Ocean & Coastal Management 130 (2016) 172e178

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Ocean & Coastal Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman

A market analysis for improving fishing tourism management in

Galicia (Spain)
Carmen Padín b, Cristina Lima a, *, Xulio X. Pardellas a
a
n, Dpto. Economía Aplicada, A Xunqueira, s/n, 36005 Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain
Universidad de Vigo, Facultad CC.SS. y de la Comunicacio
b
Universidad de Vigo, Facultad de CC. EE. y Empresariales, Dpto. Economía Aplicada, Lagoas-Marcosende, Vigo, Spain

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: EU policy has been supporting fishing tourism projects since 2000 with the general goal of fostering
Received 25 May 2015 diversification initiatives and providing a higher social value to fishing activities. In this study the main
Received in revised form features of this market are analysed through two fishing tourism projects which are still operational in
7 June 2016
Galicia, Margalaica and Pescanatur, undertaken by two Galician Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs).
Accepted 7 June 2016
Available online 21 June 2016
The major results of this study reveal social changes brought about by these projects. Therefore, it can be
concluded that the EU main objectives are relevant to the Galician case. Furthermore, the results show
that the development and success of these projects depend on the roles played by the different stake-
Keywords:
Fishing tourism
holders involved.
FLAG © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Common fisheries policy
Fishing social value
Resource management

1. Introduction aquaculture products, to diversify operations and to undertake the

Since the late 90s, the objective to diversify fishing activities
more efficiently and to take advantage of the resources has been a
stable goal in European Fisheries Policy. The economic crisis, which
peaked earlier in this decade, has placed that goal as a central task
for fishery administrations in most coastal countries.
In fact, the Axis 4, so called in the reform of the Common
Fisheries Policy (henceforth CFP), is geared to investments classi-
fied as “smart and green” through which fishing communities can
increase their income and, especially, maintain and create new jobs
based on a strategy of diversification and higher quality in the
management of marine resources (Penas et al., 2011), as well as
promoting social equality and environmental sustainability
(Johnson, 2006). In this context, particular attention should be paid
to low population density areas, declining fishing activities or small
fishing communities (chapter 4, article 43). The funding provided
through this scheme is referred to as the European Fisheries Fund
(henceforth EFF).
The lines of action of CFP have the purposes to strengthen the
competitiveness of fisheries areas by adding value to fisheries and
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: padin@uvigo.es (C. Padín), clima@uvigo.es (C. Lima), xulio@
uvigo.es (X.X. Pardellas).
social restructuring of areas facing socio-economic difficulties; as
well as to preserve the fisheries heritage and promote activities to
understand and make this culture better known (chapter 4, article
44) (Council of European Union (2006)).
This new European Policy paradigm became visible at a regional
level during the creation of supramunicipal bodies called Fisheries
Local Action Groups (henceforth FLAGs) which are defined as as-
sociations integrated by different public and private partners
(economic, fisheries and social sectors). The goal of these local
entities is to promote and develop projects following the CFP ob-
jectives, and to implement an integrated local development strat-
egy based on a bottom-up approach in agreement with local
governments (chapter IV, article 45) (Council of European Union
(2006)).
The concept of fishing tourism was first defined in Italy, a pio-
neering country in this activity through Lega Pesca (Italian Asso-
ciation of Fishing Cooperatives), as the boarding of non crew
members for the purpose of recreational and tourist activities
(Consiglio dei Ministri de Italia, 2001). In 2014, 312 FLAGs from 21
European member states developed a total of 8488 projects funded
by EFF, some of them focusing on fishing tourism (European
Comission, 2014c).
For the financial framework 2014e2020, the EFF is adopting as
its main objectives the diversification of the fishing activities,

