Menorca, fish and identity

Bep Al·lès/Ciutadella - In Menorca, what we eat has never been just food. It has been culture, landscape, economy and identity. That is why it is deeply worrying to see imported salmon gaining ground on our tables while local, fresh, seasonal fish is being pushed aside. This is not a matter of personal taste, but of a model and of a lack of our own gastronomic culture. Consuming more Menorcan fish and fewer globalised products is a conscious decision with direct consequences for our future as an island.

The traditional Menorcan recipe book, shaped by what the sea and the land provided, is being replaced by a uniform cuisine that is repeated all over the world. This is not about rejecting gastronomic diversity, but about not losing the thread that connects us to our history. Raor, cuttlefish, red mullet, gerret, ray and forkbeard are not just ingredients: they are collective memory. Choosing local products means choosing food sovereignty, real sustainability and an economy that remains at home.

But this commitment also requires bold political decisions. Menorca needs its own fishing legislation, adapted to the characteristics of artisanal, small-scale fishing, with very few trawlers and pressure on resources that is very different from that of other seas. Current European Union regulations, conceived from an Atlantic and industrial logic, do not take into account the uniqueness of our fishing model and, too often, put it at risk.

At the heart of all this are people. Fishermen and fishmongers, essential professions that keep alive the link between the sea and society, are in danger of disappearing because of the lack of generational renewal. Without young people willing to carry on, the knowledge accumulated over generations is lost. The profession must be dignified, generational renewal and regulations must be made easier, the trade must be promoted, and people must understand that consuming local fish is also a way of defending those who work in the sector.

Menorca cannot afford to lose its fishing, its cuisine or its people. The island’s future is also decided on the plate. And there is still time.