Interview with an enceser – Part 2

When we say that at BonAmb we respect and enhance our environment, we are not only talking about working with local products, preparing a cuisine with minimal waste, and being a sustainable restaurant. When we say that we want to honor the culture of the Marina Alta, we do so by learning from its tradition, meeting its people, and listening to the great protagonists who have written its history. For our 2023 season, we have immersed ourselves in the world of Les Pesqueres, unique and dangerous fishing spots on the cliffs of our area. We talked to Ximo Pastor, one of those brave encesers who fished in these fisheries spots for a better life.

What did you fish in your Pesquera?

“On the coast, outside the Pesquera, we caught rockfish that we took home to eat. In our area we caught small shellfish, conches, sea tomatoes, sea urchins…and in the Pesquera we caught scale fish such as saddled seabream, some marlin, some bream, some grouper…and ink fish, cuttlefish and squid and some octopus. These catches were of great value and every morning we were eager to return home to sell them in town. Here in the main street of Benitatxell there were days when there were up to twenty stalls selling fish and seafood. There, our whole basket was sold in no time.”

And to fish those catches, what materials did you use?

“Each had its own aparejos. I used to take a rod with a fine tackle to catch saddled seabreams and two “fluixes“, which are two nylon threads, thick enough so that they do not tangle, which is hooked with a hook, but not with the idea of puncturing the fish, but to hold a natural bait. This bait was pricked to move it and attract the real catch, when it was close to me, I fished it with the salabre.

To fish with the art of the Encesa, there were also other materials such as El Rall (circular net), leather gloves, scissors, knives, etc…”