El Kala ( Arabic : ?????? ?, French : formerly La Calle ) is a seaport of Algeria , in El Tarf Province , 56 miles (90 km) by rail east of Annaba and 10 miles (16 km) west of the Tunisian frontier. It is the centre of the Algerian and Tunisian coral fisheries and has an extensive industry in the curing of sardines. The harbour is small and exposed to the northeast and west winds. The old fortified town, now almost abandoned, is built on a rocky peninsula about 400 metres long, connected with the mainland by a bank of sand. After the occupation of La Calle by the French in 1836, a new town grew up along the coast.