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 C. Padín et al. / Ocean & Coastal Management 130 (2016) 172e178 173

particularly the ones geared towards tourism, the valorisation of information, thus forcing researchers to rely heavily on reports
cultural and environmental heritage and the reinforced role of prepared by project managers for data gathering.
fisheries communities in the local development (The European Prior to EFF financial support, in the 80’s in Sicily Lega Pesca
Parliament and the Council of European Union, 2014). In other (Lega Pesca, 2014), one of the pioneering projects in fishing
words, fishing tourism is viewed as a way to complement fisher- tourism, offered a product contemplating fishing in the summer
men’s commercial activity as well as a tool to make the traditions months and giving tourists visiting the area the opportunity to
and culture of coastal communities known. learn about fishermen’s profession (European Comission, 2003).
In Galicia, the existence of fishing associations dates back to the The interest generated among visitors quickly showed the
thirteenth century (Villasante et al., 2015). Coastal communities benefits of this product for environmental conservation and for the
have historically depended upon income from fishing, especially on income of fishermen. This prompted a definition within the legal
northwestern Galician coast (Surís-Regueiro and Santiago, 2014). framework for the offer of fishing tourism in Italy in 1982, a law
Nowadays, the importance of this activity at socio-economic and updated in the following years (2001), which included the boarding
environmental level is higher than in other parts of Spain or the EU of families with children. In spite of its uneven evolution, Lega
(Macho et al., 2013). This sector employs 4.6% of the Galician Pesca still is an international pioneer in fishing tourism and re-
workforce, higher numbers than in the rest of the EU (Villasante mains the most stable experience in EU reports and documents.
et al., 2015; Seijas, 1998). Other countries became also interested in fishing tourism pro-
On the ecological level, there is a strong indication that many of jects, such as China which developed a feasibility study in the Hong
the Galician coastal fisheries are currently mishandled and over- Kong area (The Honk Kong Polytechnic University and School of
exploited (Freire et al., 2002; Freire and Garcıa-Allut, 2000). Hotel and Tourism Management, 2011) or Canada which elabo-
Moreover, more recent studies estimated that important Galician rated some studies and pilot experiences in the Gaspe Peninsula
biological communities, such as the rocky reef fish, have declined (Quebec) (Association touristique re
gionale de la Gaspe
sie, 2014)
up to 76% over the past 50 years, data that suggests the local fish and Bonne Bay region (Newfoundland) (Lowitt, 2011).
stocks are at near collapse (Pita and Freire, 2014). In Europe, the funding and effort on the part of European in-
From a social and economic point of view, since the end of the stitutions led to the proliferation of different projects following the
90’s and during the 2000’s the revenue in the fishing sector has Axis 4 recommendations. In recent years, some projects can be
stagnated due to a negative link between the price of fish and the highlighted in France: Pescatourisme 83 on the Coast of Var in 2009
CPI. This has prompted considerable interest in diversifying activ- (European Comission, 2014b) and Pescaturisimu in Corse in 2013
ities, promoted by the European Union, with the main focus on (Agence du tourisme de la Corse, 2014).
fishing tourism (Pardellas, 2010). That explains why some Galician In the Spanish context, there were only a few projects and, in
