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 concerning to see imported salmon gaining ground on our tables while local, fresh and seasonal fish is pushed aside. This is not a matter of personal taste, but rather a model that reflects a lack of our own gastronomic culture. Eating more fish from Menorca and fewer globalised products is a conscious decision with direct consequences for our future as an island.

Menorca’s traditional recipe repertoire, 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. Pearly razorfish, cuttlefish, red mullet, picarel, skate or forkbeard are not merely ingredients: they are part of our collective memory. Supporting local produce means supporting food sovereignty, genuine sustainability and an economy that remains within our own community.

But this commitment also requires bold political decisions. Menorca needs its own fisheries legislation, adapted to the characteristics of small-scale, artisanal fishing, with very few trawlers and pressure on resources that is very different from that found in other seas. Current European Union regulations, devised from an Atlantic and industrial perspective, fail to take into account the uniqueness of our fishing model and, all too often, put it at risk.

At the heart of all this are people. Fishermen and fishmongers, essential professions that keep the connection between the sea and society alive, are at risk of disappearing due to the lack of generational renewal. Without young people willing to continue, knowledge accumulated over generations is lost. The profession must be given greater recognition, generational renewal and regulatory procedures must be made easier, the trade must be promoted, and people must understand that eating local fish is also a way of supporting those who work in it.

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