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Around sixty fishermen continue to catch pibale. Fishing takes place at night and at high tide when the pibale fish rise to the surface. Previously available on all markets for a ridiculously low price, today you can only find this fish by contacting fishermen directly or alternatively on gourmet restaurant menus.
The local name for elver, pibale, is actually elver eel. Pibale fish reach our rivers after making a journey of over 6000 km, carried by the Gulf Stream. They are therefore subject to meticulous fishing as pibales are a highly coveted product. Previously enjoyed by all residents of the region, and even given to farmyard animals, pibale was known up until the ’70s as ‘a poor man’s dish’. It was from the ’90s that demand exploded, driven by the enthusiasm of the Spanish and Japanese for eating eel and by the Chinese for breeding them.
Pibale is today a prized dish which, due to its price, is not within the reaches of everyone as a kilo is worth around €500 and can go up to as much as €800!