harbours have been involved in projects, mentioned below, such as general terms, they were short-lived and had a narrow scope. In the
ANDATURA, FARO and SAGITAL since 2002. case of Galicia, the projects focused on revitalizing coastal areas
In accordance with the guidelines of the EFF, those projects, in through fishing tourism (see Table 1).
addition to fishing tourism activities, are outlined as a main
objective the consolidation of leaders to take forward development
processes in local fishing communities (Montero-LLerandi and 3. Characterization of the study area
Moreno-Jime
nez, 2007; Molina-Garcia et al., 2010). As will be
seen further on, the most significant impact of Galician projects was Galicia, located in NW Spain and one of its 17 Autonomous
observed in the social environment, where there has been a posi- Communities, has a regional government (Xunta de Galicia). The
tive change in Galician society’s previously poor perception of region has a long coast line (around 1498 km) whose local economy
fishermen and sea-based jobs. The FLAG’s managers interviewed is based on artisanal or small-scale fisheries and tourism. The
during this research project placed special emphasis on this fact. fisheries sector is managed by fishermen’s guilds or cofradías
Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the status of (Franquesa, 2004).
fishing tourism in Galicia within the context of CFP From a historical point of view, it is necessary to describe the
́ objectives and
the European experiences. Specifically, the study examines the evolution of the Galician fishing industry in recent decades in order
fishing tourism market behaviour in two of the projects which to understand why fishing tourism projects have emerged in this
continue their activity in Galicia, Margalaica and Pescanatur. The area.
data was collected from FLAG 4 and FLAG 5 by means of tourist The integration of Spain in the European Community in 1986
surveys and completed with in-depth interviews with FLAG man- had some important positive and some relatively negative effects
agers and local skippers. on Galician fisheries. The most favourable consequence was the
Thus, Section 2 presents different experiences of fishing tourism
both at international and Spanish levels. In Section 3 the study area Table 1
is characterized in terms of its geographical, historical and socio- Spanish fishing tourism projects.
economic aspects in order to understand the present situation of
Projects in cooperation with other EU countries
the sector in Galicia. Section 4 describes the methodology used in
the study. In Section 5 the results are presented and discussed in 2000 ANDANATURA Spain-Portugal
2002 FARO Spain-Italy-Portugal
terms of two categories: supply and demand. Finally, the main 2002 ACUISPESCA Spain-Italy-Portugal
conclusions are summarized in Section 6. 2002 MARIMED Spain-Italy-France
2004 SAGITAL Spain-Italy-France
2. International and Spanish fishing tourism experiences 2006 SEREA Spain-Italy-France
2011 MAREMED Spain-Italy-France-Cyprus-Greece
Galicia-based projects
In the last few years, several fishing tourism projects were un- 2004 MAR DE LIRAa Galicia (Spain)
dertaken both at the international and national levels. However, 2005 PESCANATUR Galicia (Spain)
most of them were pilot studies about which no exhaustive data 2006 GUIMATUR Galicia (Spain)
was collected by their project managers. Furthermore, a review of a
Later renamed Mar Galaica.
the international literature on this subject reveals an absence of Source: (European Comission, 2014a).
174 C. Padín et al. / Ocean & Coastal Management 130 (2016) 172e178

