Port of Vigo located in Vigo

Vigo

Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...

, Pontevedra

Pontevedra (province)

Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Galicia...

, Galicia, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 is the biggest fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 in the world and one of the busiest in transportation. It is also home of the world's largest fishing company, Pescanova

Pescanova

Pescanova Alimentación, S.A. is a Spanish fishing company based in Redondela, Galicia. Its base of operations is the port of Vigo.The Pescanova Group operates in 21 countries with approximately 3,400 employees...

. In 2008, unloaded fish reached 751,971 tonnes.

Vigo is the base for the big fishing companies which have prominent presence in countries such Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 and Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, among others. Fish is sent all over Spain and abroad to countries like Portugal, Italy, France and other more distant markets including Asia.

In Vigo, important international trade fairs are held, like Conxemar, an annual event dedicated to frozen fish products. The World Fishing Exhibition

World Fishing Exhibition

World Fishing Exhibition is an exhibition dedicated to the fishing industry that celebrates every 6 years.-2009:World Fishing Exhibition Vigo 2009 will be held from the 16 to 19 September 2009 at the IFEVI Exhibition Center, Cotogrande, Vigo, Spain...

 takes place periodically .

History

The shipbuilding tradition begins in to the early Twentieth century, with the appearance of the first small steam fishing boats. One of these early models, known as the “Vigo type steamer” was very popular all around the coast of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 and North Africa. Hundreds of this type were built.

Another decisive moment of development was in the 1960s, when the new freezer trawlers, which revolutionised the fishing industry, were first built. Vigo shipyards have always been leaders in the field of fishing vessels and a constant point of reference.

Parts

In order from south to north:

• Bouzas: divided between ro-ro traffic and shipyards for the repair of vessels.
• Beiramar and O Berbés: for fishing vessels.
• Transatlantic dock.
• Marina dock for yachts (these last three are by the city center).
• O Areal: commercial general and fluid goods freighting, 1500 meters long with a railway connection.
• Guixar: for handling containers, 769 meters long with a railway connection.

Beyond this point, shipyards and fishing ships docks could be found (Pescanova

Pescanova

Pescanova Alimentación, S.A. is a Spanish fishing company based in Redondela, Galicia. Its base of operations is the port of Vigo.The Pescanova Group operates in 21 countries with approximately 3,400 employees...

dock among them).

External links

• Vigo Port - Port of Vigo website
• Port Authority of Vigo