Catch of the day

Paul Indigo's
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Catch of the day: a story about the Spanish fishing industry.

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Fuengirola was once a bustling fishing port on the Andalusian coast in Spain. Now tourism has taken over as the main industry but there are still a few local fishermen about. Fellow professional photographer, Magda Indigo and I were fortunate enough to gain access and win the trust of some of the fishermen.

This enabled us to document life on the quayside. Public access is prohibited so it is not advisable to try to go onto the fishing boat quay without permission.

Fish and seafood are important ingredients in Spanish cuisine and integral to the local gastronomic culture. Love of fish and seafood is evident in local restaurants and the supermarkets have fabulous fish counters bursting with fresh harvests from the Mediterranean.

The Andalusian fishing fleet sails from 38 ports and is the second largest in Spain, behind that of Galicia.

Spanish trawlers have often been in the news as the world’s fishing fleets compete for limited fishing stocks. The EU has devised controversial regulations laid down in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP); the stated aim is to conserve fishing stocks. In practice it is claimed this has lead to waste and damage to the environment.

In 2009, for the first time, Members of the EU Parliament (MEPs) played an equal role in CFP negotiations with national fisheries ministers, but MEPs still had no say in deciding Total Allowable Catches (TACs), species quotas and minimum net sizes. The EU is reviewing the entire CFP and hopes to propose major reform by 2013, according to Civitas.

Against this background the small fishing fleet of Fuengirola faces many local challenges too. Urban pollution and changes to river mouths, ports and shoreline all contribute to the current crisis in the Andalusian fisheries.

However what I saw and photographed was typical of fishing harbours and fishermen everywhere; hard work, humour and the camaraderie of men who face the dangers of the sea and the challenge of bringing home a worthwhile catch to make a living for their families.

Colourful nets along the quayside. The mesh is quite fine on these nets.

Small local fishing boats line the quayside at Fuengirola harbour nestled below the Mijas mountains in Andalusia.

Some men have the specific job of getting the nets ready for the fishermen.

Mending the nets.

Fisherman helping to moor the trawler on the quayside.

Another trawler approaches the quayside. Towards late afternoon the boats start coming in.

A young fisherman proudly displaying a conger eel.

Sorting out the deck after mooring.

A fisherman descends into the hull of his trawler.

Fresh water is brought onboard.

Fisherman portrait. A gentle giant.

Ropes and cables are aligned and sorted out ready for the next trip.

Some of the boats catch white prawns. Here the crew patiently sifts through the catch sorting the catch that is worth keeping. This is a long (several hours) and tedious process.

A Spanish fisherman tosses a mackeral into the appropriate basket as he sorts through the catch on deck.

A fisherman pauses to allow me to make his portrait on the quayside.

The captain washes down the deck of his trawler. He later turned the hose toward me as a joke, giving me plenty of time to beat a retreat and join in with the laughter on the quayside.

There's always plenty of work to be done. These chaps were joining steel cables. I have the impression they're not very big on health and safety here.

A lucky cat gets a handful of small fry from this kind fisherman.

Fisherman posing with one of the quayside cats.

A yawn after a long day's fishing for this quayside cat.

Colourful nets and buoys. Thank you for reading this photo story. If you would like to use the story or any of the images please contact me.