The many fishermen needed to haul in the net and bring the tuna on to the boats.(Photo courtesy of Vila Galé Albacora Tuna Museum.)
WHAT'S IN A NAME ?
The Algarve, Portugal’s southern coastal region, is dotted with many inviting beaches. Flat, with broad sands fronting calm seas, they are perfect for the many northern European tourists who visit. One of these spots is Praia do Barril. It’s located in the eastern Algarve between Tavira and Olhão. As the Portuguese word for barrel is barril, I wondered what this beach might have had to do with wooden barrels. The first revelation, and one that few of the tourists would realize, was that Praia do Barril has a long history with the fishing for tuna. The second was that the barrels were involved with the tuna fishing, but not in the way I imagined. To get to the beach at Praia do Barril from the parking lot, one has the option of riding on a small, narrow-gauge railway or walking the kilometre alongside the track. The railway and walk end at a series of old, stone buildings, nestled among low sand dunes, with the beach just beyond. Originally, some of these structures were the seasonal homes for the tuna fishermen and their families, while the others were used as a chapel, a school and sheds to store their nets, cables, floats and other gear during the winter.
Converted in the 1980s, they are now cafes and restaurants and basic tourist accommodations. The only barrels I have seen there are used in the bars as stand-up tables, or as containers to hold plastic trash bags.
The railway and walk end at a series of old, stone buildings, nestled among low sand dunes, with the beach just beyond. Originally, some of these structures were the seasonal homes for the tuna fishermen and their families, while the others were used as a chapel, a school and sheds to store their nets, cables, floats and other gear during the winter. Converted in the 1980s, they are now cafes and restaurants and basic tourist accommodations. The only barrels I have seen there are used in the bars as stand-up tables, or as containers to hold plastic trash bags.
So, what’s with the name Praia do Barril? This beach is just one along the Ria Formosa, a narrow, 40-kilometre stretch of barrier dunes. The beach takes its name from its location at a bulge in the Ria Formosa rather than the use of significant numbers of barrels in the fisherman’s quarters.
The name of the beach, and the use of the wooden barrels and casks used to package the processed tuna, are pragmatic, neither romantic or earthshaking. However, the story behind the efforts of the hundreds of fishermen committed their lives into developing and setting the nets and catching and processing the tuna is astounding. Sadly, however, they became too efficient at their job. In the mid-1800s, the yearly catch was 20,000 to 30,000 fish per season, and this was just one fishing site along the Algarve; there were others and also several along Spain’s southern border. By the 1960s the annual numbers of fish caught at this site dropped to just a few thousand per year, and by the 1970s, almost none; totally overfished.
The fisherman had to find other work, their seasonal quarters, like Praia do Barril, were remodelled into tourist facilities, and the processing plants now sit decaying in the towns.