fleet modernization as a result of large European financial assis-

tance. On the other hand, the negative results derive mainly from
the resource access restrictions to Community waters which pro-
duced a significant reduction in the number of fishing vessels and,
consequently, in the work force in the sector (from 350 vessels in
1981 to 170 in 2005) (Varela, 2010).
Between 1982 and 1984 the Xunta de Galicia received admin-
istrative and legislative competences in fishing, limited to waters
bordering European coasts and inside the sea inlets, but under the
CFP general guidelines for management. This fact had also negative
effects on the artisanal or small-scale fishing fleet (Gonza
lez-Laxe,
2010) as illustrated by the fish being sold in local Galician fish
markets in recent years without significant variation in the average Fig. 1. Evolution of the annual number of fishing vessels in Galicia.
price, as shown in Table 2. Particularly, if one takes into account the Source: Compiled by the authors based on (Xunta de Galicia, 2014a).
fact that the aggregate growth of the general Galician price index
for this period went up 15% (INE), the loss of purchasing power of
fishermen was significant. proposed that a deep change had occurred in fishermen’s vital
There are multiple factors that determine fisheries market’s strategy beginning in the 80’s in Galicia. He described this tradi-
balance between supply and demand. According to a recent study, tional model in terms of three cycles or periods of work at sea
the ratio between the fresh fish sold price and their supply is a (Galva
n, 1989):
complex issue in Spain (Castillo-Manzano et al., 2013). Beyond the
fish quantity offered at the first sale, the research verified the sig-  First, at the age of 15, young men got on board as deckhands in
nificance of other aspects in the price determination. These include an artisanal fishing boat.
substitute goods (frozen fish or aquaculture fish) and other insti-  Second, at the age of 22, after being discharged from the army,
tutional or circumstantial elements (quotas for fishing, CFP regu- they worked in an industrial fishery.
latory changes and other occurrences), but nothing is said about  Third, at the age of 40e45, already with a family of their own
fishing tourism. and some assets earned, they returned to artisanal fisheries.
In the Galician case, it is very possible that fresh fish market’s
evolution was strongly influenced by the Prestige’s oil spilt disaster This model began to break down in the 90’s due to an increase in
in 2002. This environmental catastrophe affected the most the fisheries costs. To make matters worse, the recent economic crisis
Galician coast compared to other Spanish autonomous commu- exacerbated the situation and brought about the loss of social
nities. Consequently the fisheries dependent areas and their fish- status, forcing many young people to leave their work at sea (Calo,
eries activity suffered their most serious impacts (Loureiro et al., 2009). However, the level of dependency on fishing is still high
2006). As foreseen by the Galician fishermen (Surís-Regueiro among coastal populations.
et al., 2007) and other studies which estimated the disaster’s eco- In this economic situation, the EU financial support to fishing
nomic scale (Garza-Gil, 2006), the fisheries product’s image tourism since 2002 was perceived as a lifeline thus becoming a
damaged could have negative impacts on the price evolution since useful tool to achieve different goals according to the recommen-
it seems to be shown at Table 2. dations of EU Common Fisheries Directives: improve the value and
As a consequence of the progressive reduction in fishermen’s the status of sea work, maintain a minimum level of income in low
income it can be inferred that both the activity in the sector and the season and attract young people to fisheries sector.
employment rate decreased. Although, no official fisheries In this scenario, the fishermen’s guilds got involved in different
employment data is available, a parallel can be drawn with the FLAGs along the coast line of Galicia and started to develop different
gradual decrease in the number of fishing vessels operating in plans to improve the economic and social conditions of these
Galicia, as shown in Fig. 1. coastal communities. One of the main features of the FLAGs and the
Some authors have pointed to a combination of social and projects in Galicia was their bottom-up design; the projects were
economic factors impinging on this situation. For instance, Galva
n initiated by social entities and progressively obtained financial
support from public administrations (Pardellas et al., 2011).
The two most important fishing tourism projects in Galicia were
Table 2 developed by FLAG 4 ‘Seo de Fisterra-Ría de Muros-Noia’ and FLAG
Fresh fish sold at the local Galician fish markets. 5 ‘Ría de Arousa’, located at the northwest coast of Galicia and
Year Thousands of tonnes Millions V (V/kg) further south, respectively (see Fig. 2). FLAG 4 includes the
following municipalities: Carnota, Cee, Corcubio
n, Dumbría, Fis-
2000 145 351 2.420
2001 143 355 2.480
terra, Muros, Noia, Outes and Porto do Son. Likewise, FLAG 5 in-
2002 128 329 2.570 cludes the following municipalities: Boiro, Cambados, Catoira,
2003 125 335 2.690 Grove, Illa de Arousa, Mean ~ o, Pobra do Caramin ~ al, Ribadumia,
2004 150 383 2.560 Rianxo, Ribeira, Vilagarcia de Arousa and Vilanova de Arousa
2005 141 289 2.040
(Grupos de Accio
n Costeira, 2014).
2006 152 308 2.020
2007 149 326 2.190 The first fishing tourism project was started by FLAG 4 with
2008 159 313 1.970 different tourism, ecological, cultural and gastronomic activities by
2009 176 306 1.740 fishermen from the village of Lira in 2004. They sought to improve
2010 164 331 2.020 the social environment of the fishing community and raise
2011 161 343 2.130
2012 175 441 2.520
awareness of the world of fishing within society at large. This
