1. project background / problems & challenges

Coastal fishing is not only a cultural asset, but also provides both inhabitants and guests of our country with fresh fish caught just off our coast. The fishermen and their cutters still shape some of the small coastal ports and make them interesting for tourists.

So the direct sale of fish or self-produced products to the consumer is not only an opportunity for the fishermen to improve their economic situation. While the fisherman receives a fair price for his work, the customer can enjoy fresh, regional food of high quality, with transparent origins - and an authentic shopping experience. If the sale takes place directly from the cutter, the business enlivens the entire port and allows other local business people to benefit as well. Last but not least, a lively harbour makes the whole town attractive.

So far, however, it is usually only individual fishermen who sell directly in the harbours, and the sales locations and times are often only known to insiders - usually locals. The sale of fish could become a real tourist attraction if there were a fixed date, several fishermen selling at the same time and offering a wider range of products and possibly other offers. This is shown by the many examples of other successful fish markets around the world - whether in Hamburg, Seattle or in the small coastal towns of Schleswig-Holstein.

After all, a fish market is not only a very old way of successfully marketing its fresh products directly. Weekly markets have also experienced a renaissance in recent years. The suppliers get to where the customers are with their fresh products. And the customers, for their part, like to make their way to the market, where they find choice and atmosphere.

A regular fish market in the port could also be an impulse for a revision of the port concept, but first of all for a specific promotion of the small ports, whose potential is not fully exploited in many places. The first important step is to create berths or places on land where fish can be marketed directly. Rarely are the ports optimally used from a tourism point of view.

2. project aims

• making small coastal ports more attractive and revitalising them and exploiting their tourist potential
• Strengthening small-scale regional coastal fishing and port-related businesses
• Increase of regional added value
• contribution to the preservation of the historical cultural asset "fisheries" and the maritime economy associated with it
• image enhancement for the respective communities and regions as "fishermen villages"

3. aims & expected project results

• Establishment of fish markets in the southern Baltic Sea region, which take place regularly in various coastal places.
• Marketing of small coastal ports in the southern Baltic Sea and support for the distribution of small fishing enterprises' products
• Strengthening the image as a traditional fishing region and the associated maritime heritage of small-scale regional coastal fishing
• Integration of tourism offers on the markets to enhance there image and added value
• Development of maritime tourism offers related to coastal fishing
• Diversification of the offer of small coastal fishing enterprises & improvement of the income situation with additional tourism products
• Revival of a traditional and sustainable fish cuisine in the gastronomy
• Lobbying on European fisheries policy to strengthen sustainable small-scale coastal fishing

4. work packages and activities & outputs

4.1 Work package 3 - Establishing fish markets and making small fishing ports more attractive

Benchmark analysis:

• Analysis and benchmarking of existing fishing events and related tourism offers in the self-service area
• Analysis of success factors and collection of transferable concepts
• Search for best practices in other coastal zones in Europe

Study trips:

• enable project partners to make study visits to fish markets and heritage sites to learn from best practices of local initiatives for fisheries events
• professional exchange (target group: municipalities, port managers)

Network construction / clustering:

• Definition of suitable locations for fish markets
• Acquisition of the fishermen and possibly other traders
• Initiation of cooperation with local and regional tourism managers

Planning of fish markets & concepts to make the ports more attractive:

• Common framework concept for the establishment of fish markets and profile building of the markets, e.g.
  
  • Sale of primary products ex boat
  • onshore sales of processed home-made fish from the region
  • onshore sale of traditional maritime crafts related to fishing
  • Definition of time periods, weekdays and times, frequency
• Preparation of port concepts for small coastal ports / fishing ports to make them more attractive and enhance their tourist value >> Integration of fish markets into port concepts
• Development of common quality criteria and a quality assurance concept for the fish markets, e.g.
  
  • Quality criteria for traders / fish sales (ex boat, from the region, home-made or organic)
  • Quality of the marketplace
  • Stand design
  • Hygiene requirements
• Development of site-related concepts for the organisation of fish markets in the southern Baltic Sea region (time planning, organisation and process planning, logistics, responsibilities)
• Implementation planning for each individual location and development of tourist offers / event programmes at the fish markets, e.g:
  
  • guided tour of the fish market with tasting
  • Show cooking & show filleting
  • cultural programme (music, walking acts, programme for children ...)
  • exhibitions
• Operator concept for the transfer of fish markets to municipal operators
• Search for a long-term operator

Implementation of the fish markets and evaluation:

• Pilot event of the fish markets / test phase
• Evaluation of the first test phase >> lessons learned
• Adaptation strategies for the future organisation of fish markets

Guide for the organisation of fish markets:

Publication of a joint guide (incl. best practice examples of the partners and checklists) on the planning and implementation of fish markets for the revitalisation of small coastal ports as tourist highlights.

