In the northern region of Galicia, Spain, the small town of Burela harbors some of the few remaining longlining ships still functioning. Terribly affected by the pandemic, inflation and lack of care from the producers associations this fishing method is possibly seeing its last generation in this area. The last blow arrived in the form of sanctions and restrictions instated by european authorities in answer for the damages caused by bottom trawlers. Due to the sea depths worked by both practitioners longliners are directly affected by the new official laws which do not contemplate the vast differences of these fishing methods.
Once a very respected profession longline fishing is now without generational succesor and producers are switching to different and more harmful methods to be able to deal with the costs. What used to be a family tradition no longer attracts the youth, forcing the owners of ships to pay for the education and training of immigrants, mostly from Cape Verde and Indonesia, who are willing to accept the hard work and low pay. Burela is now a haven for immigrant sailors, they uphold the continuation of safe fishing, bringing quality over quantity and fighting the stigma caused by the bottom trawlers that to this day continue to scourge the seabed and trap endangered species in their nets.
