Aveiro is considered a city of fishing. From the harbor the fishermen went to fish on the shores of Africa and South America, also was mined salt from sea water, and it made the city the richest in the country. Later, after several storms, the harbor became shallow. Since fishing was the main income of the population, the city is almost extinct. At the beginning of the XIX century was dug canal, which connects the lagoon and the sea, and the city gradually recovered. But the volume of fishing has not been as large as before.

On the history of navigation in Aveiro, fishing can be found at the Maritime Museum, which is located in Ilhavo. Maritime Museum of Ilhavo was founded August 8, 1937. Exposure of this unique museum will tell visitors about the history of fishing in Aveiro, about fishermen, about cod fishing, collecting shells and algae. On the ground floor there is a hall dedicated to everything related to the fishing of cod, and a room devoted to fisheries in general, in the lagoon. The highlight of this exhibition is a life-size boat for catching cod. Visitors can climb aboard and look at tools for fishing and to the lives of people who spend long months at sea. The collection, which is dedicated to the lagoon of the Ria de Aveiro, also exhibited a variety of boats and other life-size exhibits that tell the story about fishing and other activities in the lagoon.

In addition to the two permanent exhibitions, the museum has more room, exhibition is devoted to the Portuguese Discoveries and representatives of maritime trade, and a hall, where there is an extensive collection of shells. Museum also hosts temporary exhibitions, which tell about the development of fishing on the coast of Portugal, since the end of the XIX century and ending HHIvekom.