Aveiro is a city of fishing. From the harbour the fishermen went to fish to the shores of Africa and South America, furthermore was extracted salt from sea water, and this made the city the richest in the country. Later, after several storms, the harbour became shallow. Since fishing was the main income of the population, the city is almost extinct. In the early nineteenth century was dug channel that connected the lagoon to the sea, and slowly the town was restored. But the volume of fishing were no longer as large as before.

About the history of navigation in Aveiro, fishing can be found in the Maritime Museum, which is located in Ílhavo. Maritime Museum of Ílhavo was founded on 8 August 1937. The exposure of this unique Museum will tell visitors about the history of fishing in Aveiro, about fishermen, cod fishing, collecting shells and seaweed. On the ground floor there is a hall dedicated to all things related to cod fishing, and a room devoted to fisheries in General in the lagoon. The highlight of this exhibition is a life-size boat to fish for cod. Visitors can climb aboard to look at the tools for fishing and to imagine the life of people who spent long months at sea. The collection, which is devoted to the lagoon RIA de Aveiro, also exhibited a variety of boat life-size and other exhibits that tell about fishing and other activities in the lagoon.

In addition to the two permanent exhibitions, the Museum has a hall dedicated to the Portuguese explorers and representatives of the Maritime profession, and a hall, which presents an extensive collection of shells. The Museum also hosts temporary exhibits, which tell about the development of fishing on the coast of Portugal since the late nineteenth century and ending Hohm.