See friend fishing nets as far as the eye can see. More seagulls than in a nightmare of Nemo. It’s starting to smell like a sailor’s hustle and bustle. “The boats are coming & rdquor ;, they announce you. So you draw your phone at the speed of ‘influencer’ and get ready to see someone appear on the dock. Captain Pescanova. He is the reference sailor of any urban Barcelona. Up to now.
Today they campaign for him Fisherman’s Wharf a handful of tourists with their mouths open. “The first time I pass by here & rdquor ;, promises one. They are just two minutes walk from the Barceloneta of the “mojito, beer, beer & rdquor ;. Cornered by huge yachts, the fishing boats they remain irreducible to the Gallic village of Asterix. No, you can’t even see a bright yellow raincoat. Between scaled boats and fish boxes, here they come and go sustainable debates than neither in Glasgow. Fishing tourism with the gaze of marine biologists.
They have little Italian accent left. Anna Bozzano, 55 years. Arianna Bucci, 42. They have seen fish that would make Spielberg’s ‘Shark’ scales spike. In fact, Anna did her thesis on species deep. Like that luminous fish endless teeth coming out in ‘Finding Nemo‘. “Yes, yes,” he laughs. The ones that people define as monsters, for me they are works of art & rdquor ;. Some live in complete darkness, which occurs from 1,000 meters, he details. The Mediterranean reaches 5,000. Do the math: “There are 4,000 meters of bugs that people have no idea about & rdquor ;. Arianna snorts to the side. “More people have walked in space than in the deepest point in the ocean& rdquor;, she points out. “There are still mysteries,” the two agree. “They say that between 1% and 3% of the deep sea have been investigated & rdquor ;.
Sale of fish at home
“Welcome to the Fishermen’s Guild& rdquor ;. Anna begins the ‘tour’ among the endless trawl nets. You still cannot imagine that in a few minutes you will end up looking face to face with a rat fish. It is one of the guided tours of The Fish on the Plate. In addition to tours of the ‘llotja de pescadors’, they organize talks, workshops, until cooking courses, tastings and home sales of fish that are not usually seen in the fishmongers. The objective? “Let there be More responsibility When it comes to buying and consuming fish & rdquor ;, they respond in a rush. The last prepandemic year they received a thousand visits.
“Do you remember the last fish you have eaten? & Rdquor ;. The 9 tourists – they are all women – mention 7 local species. Anna displays a sign with 50. They are only the most common in the Catalan Mediterranean. “We have 150 & rdquor ;. And he begins to list those that sell at home: “White octopus, the canana, which is a kind of squid, the melva, which is a tiny tuna & mldr; & rdquor ;. Why don’t they know each other? “Because they have thorns Anna shrugs. This is the # 1 consumer brake for many species & rdquor ;.
Now the biologist crouches over one of the nets. But what & mldr ;? They are full of wipes tangled, the kind supposedly biodegradable. “But they’re not,” Anna disavows. “We can’t imagine what’s at the bottom of the sea,” he snorts. “Bikes, mattresses, truck wheels & mldr; Boots. What you are finding lately are shoe soles& rdquor ;. Your heart skips at the thought of the newsboys.
Anna has been responsible for the Barcelona fishing tourism. Before, he worked at the Institute of Marine Sciences. He came for a year. He stayed 20. Until he changed the investigation to disclosure. “I wanted to pass on what I had learned in the department of renewable marine resources& rdquor ;. Thus was born The Fish on the Plate.
The project started in 2013 in format conferences. “To make known the way of being responsible fish consumer& rdquor;, Anna recalls. “Now,” they said, “we have different species, but we don’t know where to buy them or how to cook them & rdquor ;. And the project diversified: sale of fish at home via WhatsApp, cooking courses, guided tours of the Moll de Pescadors & mldr;
Species diversity
“Is a very holistic view of fishing -Arianna points out-: gastronomic culture, seafaring tradition and sustainability & rdquor ;. She joined three years ago. What surprises visitors the most? “See the species diversity what we have –answers Anna-. ‘Ah, but here is prawns?’, They ask me. Yes, it is the same as Palamós –she laughs-, only they take better care of her there & rdquor ;.
Rafa, do you download now? & Rdquor ;. Anna calls out to a small boat just moored. It is one of only two remaining from artisanal fishing. Rafa nods. “Today I left late –he shrugs-, at 6.30 & rdquor ;. And he takes out boxes full of rape, rat fish& mldr; Tourists suddenly start taking compulsive photos, as if George Clooney had just stepped off the ship. Is not a lobster of at least a kilo and a half.
What is the most sustainable way to eat fish? “First you have to diversify consumption & rdquor ;, answers Anna. Change the chip. Start asking at the fishmonger “what do you have fresh today ?, and not“ I want to make a baked hake & rdquor ;. Eat different species. “Because it allows fishermen to go to different places, not always target the same species & rdquor ;. A friend of his from Blanes, an artisanal fisherman, says he had to go to Galicia the other day. “Fishing hake and red mullet and he has not caught anything for two weeks. “Hake, he points out, is the most overexploited species in the Mediterranean.
Co-management plans
“What is important – points out Anna – is that the Generalitat’s fisheries department is implementing many systems to obtain species sustainably with active participation by fishermen and scientists. “Now, he details, there are 7 co-management plans throughout the Catalan coast.
On the way to the seine boats, you run into tolivio. He is one of the few artisans who still they sew fishing nets. “85 years & rdquor ;, he says with a big mouth, and he still does not think about retiring. The tourists end up applauding him with more enthusiasm than the Ayuso audience in ‘El Hormiguero’.
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“It is a world apart and it is so hidden & rdquor ;, snorts a tourist when leaving the auction after two hours of route. Do youMoral with scales? “If we take care of the sea – the biologists summarize – we take care of ourselves. Just under 50% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by algae and seaweed & rdquor ;.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com