History

1956

On September 7, Decree-Law 40764 was published, which determined that the concession to operate the Pedrouços Fishing Dock should be granted to a limited liability company, the majority of whose capital would be subscribed by the Lisbon City Council, the Trawler and Sardine Fishing Guilds and the Central Board of Fishermen's Houses. The remainder of the capital would be reserved for Portuguese shipowners, fishermen, fish traders and industrialists working in the Lisbon fishing center, as well as the respective guilds, mutual societies, cooperatives and similar organizations. 

1959

Docapesca - Sociedade Concessionária da Doca de Pesca, SARL was incorporated by public deed on January 10th.

 1961

On January 9, the concession contract for the operation of the Pedrouços Fishing Dock was signed by the General Administration of the Port of Lisbon and Docapesca. 

1966

On August 29, Docapesca officially began operating the Lisbon Fishing Port. On the same date, the concession period - 25 years - set out in the respective contract came into effect. 

1976

Following the changes that took place in April 1974, the social positions in Docapesca's capital that did not belong directly or indirectly to the state were nationalized, and the company became the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Fisheries. Docapesca was given responsibility for building two cold stores, one in Peniche and the other in Matosinhos. The determining factor in this responsibility was the experience the company had already acquired in industrial refrigeration (Joint Order of the Ministries of Finance and Agriculture and Fisheries of July 20, 1976).

1982

Council of Ministers Resolution no. 189/82 of 14 October was published, which determined that the Docapesca Management Commission would also manage the Auctions and Selling Service (SLV). It was then tasked with the economic and financial reorganization of Docapesca, providing the SLV with adequate status and restructuring the two entities, with a view to Portugal's integration into the EEC. 

1986

By Decree-Law no. 197/86 of July 19, the General Administration of the Port of Lisbon (AGPL) was authorized to sign a new concession contract with Docapesca. The signing of this new contract resulted in a reduction in the annual fee payable to the General Administration (from 2.5% to 0.8% of the proceeds from the sale of fish) and the transfer to Docapesca of some of the obligations that were the responsibility of that entity (conservation and repair of permanent works and installations as well as the maintenance of the necessary water depths). There was no change to the concession period - August 29, 1966 continued to be the basis for the 25-year concession to operate the Pedrouços Fishing Dock. 

1989

In May, the sale of fish at auction began to be carried out by electronic and computerized system.   

1974

The Fish auction and selling point service (SLV) is a service that originated from the former Trawler Fishermen's Guild (Decree no. 29755 of 17/07/1939) and Sardine Guild (Decree no. 31848 of 14/01/1942) and the Central Board of the Fishermen's House (Decree no. 48.507 of 30/07/1968), corporate bodies that were abolished by DL 240/74 of June 5 and Decree no. 552/74 of October 24. 

1976

The powers and staff of the former Guilds were transferred to the Service (SEP Order of 07/04/1976 - Series I of the Official Gazette of 18/05/1976). The functions of the Central Coordination Service for Quotas and Sales were defined (SEP Order of 29/10/1976 - Series II of the Official Gazette of 16/11/1976). 

1979

The Central Coordination Service for Quotas and Sales was abolished and the Quotas and Sales Service Commission was created (SEP Order of 30/11/1979 - Series II of the Official Gazette of 06/01/1979). Publication of the Regulations governing the operation of the Quotas and Sales Service (Normative Order no. 164/79 of June 18 - Series I of the Official Gazette of July 13, 1979). 

1982

A Management Committee was appointed which, as has been mentioned, in addition to the day-to-day management of Docapesca and the Auctions and Selling Service, had, among other tasks, the task of giving the SLV an appropriate status and restructuring the two entities with a view to their integration into the EEC (Resolution of the Council of Ministers 189/82, of 14/10).

1985

A new Management Committee common to Docapesca was appointed, with the task of ensuring the day-to-day management of the two entities and presenting, within three months, a proposal for restructuring the sector to ensure the necessary efficiency and conditions to respond to integration into the EEC (Resolution of the Council of Ministers of June 27, 1985 - Series II of the Official Gazette of July 2, 1985). 

1990

Decree-Law no. 107/90 of March 27 set up a public limited company wholly owned by the state called DOCAPESCA - PORTOS E LOTAS, SA, with a share capital of €7,531,848.25. At the General Meeting of May 2, 1990, the company's share capital was increased to €10,896,115.36 by transferring the assets of the now defunct SLV, after being assessed in accordance with article 28 of the Companies Code.

1991

The Second Fish Market (resale of fresh and frozen fish) has opened in Matosinhos. 

1996

In March 1996, the State redefined the company's purpose at a General Meeting, and Article 3 of the company's statute stipulates that the company must safeguard the pursuit of a social economy strategy and market regulation. 

2003

On November 3, the First and Second Fish Sale services of the Lisbon Delegation were closed and Docapesca's headquarters were transferred from Pedrouços to Alcântara in the Vasco da Gama Building, now with a share capital of €31,822,375.00. 

2005

In April 2005, Decree-Law 81/2005 updated the regime for the First Sale of Fresh Fish, which had been in force for 17 years, since August 1987. It establishes that the assumptions underlying the First Sale at auction system remain in force, to be maintained and preserved as a price-regulating mechanism in this sector, due to the concentration of supply and demand, transparency in price formation and hygiene control of the fish. 

2007

As a company in the food sector, it has started to implement Good Practices in its auctions, ice factories and cold stores as a way of guaranteeing the application of hygiene and food safety rules, based on the principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points), in accordance with the legal requirements in force. As this is a public health issue, Food Safety is transversal to the whole company, because it involves many specialties - the design of infrastructure and equipment, hygiene and safety (of facilities, equipment and personnel), professional training and the operational process of the auctions.

2008

Launch of the Comprovativo de Compra em Lota (CCL) (Proof of Purchase at Fish Auctions), the fundamental aim of which is to identify and enhance the value of fish sold at fish auctions on the Portuguese mainland to the end consumer. This identification will be done through a set of physical supports, ranging from the CCL label to promotional materials and information leaflets, in order to provide the end consumer with useful information about the fish they wish to consume.

2009

In May, the Online Auction was launched, which allows buyers to make their purchases from any location and from several auctions simultaneously, thus increasing supply through access to more fish and reducing the costs of the entire purchasing process.In June, Docapesca's central services returned to its building in Pedrouços on Avenida de Brasília.

2010

On September 24th, the Online Auction was launched simultaneously in five Auctions - Matosinhos, Figueira da Foz, Peniche, Sesimbra and Portimão.