The tunny-nets along the coast of Algarve were one of the most important fishings. Between April and September nets with several hundred meters used to leave the coast heading to deep sea. These were real barriers in the course of the tunny shoals; once they tried to go around them they fall into the trap. The fight for survival would then start: tunnies fighting for their lives and men looking for the support of their families...

This art that lasted for centuries disappeared in 1972 with no explanation. The only certainty is that the tunny will never show up again. Until the beginning of this year.
A lusitanian-japanese trial project insisted in showing that tunnies - those big fish with more than 150 Kgs - returned to the old paths that would lead them to the laying areas in the Mediterranean. Those paths pass along the coast of Algarve.

The coverage followed the effort of "Guentaru Maru" to prove that the magic of the old fishing art was making sense again. A renewed art in what concerns the material of the nets, the type of the boats used and the number of fishermen involved.

A project that draws new directions for the tunny fishing. Consumers, however, are now on the other side of the world: because tunny now heads to Japan, to the japanese lots, where it is sometimes sold at a price of 30.000 Escudos per Kg.

(Source: RTC)