We went for a first sail with our new battery-bank. On our way to Mertola, we saw lots of nets. In Penas de Aguia, we met a fisherman. He offered us fish, which we gladly accepted. It was ‘saboga’, (twait shad). We got 3 of them. He would have given us the two big buckets of fish he caught, because he only wanted to keep the eggs. The eggs are a local delicacy, like caviar. That’s why the fish in this time of year is the ‘queen’. The fish itself needs a special preparation because of the fine spines.
So the people only want the eggs of this fish. The fisherman regrets this. ‘If you prepare this fish well, it is delicious. I wish we could give the fish the people here don’t want, to people who are hungry.’ We carefully followed the fisherman’s instructions for preparing the fish. We have a lot to learn, because we still found a lot of spines. However, it was fresh and delicious! Getting to know the regional cuisine is always an adventure.
The fisherman complained that in recent years the catches were getting smaller and smaller. We checked. In northern Europe, the twait shad populations are fading. This is caused primarily through overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction and migratory route obstruction. Consequently, for example the Irish and English governments have taken measures to protect this fish. We hope the balance on Guadiana river will be preserved in time. Only respectful fishing and eating will guarantee there’s always enough room for this queen of the river.