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The Shining

Catalunya’s anchovy fishing and curing industries have changed little over the centuries – so we can enjoy them in the way we always have.

The anchovy is a delicacy throughout Spain and the best source of the salted version is the town of L’Escala, at the southern end of the Golf de Roses. Nowadays fishermen may head to sea in diesel-powered trawlers rather than under sail and the anchovy processing businesses are in modern premises, but little else has changed.

THE night is inky black and a veil of cloud blocks out any faint traces of moonlight. Then they turn on the arc lights and I have to shade my eyes from the brilliant white glare.

This is anchovy fishing Catalan-style, where the “bait” is a skiff laden with overhanging arc lights intended to draw shoals of the silvery-blue fish into their beam.

Since the 15th century the basic process of curing the finger-sized fish has remained the same, as has the classic Catalan method of eating them – anchovy fillets on pa amb tomaquet. And just as they have for centuries, the raw product comes from the warm waters off the Costa Brava. The fishing trawler I’m aboard left L’Escala’s La Clota harbour just after 11pm, loaded up with ice for preserving the night’s catch. Being towed behind us is the smaller vessel laden with the overhanging arc lights now being used as a lure for the anchovies.

Having cast off the skiff, the trawler moves a short distance away, drops a buoy and begins encircling the brightly lit boat while laying out its net. With the circle complete, the six-man crew starts hauling the net back on board, drawing whatever is trapped in the fine mesh trap to them. As the final section of the net nears the boat, the sea becomes a seething froth of movement and the deck lights pick out the shiny backs of fish flapping wildly and occasionally leaping clear of the ensnaring net. Two of the crewmen then use a giant scoop-like contraption to “spoon” the catch aboard and the writhing fish are dropped into the wooden boxes lying on deck and covered in ice. Then, with the net secured on the deck and the skiff in tow, the trawler heads back to port and the crew starts sorting through the boxes. Among them is Josep Lluís Sureda, the skipper and co-owner of the 20m-long Hermans Sureda Busquets. The boat was built in Roses 12 years ago specifically for catching anchovies and sardines during a season that lasts from April to September.

Like many families in L’Escala, fishing is in Sureda’s blood: “My family have been fishermen for generations. My father, brother, uncle, cousins, they are all fishermen.” Sureda says the ideal conditions for ensuring a good catch are flat, calm seas and the best fishing grounds are to be found in the Golf de Lleó to the north of Cap de Creus, where the plankton-rich waters are plentiful feeding grounds for anchovies. As the first rays of sun light the sky, seagulls following in the boat’s wake swoop down noisily to snatch unwanted fish thrown over the side. By the time the fleet is back in harbour and the boxes have been lifted ashore, the quayside is busy with people – fish wholesalers, restaurateurs and anchovy processors – eager to buy the day’s freshly-landed catch. The auction takes place in the warehouse, with bids made after the fish have been inspected and calls made on mobile phones. Sureda listens and shakes his head: “The price of diesel keeps going up and the price we get for the fish keeps going down.”
But with his catch now heading out the door, his day is nearly over and he and the crew head for the harbour-side bar for breakfast or home to catch up on some sleep before the whole process begins again that night.

For the anchovy processors, a good morning at the market means a busy day at one of the town’s five curing premises, most of which are now grouped together on a road a little inland from the old town.
Marti Callol is a director of his family’s business, Ancova Casa Bordas, founded in 1847 and the oldest curing establishment in L’Escala. He says getting the buying process right is essential for the production of high-quality cured anchovies.

“What is important is the size of the fish, how firm they are and they must be shiny with clear eyes – any sign of blood in their eyes means they are not fresh,” he says. When they arrive at his modern premises, the fish are cleaned and beheaded before being layered with salt in large barrels. “Then a heavy weight is placed on top of the fish in the barrels to force the water out the anchovies,” says Callol.
Exact quantities vary but the size of the anchovies is important and the processors need approximately 40 fish to a kilo – more than this and the fish are too small.

Then the anchovy barrels are moved to the warehouse and left to mature without refrigeration in the salt and their own juices – or perhaps with some brine made with sea salt added – for between three to six months. “The combination of salt and ambient temperature causes them to mature – so the warmer the weather, the quicker the process,” explains Callol. The climate is also one factor as to why L’Escala has grown into a world-renowned centre for anchovy curing. According to Callol, it is neither too humid nor too dry, nor is it too hot or too cold. “It’s important that when the fish are in the barrels in the warehouse that conditions are right – and in L’Escala they are perfect for preparing the anchovies,” he says.
Ancova Casa Bordas’ original premises in L’Escala’s old town is now a shop selling its products while the curing process is carried out in the new factory on the edge of town. But while the location has changed, Callol says little else has over the past 160 years.

All around the office walls are black and white photographs from the beginning of the 20th century, including one with his great-grandfather standing over a table of women sorting, cutting and salting anchovies – in exactly the same way as the workers through the glass screen are doing today.
“The containers today are plastic not wooden but the curing process is the same. It has not changed at all,” he says. When this simple task is complete, the anchovies are either filleted or left whole, before being packed tightly in glass jars and topped up with brine. Most of L’Escala’s largely family-owned anchovy processors have visitor areas where it is possible to watch this being done through large glass windows – and sample some of the finished product. Those who do can then perhaps understand why it’s a taste that doesn’t need updating.

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