absence every 20–25 years approximately, resulting in a dramatic sardine crisis
during the period 1525–1575 (Juega 2012). On the other hand, according to the
raw catch statistics of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the traps of Conil and
Zahara during 1525–1725 (García and Fernández 1993), we found the appearance of
drastic natural fluctuations. In the period 1525–1575, the highest record was
observed (average catch 58,600 tuna/year), while during the period 1676–1725 the
poorest records were obtained (1760 tuna/year). The interim period 1576–1675 did
not show extreme fluctuations, and an average of 15,170 tuna/year was maintained.
According to Gancedo et al. (2009), these fluctuations could have been due to the
“Maunder minimum” (the so-called the Little Ice Age, years 1640–1715) affecting
both abundance and recruitment of tunas in the North Atlantic and the
Mediterranean.
For centuries, the harvest of sardine and anchovy has been of crucial importance
from a socioeconomic point of view, as their natural and unpredictable fluctuations
have resulted in cyclic periods of poverty/wealth in local fishermen populations. On
a larger spatial scale (Pérez-Rubín 2008), interrelationships have been found
between the abundance of fish stocks and fishermen from Andalusia (the Alboran
Sea and Gulf of Cadiz), Galicia and the Balearic Sea (including Levante and
Cataluña) during the dramatic crisis of Spanish fisheries in the period 1920–1950.
The grave crisis of the sardine industry in Galician waters in 1923–1927 and in
1947–1956 forced the Galician fishing vessels and canning factories to migrate to
different ports in Andalusia such as Malaga and Algeciras.
For benthic and demersal fishing, the first two decades of the twentieth century
were of great splendour in the Alboran Sea (Miranda 1923). The greatest activity
was still centralized in Malaga, with the only steamboat trawlers of the Alboran Sea
that were owned by different companies. In the fishing grounds far from the coast,
the hegemonic company was “La Pesquera Malagueña” (1903–1927), whose bankruptcy marked the end of a stage of economic growth in the province. It had
20 steamboats using the port of Malaga for its shipyards and refrigerating installations and which directly employed 400 families. It abundantly exported fish and
opened its own fish shops in cities in the provinces of Sevilla, Cordoba and Valencia.
Around 1925, the northern and southern seabed fishing grounds of the Alboran Sea
were overexploited, and a great part of the Spanish bottom trawl fleet fished in the
Atlantic waters of Morocco.
In the Alboran Sea, the historical fluctuations of sardine and anchovy between
1945 and 1990 (Giráldez and Abad 1991, 2000) were related to climatic cycles: the
sardine predominated in cooler periods and the anchovy in warmer periods (PérezRubín 1996). Comparable changes were demonstrated in the pelagic fish assemblage
of the European continental shelf: shifted from cold-water fish species (the 1960s–
1980s) to warmer-water assemblages from the 1990s onwards (Montero-Serra et al.
2014) and the collapse of the bluefin tuna fisheries in the Atlantic during the 1960s
(Cort and Abaunza 2015).
Several species of small/medium-size pelagic fish are occasionally present in
exceptionally high quantities in the Alboran Sea, and they are useful as
bioindicators. The boarfish (Capros aper) can reflect a greater flow of Atlantic
23 A Historical Approach to Living Resources on the Spanish Coasts from the. . .
779
during the period 1525–1575 (Juega 2012). On the other hand, according to the
raw catch statistics of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the traps of Conil and
Zahara during 1525–1725 (García and Fernández 1993), we found the appearance of
drastic natural fluctuations. In the period 1525–1575, the highest record was
observed (average catch 58,600 tuna/year), while during the period 1676–1725 the
poorest records were obtained (1760 tuna/year). The interim period 1576–1675 did
not show extreme fluctuations, and an average of 15,170 tuna/year was maintained.
According to Gancedo et al. (2009), these fluctuations could have been due to the
“Maunder minimum” (the so-called the Little Ice Age, years 1640–1715) affecting
both abundance and recruitment of tunas in the North Atlantic and the
Mediterranean.
For centuries, the harvest of sardine and anchovy has been of crucial importance
from a socioeconomic point of view, as their natural and unpredictable fluctuations
have resulted in cyclic periods of poverty/wealth in local fishermen populations. On
a larger spatial scale (Pérez-Rubín 2008), interrelationships have been found
between the abundance of fish stocks and fishermen from Andalusia (the Alboran
Sea and Gulf of Cadiz), Galicia and the Balearic Sea (including Levante and
Cataluña) during the dramatic crisis of Spanish fisheries in the period 1920–1950.
The grave crisis of the sardine industry in Galician waters in 1923–1927 and in
1947–1956 forced the Galician fishing vessels and canning factories to migrate to
different ports in Andalusia such as Malaga and Algeciras.
For benthic and demersal fishing, the first two decades of the twentieth century
were of great splendour in the Alboran Sea (Miranda 1923). The greatest activity
was still centralized in Malaga, with the only steamboat trawlers of the Alboran Sea
that were owned by different companies. In the fishing grounds far from the coast,
the hegemonic company was “La Pesquera Malagueña” (1903–1927), whose bankruptcy marked the end of a stage of economic growth in the province. It had
20 steamboats using the port of Malaga for its shipyards and refrigerating installations and which directly employed 400 families. It abundantly exported fish and
opened its own fish shops in cities in the provinces of Sevilla, Cordoba and Valencia.
Around 1925, the northern and southern seabed fishing grounds of the Alboran Sea
were overexploited, and a great part of the Spanish bottom trawl fleet fished in the
Atlantic waters of Morocco.
In the Alboran Sea, the historical fluctuations of sardine and anchovy between
1945 and 1990 (Giráldez and Abad 1991, 2000) were related to climatic cycles: the
sardine predominated in cooler periods and the anchovy in warmer periods (PérezRubín 1996). Comparable changes were demonstrated in the pelagic fish assemblage
of the European continental shelf: shifted from cold-water fish species (the 1960s–
1980s) to warmer-water assemblages from the 1990s onwards (Montero-Serra et al.
2014) and the collapse of the bluefin tuna fisheries in the Atlantic during the 1960s
(Cort and Abaunza 2015).
Several species of small/medium-size pelagic fish are occasionally present in
exceptionally high quantities in the Alboran Sea, and they are useful as
bioindicators. The boarfish (Capros aper) can reflect a greater flow of Atlantic
23 A Historical Approach to Living Resources on the Spanish Coasts from the. . .
779