Fishing in Cape Verde

Many of the islanders rely on catching fish as its their main source of protein and its easily obtained. You will see many women with large bowls on their heads walking around streets, sitting on corners and sometimes on or near the pier (pontao) gutting fish or just selling a handful of cavala for one Euro.

Tuna may cost 400cve a kilo or more if there are fewer tuna caught. Photo below of pier in Santa Maria, Sal Island.

A number of islands have fish markets where buyers can go and choose the freshest fish. Those that buy regularly will know which are fresh fish compared to any they see that maybe a day old or have been frozen and then defrosted.

If you are looking to fish then you can choose shore fishing or deep sea fishing. There are a number of businesses on the islands that can arrange for you to fish with them or with another agency.

Some of the fish caught from shore using the method of Spinning, Surf Casting and Rock Fishing include jack, amberjack, dolphin fish, beam, bonefish, grouper, jack, corbina and more.

Those looking for deep sea/off-shore fishing can book trips for trolling, vertical jigging and deep fishing or other fishing techniques which could last 4 hours, either in the morning or afternoon depending on availability and conditions. The fishing trip for "Big Game - Blue Marlin " is normally a full day.

One captain said that if you share a boat trip and one person is ill, they have to take that person back to shore, obviously this may mean that other persons not affected by illness will also loose out on their full fishing experience that day, so its something to consider when deciding whether to hire the boat just for yourself or sharing the trip and cost with others!

For those of you that want to know more about fishing opportunities in Cape Verde we have some further information within our website or two suggestions in links below.

LINK: Deep Sea Fishing

LINK: Shore Fishing

LINK: Big Game Fishing Cabo Verde