The fleet commanded by Balfegó successfully concludes the annual fishing campaig

The Balfegó purse seiners are already moored in the port of L’Ametlla de Mar after completing the annual bluefin tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) fishing campaign in the western Mediterranean. The fleet, led and commanded by La Frau II and Tio Gel II, vessels captained by the Balfegó family, captured the assigned quota –a total of 2,485 tons in accordance with the trade agreements reached this year- in just 11 days of effective fishing.

Once again this year, the fleet detected an abundance of large schools of tuna that it has avoided capturing to minimise operational risks and ensure the welfare of the specimens. In fact, the Balfegó boats have only caught adult specimens of more than 150 Kg. on average. In this sense, and for the second consecutive year, the company from L’Ametlla de Mar has applied its protocol, a pioneer in bluefin tuna fishery, to assure the safety of the sailors and the specimens during the manoeuvres, contributing to an increase in product quality ratios.

On top of this, the digitization and automation of all the transmissions between the vessels in the fleet –9 purse-seine vessels, 16 tugboats and 5 auxiliary vessels– has optimised and streamlined both the recording of catches and the custody of documentation and communications . Each vessel in the fleet was equipped with a tablet, e-mail, a router and an antenna to communicate via satellite.

“We finished the campaign quite satisfied with capturing the assigned quota in a short time and, especially, with the great improvements that the protocols applied have brought about. We want to thank the efforts of all the crew members and boats that have participated in this campaign”, said Juan José Navarro, deputy director of Balfegó.

The fleet commanded by Balfegó was composed of 30 vessels: 9 purse-seiners, of which 2 belong to Balfegó (La Frau II and Tio Gel II), a 3rd under the Spanish flag, 4 under the French flag and 2 Italian. The fleet was complemented with 16 tugboats and 5 auxiliary vessels.

The boats that tow the fish husbandry pools containing the tuna are expected to arrive at the L’Ametlla de Mar facilities in the next 10 days.