2013 163 413 2.530 supply was made under a new brand, called Margalaica, offering
activities on board, trips along the coast, accommodation in rural
Source: Compiled by the authors based on (Xunta de Galicia 2014b, Consellería do
Medio Rural e do Mar). tourist homes, visits to a fishing museum and traditional meals
 C. Padín et al. / Ocean & Coastal Management 130 (2016) 172e178
Fig. 2. Map of Galician FLAGs that developed fishing tourism projects.
(MarGalaica, 2014). The other project was Pescanatur, created
within FLAG 5 by fishermen from Pontevedra and Grove in 2006
(Pescanatur, 2010). This program, ‘Experiencias do Noso Mar’ (Ex-
periences of our sea), involves tourists in fishing and aquaculture
activities and gives them the opportunity to taste these products at
associated restaurants.
4. Methodology
The study was developed by members of ERENEA (University of
Vigo Group in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics) and
summarizes the results of three different research projects; this is
why it was divided into three stages.
The first one corresponds to the SEREA project between 2006
and 2009 (mentioned in Table 1), focused on the fishing tourism
supply in Galicia. During this phase, the investigation conducted a
survey with a sample of 50 skippers who carried out their fishing
work in FLAG 4 and 5 areas, and focused on, two of these skippers
who were engaged in fishing tourism activities (in Grove and Lira).
The second stage is related in turn to a study focused on the
fishing tourism demand in Galicia between 2011 and 2013, financed
by the University of Vigo (Filgueira Valverde). In this regard, the
project team worked closely with Galician FLAGs 4 and 5, which
promoted the only two fishing tourism projects (Margalaica and
Pescanatur) which are still active in the region. The team analysed
daily fishing tourist surveys provided by the FLAGs to quantify
demand aspects and to get to know the fishing tourists’
perceptions.
The survey items were classified thus:
1 Trip-related aspects: number of trips per month, type of route,
information sources for tourist supply.
2 Tourist-related aspects: origin, civil status and sex.
3 Tourist perceptions: reasons for the activity choice, evaluation of
the activity and degree of visitor satisfaction.
The last stage belongs to another study about fisheries diversi-
fication with financial support from FEDER, the Xunta de Galicia
and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. In this project,
in-depth interviews were carried out with FLAG 4 and FLAG 5
managers in order to corroborate the situation of fishing-tourism
activities in Galicia. The interviews presented two scenarios to
175
the managers: the “ex ante” to evaluate the fisheries economy and
social situation at the beginning of the projects, and the “ex post” to
evaluate the effects of the contact with tourists and the overall
development of the projects.
The interview questions were classified thus:
 Fishermen’s attitudes: a set of questions used to confirm the
sociological analysis results and especially to understand the
fishermen’s commitment to EU recommendations and objec-
tives regarding fishing tourism.
 Public image of fishing and fishermen’s work: a set of questions
used to identify whether fishing tourism served to improve the
fisheries’ social image and how the activity was valued by
fishermen.
 The role of institutions: a set of questions used to compare EU
policy and financial support with Galician and Spanish public
administrations (Fishing Department Offices at the Xunta de
Galicia and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries,
respectively).
5. Results and discussion
In this section the results presented and the ensuing discussion
correspond to the two fishing tourism projects (Margalaica and
Pescanatur) still active in Galicia.
5.1. Supply characterization
The supply structure was designed according to the information
provided by fishermen and project’s managers. In the first place,
regarding fishermen’s motivations for developing fishing tourism
projects, the responses indicated the need to find complementary
and diversification activities (32% and 25%, respectively).
In the second place, regarding the approach followed to prepare
the different fishing tourism offers, the responses indicated the
need to publicize fishermen’s work and lifestyle (24%), show the
cultural and historical heritage (22%) and get an extra income (20%).
In the third place, regarding how fishermen combined tourists
on board with their fishing activities, the results indicated that 38%
of them preferred to alternate both occupations on different days of
the week, the rest found other ways of rotating their activities
during the summer months.
And finally, regarding the factors restricting the development of
projects in Galicia, the responses indicated that 72% highlighted the
lack of institutional support and specific regulations.
5.2. Demand characterization
The results indicated that the average profile of the tourist
interested in this new tourist product was an urban couple, be-
tween 30 and 45 years old, with an average income and who chose
the coast as a tourist destination.
This tourist profile considers fishing tourism as a complement to
their stay on the beach and/or nature destination, where the
landscape (45%) and the gastronomy (38%) are the main motiva-
tions for their destination choice. Only 26% were interested in the
marine culture as their first choice. The last percentage indicates an
apparent failure in the design and product promotion on the part of
the FLAGs (www.margalaica.net, www.turismogrove.es) which
seem to be more inclined to offer fishermen’s cultural and ethno-
graphical aspects.
Another relevant characteristic of the demand was its itinerant
nature along the coast. More than 40% of the visitors stayed over-
night at different coastal places and close to 29% reached their
176 C. Padín et al. / Ocean & Coastal Management 130 (2016) 172e178

