Llanes fishermen's guild wins Exemplary Town of Asturias award for artisanal fishing

A fish market where the catch is auctioned every day, an inshore fishing boat moored in the harbour and a monkfish stew cooked by catering students from the local secondary school. That is what Llanes showed Spain’s royal family on Saturday 24 October, when the Santa Ana Fishermen’s Guild collected the 2026 Exemplary Town of Asturias Award, which comes with €40,000.

An award for every fishing guild

The jury’s statement, signed in Oviedo on 1 September, describes the guild as an “institution with its origins in the Middle Ages, committed to the traditional forms of artisanal and inshore fishing, and to respect for the sea”. The jury praised its work on “sustainability, innovation, solidarity, the study and promotion of fishing culture, and the efficiency of its management model”, and extended the recognition “to all fishermen’s guilds and their people”.

Waste back to shore, fish for those in need

According to the Princess of Asturias Foundation, the guild keeps traditional fishing practices alive and lists the responsible use of species and fishing grounds among its priorities. National Geographic has highlighted its daily auction for its commitment to sustainable fishing.

Since June 2020, through the “Circular Seas” project with the Zero Waste Association (Asociación Vertidos Cero), its boats pick up rubbish they find while fishing and bring it ashore to be dealt with. It also runs beach clean-ups and donates part of its catch to families in need and to solidarity menus at the catering school of Llanes’ state secondary school.

From whaling to inshore fishing

Its roots lie in the San Nicolás Seafarers’ Guild, founded around 1350, which lived off whaling between the 14th and 17th centuries. The Catholic Monarchs confirmed the guild in 1480. For centuries it helped the sick, widows, orphans and shipwrecked sailors, while women worked on land as net menders and street vendors.

Honorary Seafarer

The award ceremony by the sea, a visit to a fishing boat in the harbour and the welcome in the streets of Llanes. Photo: Princess of Asturias Foundation.

The royal family visited the Santa Ana chapel, watched the pericote, a local dance, boarded the fishing boat Nuevo Sandra María and attended an auction at the fish market. According to press reports, the guild’s senior skipper, Ángel Batalla, received the award from the princess at the harbour.

In her speech, Leonor recalled the women who walked the district “with more than 20 kilos of fresh fish” to sell it from village to village, and said the guilds face “one of their biggest challenges” in generational renewal. The guild named her an Honorary Seafarer.

Why it’s good news

The award recognises a community that lives from small-scale fishing, keeps its coastline clean and shares part of what it takes from the sea with the neighbours who need it most.