Sardine fishing

🕓 4 in the morning Gure Izarra returns!

She has arrived!

It is January 24, 2022, we have been waiting for her for weeks now. The fishermen were watching for her and we, hanging on the phone, were waiting for a sign from the boats to come and pick her up at the auction. It was this morning, the boat Gure Izarra that landed them early in the night at the auction of Saint Jean de Luz - Ciboure.

The sardine season usually begins at the end of November when the cold of winter pushes the sardines to come and warm up in our "warmer" waters of the Basque Country. Indeed, they arrive from Brittany to the Basque Country where the water is slightly warmer. They are therefore caught here at adult age which allows for better reproduction and sustainability of the species.

Learn to wait.

Thanks to Imanol, the skipper of the Gure Izarra and his crew who showed patience and perseverance. Fishing is above all a profession of patience. Learning to wait, is the daily life of fishermen who work tirelessly, without schedules and sometimes for nothing.

A small sustainable fishing

The Gure Izarra is a small boat, less than 12 meters long, intended for small-scale fishing (tides that last less than 24 hours). Small boats fish along the Basque-Landes coastline for local and more sustainable fishing.

Purse net fishing is a type of fishing that respects the seabed since it is a surface fishing method. Its nets are designed to capture targeted species such as sardines, horse mackerel or mackerel, and it also allows the release of unwanted species.

We are proud through this partnership with Gure Izarra to support local, sustainable fishing and to encourage respect for the seasons. Thanks to Gure Izarra we will put the sardines in jars which will allow them to be consumed all year round.

Jarred sardines, a seasonal product all year round

Putting sardines in jars is a preservation technique that allows the product to be preserved for up to 4 years. By offering you sardines in jars, we can offer you sardines all year round while respecting their seasonality. The jar allows you to respect the seasons all year round!

 

What’s more about the Jean de Luz sardine?

🌊 she is bigger, adult size, because she took her time to migrate to our warmer waters of the Basque Country.

🐟 its +: it is not fried. It has been dried and thus keeps its taste close to fresh sardines and its excellent nutritional properties.

🤲 It passes 15 times through our artisan hands and not through machines. It was delicately placed by hand in each of the verrines.

🌿 Organic & local? Both, my captain. No compromise, we want organic, local and also quality.