Participating in a fish-tourism holiday will give you a chance to learn about some of the fishing methods used most commonly in our country - a wonderful opportunity to learn a bit more about the fisherman's trade. And we want to prepare you for this by giving you some brief information about the various types of equipment used by the fish-tourism cooperatives you'll find on this site.

In Campania, Liguria, Sardinia, Sicily, Emilia Romagna and Lazio, you can participate in a fishing expedition with "GILLNETS", which are nets that are left out at sea while waiting for the moving fish to run into them and get gilled ("messed" or "tangled"). On a historic note, nets have changed very little since historic times. These are the most famous ones.

The "TRAMMELNET" is a very particular type of net, since it is dropped to the bottom to catch prized species like spin lobsters. It is composed of three nets with different-sized meshes: the fish enters easily through the first net, which has a larger mesh, it is "bagged" by the second one and the third one cuts off any means of escape.

The "SMALL DRIFT NET" is instead composed of a single net with a mesh that will vary in size depending on the species being fished. In this case, the fish is gilled with its head in the mesh and can't get out. Instead, the "POTS" found in Campania and Lazio are small traps made of wicker or nets mounted on wood and iron, and different types of bait are used depending on the species being fished. They are referred to as "mobile traps" because they are drawn aboard in order to take out the catch and then they are tossed back into the sea for more. They have a funnel-shaped opening or entrance and once they are dropped, the fish are attracted by the bait, enter and get trapped.

The "LONG LINE", known also as a PALAMITO or COFFA, uses hooks baited with natural or artificial bait that is bright or has a smell that entices the fish. Numerous hooks are set along a line at regular intervals and then dropped near the bottom (for hake), at a middle level or on the surface (for tuna), again depending on the type of fish to be caught. You can try this type of fishing in Liguria and Campania.

The "PURSE SEINE" is a surrounding net used on the surface. Its main feature is its large size, which is marked on the upper part by corks and floats, while the lower section has lasts. When a school of fish is sighted, the boat starts to circle around it, dropping the seine as it goes completely around the school. The lead line is then tightened to create a sac that is pulled aboard, full of fish. This type of fish-tourism can be tried with the cooperatives that work in Liguria and Campania.

Also in Campania, on the July and August nights you can participate in a highly unique catch: the TOTANARA. This is a line system and is distinguished by a special type of unbaited hook, the jig. Squid are attracted by the movement of the hook and by the bright lights dropped into the sea. The lines are dropped and monitored continuously by the fisherman. As soon as a squid bites, the fisherman starts to pull it up. The lines can be held by hand or with a fishing pole, and they are kept immobile while waiting for squid to bite or the fisherman might move or drag them to entice the predators to follow the bait.

To help fishermen catch Mediterranean mussels and striped venuses, you can go to Goro, in Emilia Romagna. You can go out to sea to gather shellfish, or you can participate in catches with dredges at the Goro inlet. This is a type of gear with teeth that scrapes the seabed and gathers the stripped venuses nesting in the silt, separating them from the sand or mud. The gear can be dragged on foot or directly from the boat.

If this brief overview hasn't satisfied your curiosity and you'd like more detailed information, you can visit the site www.federcoopesca.it/Iniziativa/. In the section entitled "Fishing", you'll find information and detailed charts on all the fishing methods used in Italy.