Medical and Hospital News
WATER WORLD
Spain's 3,000-year-old tuna fishing tradition
Spain's 3,000-year-old tuna fishing tradition
By Alfons LUNA
Zahara De Los Atunes, Spain (AFP) June 8, 2023

As the sun rises in the Gulf of Cadiz on Spain's southern tip, a team of fishermen lifts the tip of a vast system of nets with bluefin tuna trapped inside.

"Hoist!" they cry before men in wetsuits jump into the water to deliver a final blow to the fish captured using this 3,000-year-old netting tradition.

Dubbed an "almadraba", the system of nets is designed to catch large bluefin tuna during their annual migration from the Atlantic into the warmer Mediterranean to lay their eggs.

The nets form a series of chambers that trap only the biggest of the migrating tuna.

The tuna are "practically like bulls" and their blows are like "the kick from a horse," said the captain of the fishing boat, 61-year-old Antonio Ponce.

Tuna have been caught in this stretch of water using this method since the Phoenicians ruled the Mediterranean from around 1,200 BC.

Use of the technique in Spain almost disappeared in the 1970s due to a lack of profitability but demand for quality tuna from Japan breathed new life into the sector.

Over 1,600 tonnes of bluefin tuna are caught annually off the coast of Spain's southern province of Cadiz using the "almadraba" technique.

Around 500 fishermen in Cadiz use the system, according to the Almadraba Producers' and Fishermen's Organisation (OPP51).

Aside from Spain, the technique is only found in Italy, Morocco and Portugal.

- 'Sustainable technique' -

Because the nets only catch the biggest tuna, it is a "sustainable technique," said Jose Luis Garcia Varas of the Spanish branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

In the early 2000s, the global popularity of sushi put bluefin tuna in danger but the establishment of regional fishing quotas allowed the species to recover.

Atlantic bluefin tuna was in 2021 moved from the category of "endangered" to that of "least concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In Spain, the Japanese taught local fishermen to minimise the stress endured by the tuna to improve the taste of the meat.

Fishermen now use a sawn-off shotgun called a "lupara" to kill the tuna instantly.

While the structure of the nets "has remained more or less the same for many years," what has changed is "the way of treating the fish to achieve quality, to take away their suffering," said Ponce.

The Japanese also taught locals how to consume parts of the tuna which were previously thrown away -- and got them to eat raw fish.

Bluefin tuna "has 25 parts, 25 textures, 25 tastes. They were not known before," said Julio Vazquez, the 43-year-old head chef at the El Campero restaurant in the coast town of Barbate.

His menu includes 32 different dishes using bluefin tuna.

"When my mother or my grandmother cooked, there was not so much diversity," he added.

- 'Delicacy' -

Vazquez recalled that the bestselling Spanish cookbook "1080 Recipes" by the late culinary author Simone Ortega had only one tuna recipe -- for a gratin using tinned tuna.

While 80 percent of the tuna caught in Cadiz used to go to Japan, now 70 percent is sold in Spain and just 30 percent heads to Asia, according to OPP51.

Thousands of people head to Cadiz -- a region of whitewashed houses and sandy beaches -- to eat bluefin tuna caught using the "almadraba" technique.

The tiny resort town of Zahara de los Atunes -- named after the tuna -- holds an annual festival dedicated to the fish. Last year its bars and restaurants served 105,000 tapas during the four days of the event, according to the town hall.

"Here is all about freshness," said Noah G. White, a 23-year-old chef visiting from Sweden, who asked for Vazquez's autograph after eating at his restaurant.

"You can eat it raw and that is for me a delicacy in itself," he added.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WATER WORLD
Oceans warmer last month than any May on record
Paris (AFP) June 7, 2023
Global oceans were warmer last month than any other May in records stretching back to the 19th century, the European Union's climate monitoring unit reported Wednesday. Sea temperatures at a depth of about 10 metres were a quarter of a degree Celsius higher than ice-free oceans in May averaged across 1991 to 2020, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). Year-round, long-term trends have added 0.6C to the ocean's surface waters in 40 years, said C3S deputy director Samantha Burg ... read more

WATER WORLD
UN says Myanmar junta halts humanitarian access to cyclone survivors

Riverside Ukraine city left with mud and memories

Dutch to send rescue boats, water pumps to Ukraine

'Failure not an option' for jungle commandos in Colombian children rescue

WATER WORLD
Galileo Second Generation enters full development phase

Royal navy tests quantum sensor for future navigation systems

GPS tracking reveals how a female baboon stopped using urban space after giving birth

Value of Chinese satellite navigation system increases as service expands

WATER WORLD
AI chatbots offer comfort to the bereaved

UNESCO says US plans to rejoin body from July

Iraq's Christians fight to save threatened ancient language

Serotonin's impact across molecular and whole-brain levels in a simple animal

WATER WORLD
Pirarucu: Amazon's giant air-breathing fish in poachers' sights

White rhinos reintroduced to DR Congo national park

Seeing through eyes made of stone

In Cyprus no-man's land, owls come to the rescue of farmers

WATER WORLD
13 dead from Congo haemorrhagic fever in Iraq this year

Study: Covid-19 has reduced diverse urban interactions

Vaccine printer could help vaccines reach more people

Mozambique cholera cases surge tenfold after cyclone

WATER WORLD
China jails human rights lawyer for state subversion

Hong Kong, China step up security on Tiananmen crackdown anniversary

Hong Kong performance artists detained on Tiananmen anniversary eve

Singapore and China to establish secure defense telephone link

WATER WORLD
US sanctions Chinese, Mexican entities over drug equipment

Malaysia searches Chinese ship suspected of looting WWII wrecks

People smugglers use TikTok to promote their services

WATER WORLD
Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.