Fishing in the shipwrecks

Several elements of the permanent collection in the Marea, Museum of Seafaring memory related to the shipwrecks in the estuary of Muros-Noia. Some are obvious relics such as shipwrecks, awards, medals or diplomas to shipwreck rescuers. There is even a plate from the boiler of the steamship Horatio (01/06/1904).

But undoubtedly, a unique treasure are the so-called “fishing mark books” and the map of the sea names of this rich Galician estuary. The notebooks or “derroteiros” are manuscripts dating back to the 1950s in which the skippers of the boats noted the places where they fished. These documents are, therefore, very rich in thalassomine information (maritime toponymy), proving the deep knowledge of natural resources by artisanal fishermen.

These notes were very rare before the 20th century due to the illiteracy of the seafaring people, although they were usually written in Galician, since traditional knowledge was transmitted orally in this language.