The organizations of surface longline producers, OPP-7 Burela, OPROMAR, ORPAGU and OPNAPA present the Corpus Culinario del Pez Espada and the Corpus Culinario de la Tintorera; two books that cover the gastronomic culture in its complete chain, gathering the scientific, economic and social field of these two species.
A cultural project as the essence of what we are and what we will be.
The organizations of surface longline producers, OPROMAR, ORPAGU, OPNAPA, OPP-7 Burela, promoters together with ANECTEAM of the project for the Improvement of the Swordfish and Dyer Fishery, FIP BLUES, gathered last November 21st in the Building of the Maritime Station of Vigo institutions and the fishing sector, and the gastronomy sector, headed by the President of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy, gastronomic journalists, food critics, chefs and historians, in the presentation of the Swordfish Culinary Corpus and the Dyer Culinary Corpus.
As Edelmiro Ulloa pointed out in his speech, the swordfish adventure, and as a consequence of the blue shark, brought about a change in the habits and culture of the communities of the ports dedicated to this fishery. One of these changes was the presence of two new species of fish that, until then, were more or less unknown. Thanks to this process, a new path began, the culinary one, adapting these species to our ways of cooking and savoring the fruits of the sea.
These two Corpus that were presented wanted to gather all this tangible and intangible heritage, the one associated with swordfish and blue shark fishing, put it in value and try to understand its genesis and its current situation. Far from being a point of arrival, they should be a point of reference from which to continue with more strength and work, and we will consider ourselves fortunate if these Corpus also facilitate a serious and collective reflection on the subject. Better understanding and defending the fishing sector will help us to address some of the challenges we face as a society.
During the presentation event the promoters of the initiative were accompanied by the President of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy of Spain, Mr. Luis Suárez de Lezo, the Third Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Employment, European Funds, Heritage, Environment, Education, Sports and Youth of the City of Vigo, Ms. Elena Espinosa, and the Director of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy of Spain, Mr. Luis Suárez de Lezo. Elena Espinosa, and the Director of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Technological Innovation, Mr. Antonio Basanta, who stressed that this fishery continues to be innovative even when it comes to publicizing species such as swordfish and blue shark, working with the best ambassadors, the chefs.
The seafaring culture and the forms of production form an inseparable part of the identity of the fishing communities of Galicia.
It is true that the incorporation of technology has produced important changes in the way of fishing and, consequently, in the social and cultural relations of the fishing communities, but some cultural forms survive in the social fabric of these fishing villages that have been the subject of this work, so it is important to protect these ways of life, this culture.
A complex, rich culture, deeply rooted in the fishing villages and permeable to change, but at the same time fragile. A culture that is also represented in culinary knowledge.
These books allow us to take a long culinary journey of swordfish and blue shark through the kitchens of boats, homes, traditional restaurants and the kitchens of haute cuisine, with the help of those cooks who not only see the product itself, but need to understand the entire ecosystem that exists around it.
This activity is framed within the production and marketing plans of the producer organizations OPROMAR, ORPAGU, OPNAPA, OPP-7 Burela, being co-financed by Xunta de Galicia, MAPA and FEMPA.