Fishing tourism and sustainability in the Canary Islands, Spain

Abstract

Fishing tourism is an activity that has shown great potential to improve the living conditions of fishing populations, reduce the pressure on fishery resources and singularize the tourism offer of coastal tourist destinations. However, its adequate formulation requires strategies for the participation of the different groups of agents involved in the activity. In addition, the incorporation of fishermen as tourism service providers would require the development of training and awareness strategies. From an ethnographic approach, this paper analyses the possibilities and limitations for the development of fishing tourism in the Canary Islands, after the approval of Law 15/2019 of 2 May of the Canary Islands Fishing, showing the perceptions of professional fishermen about the barriers and potentialities of the incorporation of traditional fishing to the list of tourist experiences in the Canary Islands