Images of the tuna cutting event held at El Corte Inglés in Alicante. Miriam Gil Albert

The Art of Tuna Cutting Astonishes at El Corte Inglés in Alicante with a 170-Kilo Tuna

The traditional carving ceremony captivates dozens of onlookers in a tribute to the king of the sea

Alejandro Hernández

Alicante

Jueves, 12 de junio 2025, 16:41

Events that captivate attention often require no words, just a gesture or a sound. This Thursday, at the fish market of El Corte Inglés in Maisonnave, that sound was the knife slicing through the backbone of a 170-kilo wild Almadraba bluefin tuna from Petaca Chico. A deep crunch that gives the ritual its name: the tuna cutting.

The audience gathers around a large steel table. On it rests the star of the day: an impressive, shiny specimen. The king of the sea. The master cutters take the first knives, long and sharp like a katana, and begin the cut with the ease of those who have repeated the gesture a thousand times, yet with the reverence of knowing each one is unique.

"From a tuna like this, up to 27 different pieces can be extracted," explains the specialist from Petaca Chico as the masters detail each noble part of the animal. And it is no exaggeration: white loin, black loin, tarantelo, ventresca, parpatana, galete... each name, a universe of flavour. Each part, a destiny raw, grilled, or salted. Each cut, a journey from Cádiz to Japan.

As the carving progresses, an unusual, almost religious silence prevails. The audience—customers and onlookers—watches the process with a mix of awe and respect. Some record with their phones, others simply watch, as if witnessing an ancient dance rather than a fish market operation.

Tuna cutting is more than a technique. It is memory and knowledge. It is the heritage of the men of the sea, those who understand that, like the pig, every part of the tuna is used. But it is also modernity: the staging, the pedagogy, the blend of spectacle and education.

Tuna cutting is not just a gastronomic act, but also a cultural one. It is the heritage of the Cadiz almadrabas, the Tokyo fish markets, and a tradition that today is revalued in the face of the rise of responsible consumption and interest in quality products.

The almadraba: the world's most sustainable fishing art

An almadrabero with a captured specimen. Petaca Chico

The almadraba: the world's most sustainable fishing art

The almadraba is a fishing technique with over 3,000 years of history, its origins tracing back to the ancient Mediterranean civilizations. It was the Phoenicians who, on the coasts of Cádiz, developed and perfected this method, making it their primary system for catching tuna. There are documented references from the 7th century BC, when the Phoenicians already traded in tuna-derived products, such as salted fish, along maritime routes connecting various points of the Mediterranean.

Over time, this practice was adopted and adapted by other cultures, including the Romans and the Andalusians. In fact, the name of this ancient technique comes from the Andalusian Arabic almaḍrába, which can be translated as "place where one strikes or fights," referring to the fishermen's efforts during the catch.

This technique involves an elaborate system of fixed nets, installed near the coast, allowing the interception of the bluefin tuna's annual migration from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, between April and June. This method is not only characterized by its effectiveness but also by its respect for the marine environment, being a selective, artisanal, and highly sustainable technique.

When the event concludes, the audience applauds. Not only the master cutters but also what it represents: a way of understanding the product, respecting it, and bringing it from the market to the plate with intelligence and emotion.