Chapter 16
Small Pelagic Resources: A Historic
Perspective and Current State
of the Resources
Ana Giráldez
16.1 Introduction
Fishing was one of the first activities that humans engaged in to meet their nutritional
needs. At first these needs were met on an individual basis, but over time, and after
the preservative properties of salt were understood, a thriving trade evolved. Some
3000 years ago, one of the most important economic activities in the Mediterranean
was a trade in salted and dried fish. For example, the Phoenicians were actively
engaged in trading these products.
Small pelagic fishing has been of historic importance in the Alboran Sea, with
Malaga as its most important port. The origins of Malaga are almost as old as those
of the salting industry. Many authors have attributed its name to the traditional
manner in which fish were prepared: some philologists have suggested that the name
of the city derives from the Phoenician word malach which means salt seasoning or
salting, whereas others have suggested where the fish is dried. During the Roman
period, the preserved fish industry in southern Spain was so important that there were
merchants based in Rome who traded salted fish from Malaga.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Estepona, and Malaga in particular, maintained large
canning industries. At that time the fleet could freely fish in the rich fishing grounds
of North Africa. Throughout its history, and due to its location, Malaga has always
been associated with fishing and its derivatives. However, the coast of Malaga is on a
very narrow continental shelf, and thus the amount of fish that can be caught there is
low. Therefore, the large commercial activity that has existed since the beginning of
the twentieth century has always been based on the unloading of fish taken from the
rich Moroccan fishing grounds (both Atlantic and Mediterranean). Boats fished
A. Giráldez (*)
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, Fuengirola (Málaga),
Spain
e-mail: agiraldez@ieo.es
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. C. Báez et al. (eds.), Alboran Sea - Ecosystems and Marine Resources,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65516-7_16
559
Small Pelagic Resources: A Historic
Perspective and Current State
of the Resources
Ana Giráldez
16.1 Introduction
Fishing was one of the first activities that humans engaged in to meet their nutritional
needs. At first these needs were met on an individual basis, but over time, and after
the preservative properties of salt were understood, a thriving trade evolved. Some
3000 years ago, one of the most important economic activities in the Mediterranean
was a trade in salted and dried fish. For example, the Phoenicians were actively
engaged in trading these products.
Small pelagic fishing has been of historic importance in the Alboran Sea, with
Malaga as its most important port. The origins of Malaga are almost as old as those
of the salting industry. Many authors have attributed its name to the traditional
manner in which fish were prepared: some philologists have suggested that the name
of the city derives from the Phoenician word malach which means salt seasoning or
salting, whereas others have suggested where the fish is dried. During the Roman
period, the preserved fish industry in southern Spain was so important that there were
merchants based in Rome who traded salted fish from Malaga.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Estepona, and Malaga in particular, maintained large
canning industries. At that time the fleet could freely fish in the rich fishing grounds
of North Africa. Throughout its history, and due to its location, Malaga has always
been associated with fishing and its derivatives. However, the coast of Malaga is on a
very narrow continental shelf, and thus the amount of fish that can be caught there is
low. Therefore, the large commercial activity that has existed since the beginning of
the twentieth century has always been based on the unloading of fish taken from the
rich Moroccan fishing grounds (both Atlantic and Mediterranean). Boats fished
A. Giráldez (*)
Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, Fuengirola (Málaga),
Spain
e-mail: agiraldez@ieo.es
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. C. Báez et al. (eds.), Alboran Sea - Ecosystems and Marine Resources,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65516-7_16
559