Fishing for the huge tuna fish has been practised for more than a millennium in the central Mediterranean, using the “tonnara”, a huge structure of nets stretching as much as six or seven miles. The “Panaria Boys” recorded this process, going under-water in the “camera of death” in the enclosed space of the final net in which the killing takes place. The songs, yells, commands, and voices of the tuna fishermen were recorded live, with one of the first (wire) magnetic recorders then produced by the industry.

Francesco Alliata