Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote is the second largest fishing port in the Canary Islands. Suprising it may seem but the reason is because there are abundant fishing grounds between the east coast and Africa. The main types of fish caught in these warters are sardines, sea bass and parrotfish. Tuna also pass through these waters on the way to breeding grounds.
In the late 20th century with automation and proper refrigeration facilities the production of salt decreased considerably and reached to around 2,000 tons per annum today. A small part of the production is still sold as high quality table salt and each year. During the Corpus Christi festival in June, tons of dyed salt are traditionally used to decorate the streets and squares of Arrecife.
Sea salt production was another of the major industry at the same time. The salt was used to preserve the fish caught almost 10,000 tons of salt was produced at the peak.