In the 20th century, the tuna canning industry brought São Jorge one of the most prosperous periods in its modern economic history. Two factories transformed fish caught in the Atlantic into tins prized in Portugal and abroad.
The two factories
There were two tuna canneries on the island:
- One beside Porto da Calheta, in the fine bay that shelters the town — the industrial building is still visible on the south coast and remains among the most eloquent witnesses of that era.
- Another at Fajã Grande, on the eastern coast of Calheta municipality, where proximity to the sea eased landing of the catch.
From boat to tin
Tuna reached the ports of Calheta and Fajã Grande on fleet boats. In the factories, women and men worked production lines: cleaning, cutting, cooking, canning and packing. The smell of fresh tuna and olive oil filled the bay during campaign months.
The industry created steady employment on an island historically marked by isolation and dependence on farming and cattle. Whole families lived on cannery wages for decades.
Decline
As North Atlantic tuna quantities fell and international fisheries changed, factory operations were suspended. The island lost one of its main industrial engines, as did other Azorean communities tied to the same cycle — a transition told in the documentary From Whale to Tuna (RTP Açores).
Legacy
The old factory building in Calheta bay remains a landmark of the urban landscape — a symbol of an era when São Jorge exported to the world. Azorean canning tradition continues on other islands, but on São Jorge memory lives in the buildings, in retired workers' households and in Calheta's identity, whose patron is Santa Catarina — the same dedication that names some of the archipelago's best-known canneries.
See also: Fishing and the Sea · Whalers