Since ancient times, fishing activities have been a part of Portugal’s daily life. Because of the country’s extensive coastline and reasonably sized river basins, fishing has been of the utmost importance to the subsistence of Portuguese people and has played a key role in the economy. In the past, Catholicism had a great influence in the regulation of the day-to-day life of the population. The religious calendar imposed a significant number of days of fast, in which consumption of meat was forbidden, but fish was allowed. Thus, the country’s cuisine adapted to this reality. This explains why Portugal is ranked as one of the top consumers of fish, per capita, worldwide.
Fishing in Portugal has a very significant traditional component. Throughout the coastal areas, several different types of fishing boats were developed, adapting to local characteristics. Most of these fishing crafts were artisanal in nature, leading to very curious aspects in them. Portuguese traditional boats also distinguished themselves in distant-water fishing, particularly cod fishing on the banks of Newfoundland. Cod became one of the key products of the Portuguese diet.
The Maritime Museum has a remarkable collection of models of fishing vessels, most of them belonging to the Seixas Collection. Model makers from the Seixas workshop traveled around the country in order to collect data on different types of vessels, so that their models could be as detailed as possible, with some even including the vessel’s registration number.