The project has been promoted by the lead partner “La Mancomunidad de las V Villas”, an administrative organisation located in the centre of Asturias, in the north of Spain. Within the Project are four other partners from four European Countries located in the Atlantic Area: the Municipality of Pont Scorff (France), the South West Regional Authority, SWRA (Ireland), the Rural Cantabrian Network (Spain) and the Westcountry Rivers Trust (England, United Kingdom).

The project was approved under the call for proposals of Interreg IIIB in 2003 and has a total budget of 1,269 968 euros – 58.39% co-financed by the EDRF funds.

The present project aims to achieve, through trans-regional co-operation among all the participating territories, the following objectives:

1) The exchange of knowledge and experiences on strategies of sustainable development and out of season tourism, with special emphasis on initiatives to promote fishing as a sport.

2) To train professionals who can take care of visitors and tourists, as well as fishermen and their families.

3) To promote private initiatives and the creation of integral tourist packages.

4) To promote sustainable tourist development:

5) To identify and evaluate comparatively the socio economic impact of game fishing in the different participant river basins, taking into consideration its respective natural, economic, tourist and cultural contexts.

6) To improve the management and operation of fluvial resources.

7) To collect and exchange comparable documents so as to improve management and secure complete and updated information.

8) To raise the awareness of local communities of the natural heritage of their regions, pointing out its economic and cultural value as a tourist attraction, whilst promoting an attitude of conservation and protection of the environment.

9) To promote the image of quality tourism in salmon areas of the Atlantic.

In order to accomplish these objectives the project will implement in 2004 and 2005 the following actions within the partner areas:

a) Study visits and exchange of experiences, the creation of management structures for the project, with the participation of local authorities, members of tourist associations, fishermen, and representatives from companies and youth organisations.

b) Training courses for Professional Fishing Guides as well as for Environmental River Monitors.

c) Assessment of the economic impact of game fishing within each area.

d) A comparative study of sustainable management models of salmon water fishing to identify a common model based on the best practices.

e) The design and preparation of a Geographic Information System (GIS) of the salmon areas.

f) The preparation and distribution of common materials which promote environmental awareness and tourism, including the creation of a web page for the project.

g) The development of pilot projects which explain and highlight the value of salmon resources (environmental and tourist signposting of salmon footpaths and the provision of materials for didactic lessons).

h) Workshops on the creation of integral tourist packages.

i) The distribution of results and Final Conference.