral fins. They like warm temperate and tropical waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The larger Little Tunny weigh up to 35lb and can reach 1,2m.
Atlantic Bonito (Sarda sarda) is a rapid fish species known for being great hunters. They have striping on their backs with silver-coloured undersides and they grow up to 30 inches long. They have a hydrodynamic body shape, even more so than larger tuna.
The Amberjack species are a game fish that are found both in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Jigging and live bait fishing are the best techniques to target these magnificent fighters. Greater Amberjack can weigh up to 170 lb (80 kg).
Mahi Mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) are also commonly referred to as dorado, dolphin or dolphinfish. They are recognizable by their bluntly shaped heads, long dorsal fin and their bright colouring, dark blue and green on their dorsal side and yellow on their sides and underside.
Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) or simply mackerel have a great back with irregular black bands. They're very common and like the temperate waters of the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the northern Atlantic Ocean. Mackerel are typically between 25-35cm.
The Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is known by anglers as being a fast, aggressive and strong fish of the ocean. They are fun to target and give a real challenge to anyone who comes across them while fishing. They inhabit temperate and subtropical waters around the world. Bluefish have extremely powerful jaws with razor sharp teeth. They can grow over a meter and weigh over 10kg.
The leerfish (Lichia amia) is known by anglers as being a fast, aggressive and strong fish of the Mediterranean Sea and the coastal waters from Western Africa to south Africa. Leerfish are generally found in small and loose groups rather than large schools of fish. They can grow up to 1,70m (5.5ft) and weigh up to 25kg (55lb).
The sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is for many sport fishermen a trophy fish because of the nice fight they offer but also because they're an excellent eating fish. Sea bass, also known as European bass, are found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from northern Norway to Senegal, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. They can grow up to 1 metre and weigh up to 12kg.
The horse mackerle (Trachurus trachurus) is a common species found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off Europe from Norway to South Africa and into the south-eastern Indian Ocean to Mozambique. They are normally between 20 and 30 cm, although the larger fish can grow up to 70 cm and weigh around 2-3kg.
The blue shark (Prionace glauca) is a migratory, live-bearing shark that feeds mainly on smaller fish and squid. They can be found in all the oceans and sees around the world.
The northern red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) is a popular fish often caught reef fishing in the Atlantic waters of Florida, Gulf of Mexico and also the Caribbean. This sought-after game fish can reach 1 m and weight up to 50lb.
Gilt-head Bream (Sparus aurata) is a common species in the Mediterranean Sea and also in the Atlantic Ocean from Britain to Cape Verde. Popular in the Mediterranean cuisine, the fish is easily recognized by the gold bar marking between its eyes. The largest gilt-head bream are 1 metre long and can weigh up to 7kg (15lb).
The the European barracuda (Sphyraena sphyraena) is also known as the Mediterranean barracuda. This predator is common in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. They can grow up to 1,65m and weigh over 3,5kg.
Grouper is common name for all the bass-looking-fish from the Epinephelinae Family. This family also includes sea bass by the way. Grouper are colorful predators who like to live in rocky areas, reefs, wrecks where they can hide.
The common pandora (Pagellus erythrinus) is a type of snapper, common in the Meditarranea Sea, but is also present in the eastern Atlantic coastal areas from Cape Verde to Scandinavia. The biggest pandora can grow up to 50cm (20 inch).
The Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is a pelagic fish that can grow up to 500kg (1000lb). The biggest Bluefin Tuna every caught was 780kg (1496lb). These great fighters can be caught trolling, jigging, casting or drifting; mainly off-shore.
Inshore trolling for smaller pelagic fish such as horse mackerel, bluefish and bonito. It's also the season of deep sea trolling, spinning and jigging for bluefin tuna, albacore or little tuna.
Chumming & drifting for bluefin tuna. Inshore, species like horse mackerel, mackerel, bonito, frigate tuna and bluefish can be caught with light tackle.
Autumn is ideal for fishing for bonito, mackerel, tuna, little tuna, mahi-mahi trolling or light spinning.
Winter is good for reef fishing in Palamos: sea bream, scorpionfish, conger eel, snapper, pagel and other bottom feeders. With live bait you can catch dentex, grouper and amberjack for example.
You need a fishing license if you want to go fishing in Palamós. You can be by the fishing license on the website from the Generalitat de Catalunya:
Remember that the fishing charters in Palamós normally have the fishing license included in the price, so you don't need to buy one if you're chartering a boat.