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Invented by the Phoenicians, promoted by the Romans, and then perfected by the Moors, the elaborate 3,000-year-old fishing technique for bluefin tuna known as the almadraba is alive and well off the coast of Cádiz in Andalusia, Spain. Named after the Andalusian-Arab word meaning “the place where one fights,” the almadraba consists of a labyrinth of large-mesh nets designed to capture schools of adult tuna as the migratory fish return through the Strait of Gibraltar to spawn in the Mediterranean each spring. After the dramatic decline in Atlantic bluefin populations in the 1990s, fisheries agencies tightened regulations, helping the population recover. Almadrabas are used in Morocco, Portugal, and Italy as well. Most of the tuna caught by the Spanish almadraba fishery are over 440 pounds, with a quota of 1,815 tons each season, which runs about four to six weeks in April and May. Many of the fish are sold to Japan, where Atlantic bluefin is considered a delicacy. The long catch history and passive nature of the almadraba make this fishery an important benchmark for the health of Atlantic bluefin populations.

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Invented by the Phoenicians, promoted by the Romans, and then perfected by the Moors, the elaborate 3,000-year-old fishing technique for bluefin tuna known as the almadraba is alive and well off the coast of Cádiz in Andalusia, Spain. Named after the Andalusian-Arab word meaning “the place where one fights,” the almadraba consists of a labyrinth of large-mesh nets designed to capture schools of adult tuna as the migratory fish return through the Strait of Gibraltar to spawn in the Mediterranean each spring. After the dramatic decline in Atlantic bluefin populations in the 1990s, fisheries agencies tightened regulations, helping the population recover. Almadrabas are used in Morocco, Portugal, and Italy as well. Most of the tuna caught by the Spanish almadraba fishery are over 440 pounds, with a quota of 1,815 tons each season, which runs about four to six weeks in April and May. Many of the fish are sold to Japan, where Atlantic bluefin is considered a delicacy. The long catch history and passive nature of the almadraba make this fishery an important benchmark for the health of Atlantic bluefin populations.

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