Anchovies like never before
Facts & figures
Getaria
In Getaria, a small fishing village in the Spanish region of Cantabria, the men do all the hard work at sea. The women stay behind and mend the ripped nets, armed with scissors and sewing kits. A pretty, peaceful image - but that was very different a few years ago.
Fishing method
The fishermen lure the sardines from so-called purse-seine-boats with a lamp to the water surface and then put a net around the school. When they pull the net down, it forms a basket around the school.
More cows than people
Directly on the Cantabrian Sea, between the stretched beaches and hills where more cows than people live, you can find the Spanish town of Getaria. The 12,000 inhabitants live off the fishing industry and tourism, quite understandably because the ancient city centre is as pretty as a picture.
Anchovies
What it’s lacking in size, it makes up in taste - that’s the anchovy. This little animal looks a bit like a herring and comes from a big family of over 140 sub-species which can be found all over the world. It eats plankton and young fish and is like the sardine a fatty fish. The Cantabrian ones are bigger than the Argentinean anchovies.
"At sea is where I find happiness - for 41 years and counting!"
For anchovy fisherman Emilio Irigoien, caring for nature is of utmost importance, not just at sea, but in life overall. He inherited this ethos from his family, a true lineage of fishermen. Emilio learned the trade from his father and older brother, even purchasing his first boat from his father. Now, for 41 years, he has been fishing the finest Cantabrian anchovies.