Longline Fishermen Take Tuna Marketing Into Own Handsff

A group of Spanish tuna fishermen have taken to market their products themselves – and hope to launch branded fillets by June 2012, according to an article published on Intrafish.

In 2003, a group of fishing vessels operators from the Galicia region of Spain wanted to take a strike out in a new direction and decided to take on the task of marketing their own production.

It was the beginning of Espaderos del Atlantico, a company mainly focused on marketing longline-caught tuna and swordfish.

Today, almost nine years later, the enterprise consists of 25 partner vessels with a combined turnover of Euro 35 million (USD 44.9 million).

The next step is to start making a splash on branded and ready-meal market.

“This year we expect to make an effort to create our own fishing brand marketing fillets, with a special presentation,” Emilio Martinez Cadilla, who heads Espadero del Atlantico.

“We want to create a product ready to be used by the housewife. More and more, the final consumer wants to have everything ready. Thaw and eat. I think in June we’ll be able to put our own processed products on the market. This is our main objective for this year,” he said.