The bluefin tuna campaign begins in the Balearic Islands

The vessels of the two Spanish companies with purse seine quotas are already in Balearic waters, and will be able to catch their quotas until the 1st of July, although it is foreseeable that, given the abundance, they will finish their fishing much earlier.

Ricardo Fuentes - with a port in Cartagena (Murcia) - and the Balfegó group - from L'Ametlla de Mar (Tarragona) - are the owners of the purse seine fleet, which has the largest capacity, and will also take advantage of quotas from vessels of other nationalities, which participate in their campaigns.

Spain is the European country that extracts the most bluefin tuna, with 6,783.67 tonnes, allocated by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

Fishing for this (migratory) species began in February in the waters of the Canary Islands, then in spring the "levantás" began in the thousand-year-old traps of Cadiz and now it has reached its central point; the bait boat fleets of the Cantabrian Sea, the Straits of Gibraltar and Mediterranean artisanal vessels are also entitled to a quota.

Bluefin tuna is a success story in fisheries management, because years ago it was in a delicate state and now it is very abundant, after "sacrifices" for the sector and cuts in its catches, according to Balfegó's assistant director, Juan José Navarro, who reminded Efeagro.

The Cartagena-based firm has a quota of 4,700 tonnes and will participate with 58 vessels, of which 18 are purse seiners - three are its own with Spanish quotas and the rest are from other countries; the company also has a tuna trap.

Balfegó will have a quota of 3,087 tonnes and will sail with 33 boats (Spanish, French and Italian), ten tuna suppliers and 23 auxiliary vessels; the group will generate 300 direct jobs during the campaign.

The boats will take their catches to the nurseries for fattening, for a period of between 3 and 12 months, according to Ricardo Fuentes. Japan, the birthplace of sushi, has been the traditional destination for bluefin tuna, but exports have been diversifying.

The bluefin tuna campaign is controlled and is carried out with biologists and observers on board and also in the transfer processes and in farms, following Iccat's advice.