NEWS
tuna route

A European project to enhance the bluefin tuna route by strengthening the synergies between this traditional fishing industry and other important sectors such as tourism, gastronomy and maritime sports, with the final objective of promoting, also from a tourism point of view, the territories touched by the routes of the "runner of the seas". The project is called Tuna Route, co-funded by Feamp, the European Maritime Fund, which involves 10 partners from 4 countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland) and brings together the public bodies of: Algarve in Portugal, Cadiz and the Balearic Islands in Spain, Carloforte (Sardinia) and Favignana (Sicily) in Italy using Feedback technical support, Palermo agency for communication, Oritek for the development of a web platform linked to bluefin tuna and My Week Charter, a nautical charter company which promotes sustainable tourism that respects marine ecosystems. The project was presented in Palermo, the regional tourism councilor, in the presence of all the project partners. The project´s coordinator is Iedt, the Institute for Employment and Technological and Socio-economic Development of the Cadiz regional government, assisted by Dalula Marine, an agency specialized in European projects dealing with maritime tourism and sustainable fisheries. .

Tuna Route will promote various initiatives and tools to involve the subjects that are part of the tuna supply chain (charter companies, ecotourism, sport fishing, restaurants, museums); there are several regional workshops for small and medium-sized local businesses, sailing charter itineraries, an integrated communication plan and the creation of a web portal, through which the tuna stakeholders will be able to sell their services. Tuna Route will end in December 2019.

"Since the Punic and Roman times - said Federico Cardona, Dalula´s project manager - tuna has been part of the culture of the Cadiz region and represents one of the main sources of employment and income for coastal communities. Today, our sea is home to the last four traditional fishing traps in Spain and is linked to a very active industry. Both in Cadiz and in Carloforte every year in May international events are held that aim to enhance the bluefin tuna, the Ruta del Atún and the Girotonno attracting quality tourism and innovation in times when the tourist inflow is usually lower. With the Tuna Route project we also expect to promote sustainable nautical tourism in these regions where the bluefin tuna is (like Carloforte and Cadiz) or was (like Favignana), very relevant from a socio-economic point of view. »

The Palermo meeting follows the first meeting between the partners that took place in Palma de Mallorca. In the coming months, workshops will be organized to involve new stakeholders interested in the project.