4.2 Work package 4 ‐ Capacity development: Small-scale coastal fishing as a potential for tourism development

• Information and training offers for:
  
  • restaurants/service personnel -> traditional fish cuisine
  • Municipal personnel & tourism actors -> attractive ports
  • Fishermen & service provider -> Provision of tourist services
• Development of information and further training offers for catering businesses/service personnel regarding sustainable fish cuisine (seasonality of fish, preparation possibilities of by-catch etc.)
  
  • Implementation of courses on sustainable fish cuisine and communication to the guest
  • Publication of information material for restaurants on sustainable fish cuisine
• Inspiration book: "Increasing direct sales of fresh fish on regional markets
• Development of new offers/services:
  
  • Implementation of product development workshops and one-on-one meetings with fishermen, tourism service providers and special tour operators to develop offers
  • Development of tourist offers around the topic of fish, e.g:
    
    • "fish-friendly fishing courses"
    • Guided tour of fishing cooperatives / smokehouses incl. tasting
    • Fish cooking courses
    • Fishing trips with a fishing cutter etc.

Thematic cycling and walking tours including visits to small fishing ports (fishing)museum and gastronomy

4.3 Work package 5 - "Follow the fish" - Identity and image development based on fishing heritage

• Development and implementation of a marketing strategy (regional & international) to promote the fish markets
• Joint (international) marketing, which uses the fish markets and the cultural asset "small-scale coastal fishing" as an image factor:
  
  • tourism marketing
    
    • Marketing of new tourism offers / offer catalogue or flyer
  • Image campaigns "Cultural heritage small-scale coastal fishing"
    
    • Presentation of the fishing industry in the context of location marketing
  • Establishment of an online platform and publication of regional brochures to promote small fishing enterprises along the southern Baltic Sea coast (with reference to waters & port locations including information on fish offers (species), fish shops, berths and opening hours) >> in languages of the southern Baltic Sea region + English (fish-purchasing-guides and image brochures to present the fishing industry in the regions)
  • Creation of an image film
  • Development of a cookbook on sustainable fish cuisine in the southern Baltic Sea region (traditional fish recipes from the regions / from the fisherman, seasonal recipes etc.) in connection with maritime travel tips to the region
  • Visualization of the fishing heritage and installations in the port areas -> Infopionts/Information boards

5. project partners

Germany:

• University of Greifswald, Institute of Geology and Geography (Lead Partner)
• Tourism Association Vorpommern e.V.
• Economic Development Corporation Vorpommern mbH
• Hiddenseer Kutterfischer e.V.
• Landesverband der Kutter- und Küstenfischer Mecklenburg-Vorpommern e.V.

Poland:

• West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Faculty of Food Sciences and Fisheries
• UstkaTown Municipality
• Municipality of Darłowo
• Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship

Lithuania:

• Administration of Šilutes District Municipality

Associated Partner:

Poland:

• Mieleńska FLAG - Fishing Local Action Group
• Darłowska Fish Producers Group and the Shipowners' Fishing Boat
• The Port Authority of Darlowo limited liability company

Contact:

Lead Partner:

University of Greifswald
Institute of Geography
Betina Meliss
Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Straße 17a
17487 Greifswald

Phone:  +49.3834.864541
E-Mail: meliss@uni-greifswald.de
Web:    https://geo.uni-greifswald.de/wisogeo

regional partners:

Economic Development Corporation Vorpommern mbH
Karen Szemacha
Brandteichstraße 20
17489 Greifswald

Phone: +49 (0) 3834 550-607
Fax: +49 (0) 3834 550-551
E-Mail: szemacha@invest-in-vorpommern.de
Internet: www.invest-in-vorpommern.de

Tourism Association Vorpommern e.V.
Sven Köppert
Fischstraße 11
17489 Greifswald

Phone: +49 (0) 3834 8910
Fax: +49 (0) 3834 891 555
E-Mail: koeppert@vorpommern.de