The harbour of l’Estartit

In the port of L’Estartit you will find different boats: motor and sailing pleasure boats for sailors, glass-bottomed cruisers, boats for divers and artisanal fishing boats.

Today, L’Estartit is a tourist town, but there are still artisanal fishing boats. Artisanal fishing is the most respectful of the seabed. It uses traditional fishing gear such as:

• The asa, a trap where the fish are caught attracted by the bait.
• The palangre, a system with hooks of different sizes and types of bait.
• The trasmallo, formed by three nets of different thickness.

Built between the sea and the mountain, the houses of L’Estartit have suffered for years, from sea storms and the flooding of the River Ter.

The first houses were built on the side of the mountain. They protected themselves from the force of the sea with a dike made of stones along the shore.

The town grew thanks to the fishing grounds, suitable places for fishing, and the decline of piracy.

At the beginning of the 18th century, fishermen settled in L’Estartit and left their boats on the beach.

In the middle of the 20th century, the first breakwater was built to protect the population from sea storms. This was the beginning of the current port. It was near the remains of the circular defence tower, built when there were still pirates. Past this tower is the last breakwater of the current port.
Today, only artisanal fishermen from L’Estartit can fish around the Medes Islands marine reserve.
At Espai Medes, you can discover the exciting world of the natural reserve of the Medes Islands.