La Almadraba of Nueva Umbría was built in 1929. These old facilities are the “chanca” or settlement where the crew and personnel related to the almadraba (the art of catching big fish like the Atlantic blue-fin tuna during its migration through an elaborate and age-old Mediterranean technique) lived together up to months per year (from March to September). Most of them were accompanied by their families what made the population swell to 800 inhabitants, in other words, transforming it into a small village with services as a commissary, school, bar, hairdresser, artisan workshop, etc. were set up.
The technique of fishing with almadraba in the area probably dates back as far as the 15th century. This almadraba was intensively practised in the first half of the 20th century, as illustrated by the construction of warehouses around 1950, and the yearly catch reached up to 32,000 tuna fish. After this date, the catches started declining sharply, until it was decided in 1963 to abandon this technique of fishing, along with the facilities, due to loss of profitability. At the beginning of the eighties a new intent to revive this type of catching was tried out but led to no result.
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