4 July 2005
Spain Spanish Agriculture and Fisheries councilor, Mr. Isaias Perez Saldaña, indicated that the “ultra freezing tunnel†for tuna caught using the artisan fishing method “almadraba†is helping improve sales. He informed the Parliament Commission for Agriculture, Cattle and Fisheries that sales are not only growing towards the Japanese market where the products is already well-appreciated- but also in the Spanish and European markets, thanks to the products obtained prestige.
The plant, which is already operational, counts on 2,821 square meters of built area and a handling capacity of 80 tuna tons per day. More than 4 million euro were invested in its construction, and 2.5 million euro were granted by the Council of Agriculture and Fishery.
This project enables four “almadraba†companies from Barbate and Zahara de los Atunes (Cadiz) to handle the quality control, labeling, beheading, gutting and tuna loin processing, which are afterwards ultra frozen for its perfect conservation. Mr. Perez Saldaña also explained that these operations generate an important added value for the companies involved. It also enables Spain to keep part of the added volume since the national market is obtaining a larger share in the tuna production destined to the fresh and processed consumption.
Four local companies are actively participating in this project: Almadraba Fisheries (from Barbate), Almadrabas of Spain (from Tarifa), Almadrabas of Cabo Plata (from Zahara de los Atunes in Barbate), and Almadrabas of Punta Atalaya (from Conil). The main shareholders of these four companies are two groups that generate up to 300 temporary jobs between April and June, besides an average annual production of 12 million euro for the past 20 years.
Councilor Saldaña also remarked other projects such as the construction of an auxiliary fishing boat for the almadraba artisan art, the implementation of a new tracing and quality system and the support to the creation of an industry of almadraba processed products.
The objective is to enable the local companies to become more active in the production’s sales, improve the les production located in the area in order to promote the production sales, improve the handling and manufacturing process of bluefin tuna, and promote a higher quality product within the markets.
