Whenever conditions are right and the weather allows, a Hout Bay fishing boat called the Alalunga (latin for longfin tuna) heads out to sea in search of tuna. There’s something different about this fishing boat though; it has no nets or thousand-hook longlines so often used in tuna fisheries. Instead, the fishermen aboard use traditional bamboo poles and single lines to catch the fish they’re after: longfin tuna and yellowfin tuna.
The end result is the unique, wildly delicious range of cold-smoked fish made by Cape Town based family-owned business, Lalunga.
Hand-line and pole-and-line fishing are traditional forms, where fish are caught one at a time. These methods are highly selective, meaning other marine creatures are very seldom caught, and if they are, can be safely returned to the ocean. This labour-intensive yet responsible fishing method has the lowest possible impact on the marine environment and creates a high number of employment opportunities per kilogram of fish harvested. Furthermore, the hands-on nature of these operations allows each fish to be handled with care.
Brothers JD and Nick Filmalter have an extensive family background in all things marine. JD has a PhD in fisheries science and has worked globally on sustainability in tuna fisheries. Nick is an underwater videographer, diver and adventurer, exploring the hidden depths of the world’s oceans.
They’ve teamed up with Matt Doran, a commercial fisherman with training in marine resource management. All three are passionate about conserving the marine ecosystem and with their combined skills and deep knowledge, have created Lalunga to embody the change they want to see in the world.
They have spent years of experimentation, research and passion to develop impressive fresh-fish-to-finished-product logistics, as well as best practices in smoking, slicing and packaging their products – all by hand.
LALUNGA produces four sliced, smoked products:
Each has its own unique flavour and texture with the Albacore tuna being naturally high in fats, giving it a well-rounded buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Yellowfin tuna has a denser, richer more gamey flavour with a soft texture. Yellowtail is delicate, subtle and lighter in flavour, yet with a slightly firmer texture.
It’s a 5-day process from raw to finished product. No artificial preservatives, additives, colourants or flavourants are used. It’s cold-smoked with just pure, natural salt and brown sugar added during the curing process.
You would think it would be a natural decision to use sea salt with their sea-harvested fish, but the moment JD heard Sam Skyring (Oryx Desert Salt Founder) speak on the Bruce Whitfield’s ‘Genius’ Podcast Series, he knew it was exactly the right sort of salt Lalunga should be using.
Local, pure, plastic-free, without additives and retaining all its natural minerals and micro-nutrients, it wasn’t long before Oryx Desert Salt became an integral part of the Lalunga range.
Like Oryx Desert Salt, Lalunga is for aware consumers who want to know where their food comes from and the care with which it is produced.
In a world where so many businesses pay lip service to sustainability as they compete to extract the greatest profitability from the earth’s resources, Oryx Desert Salt stands for and supports the values Lalunga aligns itself to.
Lalunga is the real deal. They take full responsibility for ensuring they have minimal impact on our marine resources through their thoughtful approach to fishing and processing the wild-caught fish they bring to your table.
You won’t find an artisanal product like this anywhere else in South Africa.
Respect!
PS: Look out for Lalunga’s two recently launched smoked tuna pâtés, (standard and peppered) which are simply sublime.
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