destination without advanced hotel reservations. At this point, it is

hard to propose partial conclusions due to the fact that one core
element of these projects is to provide accommodation at a fish-
erman’s home. It seems that this offer was neither promoted
properly nor appreciated by the tourists.
A later analysis of the data provided by the Margalaica and
Pescanatur managers confirmed some of the previous pre-
sumptions and helped to complete the demand characterization for
the fishing tourism product. It was decided to aggregate the data
from both projects in the study because no significant differences
between the survey responses were found. This is due to the fact
that a regular exchange of information was maintained between
both project managers.
As shown in Table 3, there was a continuous demand growth
until 2011 when the number of vessels involved in the projects
began to decrease as well as the number of tourists. The cause could
Fig. 3. Evolution of hotel occupancy in Galicia.
be due to the effects of the economic crisis when the data are Source: Compiled by authors based on (Xunta de Galicia, 2014a).
correlated to the Galician hotel occupancy during the same period
as shown in Fig. 3.
As shown in Table 4, the demand is basically from Galician and Table 4
Spanish tourists, with a marginal presence of European tourists. Tourist origin.
These results are in line with the previous data mentioned earlier Location %
which revealed that this supply was a complement to the beach
Galicia 30
destination. Centre of Spain 40
The main tourist motivation, as shown in Table 5, is getting to East Spain 25
know internal aspects of the fisheries sector, these percentages European countries 5
indicate a high social value of fisheries and fishermen’s tasks: 66%
(acquiring fisheries knowledge) and 21% (taking part in fisheries
activity). Table 5
In Table 6 the importance of Internet and social networks in the Demand motivations for fishing tourism.
access to information can be appreciated. It highlights a general Motivation %
trend in tourist behaviour when choosing a destination (Butler,
Taking part in fisheries activity 21
1980; L
atkov

a and Vogt, 2012). It also was the promotional model
Acquiring fisheries knowledge 66
used by the project managers from the beginning of the projects. Curiosity 13
From this study three main features of the demand in Galicia can
be inferred. First, there is a significant growth in the number of
tourists on board. Second, there is a specific tourist interest in
knowing about fisheries activities. Third, the key role played by Table 6
information and communication technologies when choosing this Information sources for tourist supply.
supply. Channel %
As mentioned previously, in order to complete the analysed data
Internet 56
it was necessary to conduct in-depth interviews with the project Tourist office 16
managers. Based on the two scenarios presented, the results of ex Hotel’s information 9
post effects are summarized in the following table: Tourist brochure 8
Others 11

5.3. Management implications

the conservation of resources and transform fishermen’s behaviour
Regarding the environmental aspects (see Table 7, part 1), it is in the short term, by introducing good fishing practices, improving
necessary to take into account the concept of sustainability pursued the standard of living of the coastal communities and modifying the
by the fishing tourism model and what makes it different from social value of sea work. In this regard, managers believe that there
other tourist supplies, both at the seashore and the mainland. The is a timid improvement in environmental awareness but it would
supply design must satisfy the tourist’s motivations and expecta- take a long time to achieve a higher level. This environmental
tions as well as comply with the EU guidelines, which contribute to consciousness, according to the managers, should be com-
plemented with more information and regulations about protected
marine areas by the administration. The effects, for example, on
Table 3
Number of participating vessels and boarded tourists. protected marine areas such as Cedeira-Lira will be perceived in 10
years (Ferna
ndez-Vidal and Muin ~ o, 2014).
Year Vessels Boarded tourists
As for the social aspects (see Table 7, part 2), the most important
2006 8 137 effects take place in the socio-cultural area. Fishing communities
2007 8 367
are value their jobs highly and, consequently, an improvement on
2008 7 498
2009 7 605 fisheries good practices is expected thereby stimulating the
2010 7 784 generational replacement of workers in the sector. There is a
2011 7 765 growing tendency among fishermen to become managers of the
2012 6 450 marine resources and seek cooperation between different cofradías
 C. Padín et al. / Ocean & Coastal Management 130 (2016) 172e178 177

Table 7
Summary of fishing tourism main “ex post” effects according to the project managers.

1. Environmental aspects

 Improvement of good practices in fisheries ensures resource sustainability.

 Participation in fishing activities fosters environmental awareness among fishermen and tourists.
2. Social aspects
 Change in the traditional image about fishermen, from a predatory role to a resource manager.
 Emergence of shared spaces between fishing and aquaculture contributes to that image change.
 Tourist-fisherman conviviality enhances the social image of fishery activities thus raising the cultural value of coastal communities associated to traditional fisheries.
 Recovery of cultural and ethnographic aspects of fishing communities at risk of extinction.
3. Economic aspects
 Fishing tourism does not contribute significantly to fishermen’s income.
 Stimulation of horizontal cooperation between fisheries and tourism sector.
 FLAG activities encourage cooperation among cofradías.
 Tourist activity in summer overlaps with the close season for some species thus favouring the capture of other species.
 Generational replacement in the fisheries sector is stimulated by a higher social value.
4. Institutional aspects
 The bottom-up design of fishing tourism in Galicia reveals social interest in fishing tourism activities.
 No legislation in Galicia covering requirements for both social liability insurance for tourists and the types of vessel allowed to be engaged in this activity.
 Lack of support and coordination between public administrations and fisheries sector.
 Institutional imbalance in the sense that there is a European regulation for fisheries but not for tourism.

