The Shellfish and Fish of Galicia

I just returned from a week in Spain. Five days were dedicated to exploring the cragged Atlantic coast of Galicia, Spain’s northwestern region. Galicia has a great food tradition; its shellfish and fish are considered by many to be some of the world’s best. Fishing villages are numerous and restaurant menus (especially on the coast) tilt toward seafood. On several occasions I witnessed fisherman walking into restaurants with buckets of fish and selling directly to the owner.

A few bigger towns (bigger = population about 5,000) have afternoon fish markets where the fishermen sell their daily catch. There are no fish stores, as everyone either buys directly from fishermen or catches their own. Fresh and local are givens; no salmon is flown in from Alaska.

The fishermen don’t have to travel far from shore to earn a living and tend to be small-time operators. One day in Camariñas I saw two fishermen sit down for lunch, setting the fish they had just caught (carried in supermarket plastic bags) next to them while they ate.

More tomorrow on the fish and shellfish of Galicia.