In Portugal, fishing is a traditional activity with a strong historical connotation, it is an integral part of Portuguese culture and society and has long been an economically important activity for many coastal communities. A large portion of the Portuguese fleet (85%) is comprised of small-scale vessels employing a wide range of static gears to target multiple species. This type of fisheries faces several challenges caused - fishers say - by the blind laws and rules established at the national and European levels. Starting from an ethnographic case, we will look at the regulation of skates (under a TAC system). We intend to show how the allocation of fishing opportunities is defined and how fishers and fishers’ organizations see and participate in it, to later make considerations about emic notions of injustice in the management of fisheries.

--