costa de la luz
Costa de la Luz

TUNA-lovers are descending on the Costa de la Luz with the bluefin tuna season finally underway.

Most towns hold annual tuna festivals throughout May and June, while fishermen are already taking to the waves to land their catch.

The ancient method used to catch bluefin tuna is called the Almadraba, and involves a maze of nets placed along tuna routes.

It goes back to Phoenician times and there are four in Zahara, Conil, Barbate and Tarifa.

The Almadraba is not aggressive and is respectful of both the species and the environment.

The first of the festivals takes place in Barbate and runs from now until May 3, while the seventh tuna tapas festival of Zahara will run from May 12 to 17.

Meanwhile, Sotogrande celebrates its second tuna fair from June 5 to 7.

Subscribe to the Olive Press

8 COMMENTS

  1. Yes the Bluefin Tuna is being overfished, and yes it is now an endangered species according to the WWF, so although it is a tradition that goes back many years, like gladiatorial combat, and more recently bullfighting (in some parts of Spain) people have “moved with the times” and stopped using tradition as an excuse for ignorance. Yes it may also provide jobs, but so did slave running, and thankfully we realised the error of our ways with that.

  2. The real problem as always is too many bipeds. We are the only species that has the ability to control our numbers and we don’t. As always religion and politics are the root of the problem – seriously disfunctional religious geeks spout the age old – God will provide and the political/financial sociopaths especially the Anglo-Saxon ones go apoplectic at the thought of declining population numbers because this form of capitalism cannot survive unless markets keep growing for their products.

    I have a theory based upon reliable data that the 1% have a plan that they will put into practice before too long. From their position it makes complete sense, ironically it will be of benefit to the planet as a whole but for the rest of us bipeds – not good news.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.