and fishermen. The creation of spaces shared with aquaculture
activities opens also a positive scenario, helping to unify the social
perception of fishing jobs and the handling of marine resources.
Furthermore, the recovery of the anthropological and cultural as-
pects of fisheries represents a double value for coastal communities
because it helps fishermen to identify with their own history and to
preserve their intangible heritage, apparently at risk, in view of the
fact that museums only preserve cultural material elements.
Concerning the economic aspects (see Table 7, part 3), there is a
growing stimulation of the horizontal cooperation between the
fishery and tourism sectors. Furthermore, managers state that even
though fishing tourism does not contribute significantly to fisher-
men’s income, the overlapping of tourism with the close season of
certain species allows for the recovery of some income and, at the
same time, for the capture of species with less commercial value or
for the use of traditional fishing gear (such as the bottom longline in
Sicily) (Cillari et al., 2012).
In relation to the institutional aspects (see Table 7, part 4), it can
be said that a bottom-up approach was used in the design and
development of the Galician projects, that is to say, from fishermen
communities to public administrations, according to EU guidelines.
In this regard, it is important to highlight the importance of the
different stakeholders involved in the design of the projects
participating in the study. In Spain they were the only ones with a
bottom-up development.
It is also important to underline the coincidence of project
managers and fishermen in their criticism of Galician and Spanish
public administrations regarding the limited support and the lack
of specific regulations, unlike other European countries such as
Italy (La Camera dei Deputati ed il Senato della Repubblica Italiana,
2006). Concerning the legal status in Galicia, the only regulation
that exists is the 2009 Galician Fisheries law (Comunidad
Auto
noma de Galicia, 2010) that merely defines fishing tourism
as marine tourism and its occupational group in articles 112 and
113, but nothing is said about the requirements for engaging in this
activity such as civil liability insurance, and the characteristics of
fishing vessels which can develop the activity. Both project man-
agers and fishermen consider that the Administration’s lack of in-
terest is the main cause of the reduced vessel number participating
in fishing tourism.
6. Conclusions
Given the fact that the aim of this study was to determine the
relevance of fishing tourism in the development of fishing com-
munities in Galicia in accordance with the CFP guidelines, it can be
concluded that fishermen’s negative practices and attitudes as well
as society’s negative perception of maritime culture and fisheries
are beginning to change. In addition, FLAG managers’ opinions
revealed that this new tourist product is transforming attitudes and
values of all the parties involved. Because of the improvement in
fishermen’s environmental awareness, the social value and image
of fishermen’s tasks are beginning to be seen in a new light.
Another conclusion that can be drawn from the results of this
study is that fishing tourism is an attractive supply for tourists who
had already chosen a coastal destination combining fishing with
sun and beach tourism. Knowing about and participating in fishing
activities on board boats revealed a potential tourism market niche.
Finding new participative activities and quality elements for
tourism could motivate this type of tourist.
It can also be concluded that fishing tourism projects are viewed
by the artisanal fishing communities as a way of diversifying ac-
tivities during the summer months and as a source of additional
income thus justifying their interest in engaging in these projects.
It can be stated that horizontal cooperation between tourism
and fishing is a good contribution to the local development of the
fishing communities. Under better economic conditions, young
people would consider employment in the sector more attractive.
Last but not least, changes in the way Spanish and Galician
administrations handle fishing tourism projects are needed. They
must increase their support for these projects (by matching the
support provided by European institutions) and promulgate spe-
cific legislation in order to facilitate the development of fishing
tourism along the Galician coast line.
Acknowledgments
This study was made possible thanks to the collaboration of
ERENEA team and the financial support from the University of Vigo
(Filgueira Valverde Chair, 2010), FEDER, Xunta de Galicia (GRC2014/
022) and Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (ECO2014-
52412-R). We would like to thank all fishermen and FLAG managers
involved for their contributions and help.
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