Catches of red prawns were disappointingly low in 2016, but there has been a great improvement this year, with fishermen registering good numbers in the lead-up to Christmas.
At Puerto Andratx, the skipper of the Cap Salines, Joan Jaume, says that daily catches have been between 35 and 40 kilos. "We are very happy with the volume, especially in the days before Christmas, when there is high demand for red prawns."
The prices the prawns have been fetching are also satisfying. At the Andratx fish market, giant prawns have typically been going for between 70 and 80 euros a kilo and were as high as 85 euros last Wednesday. Smaller ones have generally been between 55 and 65 euros, though these went up to 70 euros by the end of the week.
Demand hasn't been slowed because of the prices, though when they were lower there was a fair amount of advanced purchasing in anticipation that prices would rise just before Christmas.
As to New Year's Eve, Jaume notes that it is less easy to predict demand. This is because people tend to go out to eat more than eat in, as they do at Christmas.
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Clearly a premium product and the very best of luck to them! What amazes me is how relatively cheap are the prawns imported from the countries which were once part of Spain's South American conquests - at least half the price of similar large prawns available in the UK. The main Spanish supermarkets often have them at €12 a kilo.