Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ocean and Coastal Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman Enhancing of the cultural fishing heritage and the development of tourism: A case study in Isla Cristina (Spain) Celeste Jiménez de Madariaga a,* , Juan José García del Hoyo b a Departamento de Historia, Geografía y Antropología; Universidad de Huelva, Campus del Carmen, 21071, Huelva, Spain b Departamento de Economía; Universidad de Huelva, Campus de La Merced, 21071, Huelva, Spain 1. Introduction Fishing has been linked to humanity since its origins, influencing the ways of life and world-view of the societies dedicated primarily to this practice. Fishing is defined not only as the act of obtaining fish for consumption, but also as a way of understanding life, interacting with one another, and co-habiting with one's natural environment. In other words, fishing touches all aspects of culture. It generates a whole set of knowledge, skills, and techniques that are passed down from one gen- eration to the next. Fishing also entails the creation of, for example, specific instruments, devices, gear, and tools, and it favours the de- velopment of other closely-related activities. All this implies that fishing is something that characterises society as a whole. When we speak of fishing societies and the culture of fishing, we speak of Cultural Fishing Heritage. Over time, certain elements that make up our culture are selected as being representative of it. These elements we now call cultural heritage. They are elements that symbolically identify a particular village or group of people, and that act as differentiating factors to distinguish them from other villages or groups. We call them “identity markers”. Most coastal people have been characterised by their dependence on the sea. The sea is their primary economic resource and communication channel. Therefore, each fishing community, while culturally per- meated by fishing, acquires differentiating nuances that act as heritage identity markers, and it is precisely these identity markers, whether intentionally or unintentionally, that come to characterise them. On some occasions, local governments have developed “patrimonialisa- tion” or the process by which these identity markers are protected and disseminated, but their legitimacy goes beyond cultural policies to where citizens' awareness, and their actions and participation have become fundamental (Sharina Abdul Halim, Ong Puay Liu, 2011). Thus, fishing heritage includes identity markers common to all fishing vil- lages, as well as markers that are unique to each village, but it is the latter that stand out especially. Heritage markers have an interweaving effect on people's lifestyles and daily activities regardless of their pa- trimonialisation, and they, in and of themselves, can become not only cultural, but economic resources. In recent decades, the effects of globalisation in developed countries have led to a visible transformation of fishing as an economic activity, sometimes reducing its profitability. Communities that traditionally devoted themselves to fishing, strongly influencing their culture by doing so, have succumbed to other activities, mainly tourism. There is no doubt that tourism has spread worldwide to the extent of being transversal to any other type of activity, and in many countries, in- cluding Spain, it is one of the leading drivers of the economy (Martindale, 2014). The acceptance of this economic potential has led, or is leading, to increased attention being paid to heritage in general, and fishing heritage in particular. This is leading to studies and actions aimed at fostering elements typical of the fishing culture as a tourist resource (Doyon, 2015). At a local level, the yield of the fishing heritage as a tourist resource can become counter-productive for the fishing sector itself and related activities that attempt to compensate for its decline. It can also increase its added value to promote the sustain- ability of fishing and boost the survival of the sector without changing cultural habits, customs, and lifestyles (Urquhart and Acott, 2013). What is more, it can help people to become aware of the cultural value of fishing, and thus contribute to maintaining their identity (Claesson, 2011; Urquhart et al., 2011). Fishing takes place in very specific environments: coastal or river- side areas. The location determines the type of habitat and activities that can be carried out in these areas, and the communities that settle here are different from those dedicated to other productive activities. But this environmental determinism is not sufficient to explain the layout of fishing communities. There are historical and political rea- sons, too. Not to mention human interaction with the environment, which also inevitably alters things. In short, a great many factors play a part in defining fishing communities. Naturally, fishing societies live along the coast, although the forms that their populations take and the place where they are located differ depending on their geographical, historical, and political conditions. A unique landscape has been created around them. Humanity has changed its environment to suit its activities, not only for the con- struction of houses, but also for specific installations such as piers, lighthouses, canning factories, chancas (fish salting factory), lonjas (fish https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.10.023 Received 27 October 2017; Received in revised form 29 September 2018; Accepted 28 October 2018 * Corresponding author. Facultad de Humanidades, 21071 Huelva, Spain. E-mail address: celeste@uhu.es (C. Jiménez de Madariaga). Ocean and Coastal Management 168 (2019) 1–11 0964-5691/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T