It’s Cantabrian Anchovy season
The Cantabrian Anchovy of the Baque Country is a fantastic product to enjoy in many dishes and in different textures and shapes. Moreover, we are now in the season of this small fish and the fishermen who are dedicated to it are more busy than ever.
It is the months of April, May and June when the Basque Cantabrian Anchovy comes closest to this area and ends up being caught.
However, while the fishermen bring the product ashore, the rest of the workers are waiting in the fish markets to start their work, which is none other than choosing the best specimens and starting to make the preserves.
These are long processes that can take up to eight or ten months to achieve a product with maximum quality, as is the case with the Antxoa. Furthermore, this work is almost entirely manual and must be done slowly and with special care so as not to spoil the producer or damage the final flavour.
Last year, more than 22,000 tonnes of anchovies were caught in the Cantabrian Sea and the season for this fish ended earlier than estimated because the limit of tonnes allowed was exceeded.