The tainha season in Florianópolis: how the season works, the fishing huts and how to buy well

Why the tainha appears in autumn and winter

The tainha, a mullet (Mugil liza), grows in estuaries and lagoons and breeds at sea. In autumn, adults leave nursery areas such as the Patos Lagoon and head up the coast in shoals, prompted, according to Epagri, by falling temperatures and cold fronts. A 2016 study that tracked the purse-seine fleet by satellite found that about 60% of fishing signals came from water at 19 to 21 °C, and it notes that more than 95% of the species' catch is taken between Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.

Roe is part of the tainha's value: tainha with roe costs more, and salted, dried roe, the Italian bottarga, fetches high prices abroad (in 2013, Epagri cited more than 200 dollars a kilo).

The season, month by month

The traditional season runs from 1 May to the end of July, according to Epagri and the Santa Catarina press. The table combines the biology with what happened in 2026.

The 2026 rules

Tainha fishing follows a quota system, created to protect the species during the breeding migration; the sources date its start to 2018 or 2019. In 2026, Interministerial Ordinance MPA/MMA no. 51, of 27 February, set the total limit at 8,168 metric tons for the Southeast and South, about 20% above the previous year. Control is through PesqBrasil Monitoramento, with roe declarations and satellite tracking of vessels.

Beach seine was suspended on 7 June, on reaching 90% of the quota, with 1,198.8 t caught, and on 11 June Ordinance no. 63 reopened it and added 430 t, taking the Santa Catarina quota to 1,762 t and the total limit to 8,598 t. For the rules in force, check the Federal Official Gazette and the website of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Beach seine: fishing done as a community

Lookouts call out when a shoal arrives, rowing canoes encircle the fish and the community hauls the net up the sand, with no machinery. The catch is shared in portions, according to Epagri, and a 2012 state law declared tainha fishing cultural heritage of Santa Catarina.

The ranchos (fishing huts) are the crews' bases. A local publication cites 57 ranchos in Florianópolis in 2025, and the federal government authorized 419 boats for beach seine in 2026.

And in the north of the island?

In the sources we opened, the biggest haul reported in 2026 was at Pântano do Sul, in the south of the island; in the north and northeast, Lagoinha do Norte and Ingleses appear. In 2015, a news report listed 13 beaches licensed for tainha nets, among them Jurerê, Canasvieiras, Daniela, Ingleses and Lagoinha.

In short, beach-caught tainha is part of the north of the island's history. The sources we opened give no comparable catches between beaches, so we do not rank the season's hotspots.

Plenty of fish: it changes from year to year

Abundance changes from year to year. According to Epagri, industrial landings of tainha in Santa Catarina reached 6,397 t in 2007.

In 2026 the season was generous. According to Fepesc, quoted by the press, it was the best in the last 30 years on the Santa Catarina coast. This is the fishers' own assessment, with no final season statistics. In late May, some Mercado Público fishmongers advertised tainha at R$ 10 a kilo without roe and R$ 16 with roe.

Looking after the tainha: what studies say

The latest stock assessment, by Unifesp for the Ministry of Fisheries (December 2025), puts the 2024 spawning biomass at about 85% of the level that would support maximum yield and indicates that the stock still needs care.

Anyone who fishes, sells or buys in season helps look after the species by following the year's rules: authorized modalities, ordinance limits and fish with a stated origin. The authors of the assessment also point to gaps in the catch series.

Where to buy and how to choose

At the Mercado Público, in the city center, the fishmongers sell tainha in season, with or without roe. Ask about the species and where the fish comes from, and prefer sellers who state both. In Ribeirão da Ilha, the restaurants are known for oysters, but the report we opened does not mention tainha, so ask for the dish of the season.

Dishes of the season

• Escalada on the embers: split along the back and salted, it rests a day and dries hanging for two or three days before going on the embers. Epagri also mentions tainha fried in steaks and baked whole.
• Stuffed: one popular recipe stuffs the fish with moist farofa (seasoned cassava or breadcrumb meal) and bakes it at 200 °C for about 50 minutes.
• Roe: fried slowly, so it is not raw inside, or in farofa. Pirão, a thick porridge made with the fish stock, goes with the dish.