Fish&Ship

A Journey of Evolution

ORIGINS

Biscayne, Biscay, Bay of Biscay, ships, adventures, fishing, survival, seafarers, all these words and the concepts that they represent are closely linked to the spirit of Fish & Ship, to the sea , to a land and to a tradition of centuries of ship building and struggling to make a living out of the sea.

The origins can be traced back to the 12th century, when the need to survive led to the building of the first small sailing ships, which were used to hunt and fish the Balaena Biscayensis (Bay of Biscay whale).
Those intrepid fishermen in their small whaling ships sailed off to fish the waters of Galicia, Ireland, Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Newfoundland and Labrador. Whaling was therefore the driving force behind ship building and wood boatbuilding in the Basque Country.

Ship building and wood boatbuilding developed over time: The 16th and 17th centuries were mainly dedicated to building cod fishing boats and the 18th century to vessels for sardine fishing.
The gales in the Bay of Biscay and commercial requirements led to more modern, seagoing vessels being developed. Developments which resulted in the modern tuna fishing boats that trawl the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, remaining at sea for weeks, in their search for the prized tuna.
It is these tuna fishing boats, given their extraordinary performance at sea, their comfort and their perfect, unique line, that inspired Fish & Ship to produce the Biscaynes.