A whole tribe to teach the trade to the only young fisherman in Portlligat

PortatadoIt's Tuesday, it's eleven in the morning, and on the Portlligat breakwater, under a green awning, the fishermen Josep Lluís García Jaén (Córdoba, 1962) and Samuel Mir (Sant Cugat del Vallès, 1987) They are standing, cleaning the trammel nets, the small-scale fishing nets. They remove rocks and pieces of starfish that have become snagged; the nets must be clean so they can be used again. Sitting in a chair, helping them with the nets, is Benido Descamps Mallol (Cadaqués, 1936), a retired fisherman, wise, polite, with a brilliant memory, who tells Samu all the memories he has from the time he used to go out to sea. "I've been through all kinds of things in these areas of Cap de Creus when I was fishing," says Benido. As they clean the nets, they place them in black baskets. They'll have them ready for the afternoon, when they'll go to cast them into the sea, and the next day they'll collect them.

Samu is the only young fisherman in Portlligat; the equal of the two active fishermen, Isca and Moisés Tibau. He relies on the entire Portlligat tribe to learn the trade. "This is my third season, and I'm very happy," says Samu. He gets along well with all the men who shelter under the green awning. He has asked his dear Benido if he could one day give him the cap he always wears, a symbol of the Cadaqués-Girona fishermen's guild. "Benido, please tell your family you're leaving it to me as an inheritance," Samu tells him. And Benido laughs, takes it off his head, and shows it off. It must have been navy blue; today, it's an undefined color, but the fish and the embroidered letters make it very significant. And the most important thing is that he has always worn it low on his head, to protect himself from the dazzling sun.

The sea, the medium of Samu

I return to Samu and ask him why he decided three years ago to become a fisherman. There are many reasons, all intertwined. To begin with, his partner is Joana Garcia, Isca's daughter. One day, Isca's partner, Rafa Linares Bueno, with whom they used to go fishing, died. "He was left alone, and since he was feeling down, he helped him remove the nets from the sea," Samu recalls. They knew each other; they had a close relationship because Samu's partner is his daughter, Joana. "If it hadn't been like that, if it weren't for Joana, you wouldn't be with us now," Benido chimes in. Samu acknowledges that this is true, but he had more personal circumstances to contend with. "The restaurant where I worked in Cadaqués, Can Tito, was transferred, and I was left without a job." And with all this, the pandemic arrived, and with the time Covid gave him, he signed up for an online course to become a fisherman, which finally gave him some encouragement. The training connected him with his past on a scientific vessel, which had taken him sailing for three years. Everything seemed on track, but the most important thing was missing: convincing Isca to join him on her boat. "She told me no, that she didn't need anyone else, and I had to do it without her noticing that I was getting involved, that I was helping her with the heavy loading tasks," says Samu, and Benido adds that everyone helped Isca change her mind and understand that she had to accept Samu. "We told her to take him, but I also tell you that if it hadn't been for Joana, Isca's daughter, Samu wouldn't be here with us," he comments.

Today on the boat Happiness Samu and Isca, my son-in-law and father-in-law, come up from Portlligat every day. "This summer we're fishing for scorpionfish, lobster, grouper, breams, redfish, and steins," they both comment. They say there aren't many lobsters; they used to catch a lot more. They call the molleras "breams," and the black scorpionfish "rofines." "In the summer, we sell directly to individuals because the Roses Guild allows us to do so; the road is very busy, it would take hours and hours to get to the stage, and that's why we've agreed to do it this way," explain Samu and Isca.

If the long hours spent on the Cadaqués-Roses road every day were added to the difficulties of the trade, perhaps the trade in Portlligat would disappear. "We were a guild, but Roses has absorbed us, but we haven't lost our brand," says Samu, pointing to the famous Benido cap, where the brand, the history of Cadaqués fishing, is clearly visible.

So, this reef is saved, but there's more. "It's coming from Europe, which wants to cut our fishing zone because it wants to create bodies of water like the Cap de Creus nature reserve," says Samu. This means they'll have less space to fish, and Cadaqués will be more affected than other nearby fishing towns. "Neither Roses nor Port de la Selva will be as affected as we are," they comment.

Finally, I ask them about what they like most about the trade. "I really enjoyed being a fisherman when I fished for longlines or bonito, because then it was my strength and the fish's, because you have to use your skill, your strength, to lift it from the sea," says Benido. It's that feeling that caught him in the trade. "That's precisely why I go fishing for mountain bass from time to time with my small boat, because you touch the touch-touch of the fish on the hook of your rod, you have to stretch, feel like you're stretching until you win the battle." Isca has listened to him, and agrees. Samu acknowledges that he still has a lot to learn. "I get really excited on the days when I catch a big fish, like this past winter, when I caught a 26-kilo amberjack, and I carried it on my back, and it took up all the space on my back, it was so fat." And then Isca tells him: "The most important thing, Samu, is that you're happy in your job; if you had to do it alone, you wouldn't get ahead, but we're all by your side." And the conversation ends as we look at the only three active boats in Portlligat: Happiness, the Three Sisters and the Gargal.

If you see a yellow boat, it's the 'Gala'

Among the fishing boats, there is the boat GalaIt's not at all discreet; it can be seen from a distance because it has a striking yellow color. The Gala It was the third boat that the artist Salvador Dalí had, it dates back to 1942., and it's still exactly as the artist, who had a house in Portlligat, designed it. "With this boat, it was easy for Dalí to take his clients to Cap de Creus and explain the direct source of his inspiration," says Jordi, the boat's captain, as he cruises along the coast. He reaches Cala Bona and stops so those of us on the boat can take a dip. He waits. The swimmers won't lose sight of him because the bright yellow color identifies him from afar. "That's why Dalí did it, because when Gala went to the house to see him, he could already see her from afar because of that color," says Jordi.