Almadraba (a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

word coming from ; in ) is an elaborate and ancient technique for trapping and catching

Atlantic bluefin tuna The Atlantic bluefin tuna (''Thunnus thynnus'') is a species of tuna in the family Scombridae. It is variously known as the northern bluefin tuna (mainly when including Pacific bluefin as a subspecies), giant bluefin tuna (for individuals excee ...

(''Thunnus thynnus''). The technique, in its most simple iteration, consists in setting up net barriers to trap the tuna when they migrate into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

(February to July), on their way to spawn and until recently, on their return journey, ("al revés"); the

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...

contains, among others,

bullet tuna The bullet tuna (''Auxis rochei'') is a species of tuna, in the family Scombridae, found circumglobally in tropical oceans, including the Mediterranean Sea, in open surface waters to depths of 50 m (164 ft). The population of bullet tu ...

(''auxis rochei''),

little tunny The little tunny (''Euthynnus alletteratus''), also known as the little tuna, false albacore, or erroneously as the blue bonito, is a species of tuna in the family Scombridae. It can be found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and B ...

(''euthynnus alletteratus''),

Atlantic bonito The Atlantic bonito (''Sarda sarda'') is a large mackerel-like fish of the family Scombridae. It is common in shallow waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea, where it is an important commercial and game fish. Desc ...

(''sarda sarda''),

bigeye tuna The bigeye tuna (''Thunnus obesus'') is a species of true tuna of the genus ''Thunnus'', belonging to the wider mackerel family (biology), family Scombridae. In Hawaiian language, Hawaiian, it is one of two species known as ahi, the other being t ...

(''thunnus obesus'') and

swordfish The swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the Family (biology), family Xiphiidae. They ...

(''xiphias gladius''). It is a traditional form of fishing practiced mainly in southeastern Spain (

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

and southern

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

), Morocco and southern Portugal (the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

). Almadrabas have been set from the ports of

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

Chiclana de la Frontera Chiclana de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in southwest Spain, in the province of Cádiz, Andalucía, near the Gulf of Cádiz. It belongs to the association of municipalities of the Bay of Cádiz (Bahía de Cádiz), the provincial capita ...

Conil de la Frontera Conil de la Frontera is one of the White Towns of Andalusia in the province of Cadiz (region of Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the sout ...

Barbate Barbate is a municipalities of Spain, Spanish municipality in the Province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is a coastal town located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, close to the Strait of Gibraltar. Covering a total ar ...

, Rota,

Zahara de los Atunes Zahara de los Atunes is a village on the Costa de la Luz of Spain in the province of Cádiz (province), Cádiz and the autonomous region of Andalucia, Andalusia. It is noted for its excellent beaches, an outdoor cinema, and la Iglesia Del Carmen c ...

La Línea de la Concepción La Línea de la Concepción (), often referred to simply as La Línea, is a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. The city lies on the sandy isthmus which is part of the eastern flank of ...

, Nueva Umbría,

Isla Cristina Isla Cristina is a city and municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain, close to the Portuguese border. According to the 2009 census, the city has a population of 21,324 inhabitants. Isla Cristina remains one of the most important ...

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

and

Tarifa Tarifa () is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa lies on the Costa d ...

, among other ports. A similar technique exists in Sicily known as (a borrowing from the Spanish word , meaning 'slaughter').

In film

Rupert Murray Rupert Murray (born 28 May 1969) is a film director working in London. Murray began by making television documentaries for Channel Four's Cutting Edge series including Playing For England and Seconds To Impact (cameraman and editor), and short films ...

's ''

The End of the Line (2009 film) ''The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat'' is a book by journalist Charles Clover about overfishing. It was made into a movie released in 2009 and was re-released with updates in 2017. Clover, a former envir ...

'' demonstrates almadraba when discussing declining catches. * Portuguese short documentary film :pt::A Almadraba Atuneira, directed by Antonio Campos.

References

Fishing equipment Fishing in Portugal Fishing in Spain Fishing in Italy Fishing in Morocco Scombridae {{Scombroidei-stub

In film

See also

References