The Maritime Backyards of Póvoa de Varzim

In order to improve their professional activity, fishermen have developed special methods and procedures for organising the space of their maritime territory. This proposal presents some of these practices, based on the specific case of the fishing community of Póvoa de Varzim, a town on the north coast of Portugal.Over the years, each fishing family has developed mental maps of the “seas”, creating original lexicon and toponymy to identify certain places and their different characteristics, while simultaneously producing a remarkable intangible heritage. Together with the productive transformations that were characteristic of industrialisation, traditional fishing methods have also gradually changed, incorporating the use of electronic navigation devices and other mechanisms for the detection of marine resources. In this way, the sea has begun to be mapped digitally through an informal system of “maritime backyards” that divide the space according to the fishing gear used. The aim of this proposal is to incorporate the “maritime backyards” method for creating a typology of nurseries according to the morphology of the territory and its ecosystems, restoring the biodiversity and the submerged landscapes and reducing the impact of the climate changes on the marine habitats. The proposal gives also visibility to practices and territories that are normally absent in representations of places. All of these applied methods and the ability of territorialize the sea were learned through various experiences with various fishermen from traditional and contemporary fishing.