Andalusia

The southern Atlantic coast of Spain around the province of Cádiz, home to the almadraba, the ancient maze of fixed nets used to catch wild bluefin tuna as the giant shoals pass the Strait of Gibraltar each spring. The tradition dates back more than three thousand years to the Phoenicians and Romans, who ran garum fish-sauce factories at Baelo Claudia. The fishing towns of Barbate, Zahara de los Atunes, Conil, and Tarifa keep it alive. Producers including Herpac, La Chanca, and Conil hand-cut and salt the tuna, and the air-dried loin known as mojama carries its own protected designation, IGP Mojama de Barbate. Tuna, mojama, and melva define the Andalusian pack.