Pinhais celebrates the opening of the sardine fishing season
Seven o’clock in the morning, D. Emília and D. Paula da Praia, Pinhais Buyers, Centennial Conserveira de Matosinhos, are already in the Lota, waiting for the beginning of the first auction of the day, from that which is the most beloved species of the Portuguese: the sardine.
In all corners of the city of Matosinhos, it shares the same excitement and uproar, with the reopening of the official fishing season of the sardine. Until July 31, fishermen of 120 fleet from the fleet of the siege will be able to capture 10 thousand tons, plus 3,700 that initially fixed last year.
“In Pinhais, we yearn for this day, for the opportunity to work with quality product, the coolest there is. We look forward to a year for the first Portuguese sardine.“ Reveals D. Paula from the beach. The conserveira begins the day early in the lot of Matosinhos, where it participates in the auctions of the cabs, with 22.5 kg of sardine each. According to Pinhais’s collaborators, just a look at a sardine to check the quality of the basket: “If there is still a brightness in the eyes and a yellow spot on the loin, we know it is a fresh sardine with fat and is good to work”.
The art of this selection comes from 100 years ago, in which a sardine was shot for a wooden board and, if she did not jump, it was because it was not ideal for preserved pinhais, since she had been hung long for a long time.
The boats, which come out in the early hours of dawn, arriving at the harbor, loaded with fresh fish. As soon as they dock, the fishermen put the fish in Xalavares and will withdraw, by hand, those specimens that are already damaged and are not worthy to be placed in the cabs. This process unfolds under the attentive eye of a growing number of seagulls, which await only an opportunity to prove the freshest sardine of the day.
For Conserveira Pinhais, the reopening of the sardine fishing season is synonymous with celebration. But it is also the time when the most anticipated period, of great frenzy, enthusiasm and happiness begins.
For John Paul Teófilo, Director of Pinhais, the start-up of the early campaign “is great news for the entire row linked to fishing. The precautionary policy adopted by the Iberian governments clearly demonstrated that it is possible to protect the appeal without compromising the viability of the sector.”
