In Honour of the Fish has been described as a by-catch of REFITOUR. With the fishermens’ scepticism towards the REFITOUR visions, the project developed a side vision: instead of inviting visitors on board, and trying to make a living from them at the same time as having a dialogue with them, the vision was to build a ‘harbour in the harbour’ where visitors could meet the fishermen, learn how to filet and prepare fish, and perhaps be invited on a (free) fishing trip. The REFITOUR vessel "Anton" was integrated in this project by arriving and departing from the same wharf where the ‘harbour’ was placed.

The project was developed in a strictly national, Danish context, and was financed by the Danish Strukturdirektorat, but the ideas might be readily exportable to other European fishing harbours.

During the preparational phase of REFITOUR, and while discussing with the fishermen their willingness to invite tourists onboard, it was clear that a number of fishermen would highly appreciate a chance to meet their customers face to face, as they consider themselves the best salesmen of fresh fish after all. The fishermen wanted to show that they were conscientious inhabitants of a society, and that their fishery was not the criminal, exploitive affair that the public seemed to believe. Further, they found it more practically feasible to meet the tourists on land, discuss with them there and, if they found them fit for fishing, then invite them as guests on the fishing vessels.

In Denmark the coastal fishing has decreased radically over the past 30 years. The Danish people eat very little fish, compared to other European countries. The people behind In Honour of the Fish explained this as a result of low quality, high prices, old fashioned distribution, little popular knowledge of how to prepare fish, the short fishing season, and poor recognition of the fish trade. In Denmark some fishing harbours traditionally have one day a year where they arrange "The day of the fish". Here people get to taste fish dishes, and the fishermen have a day off to talk to the visitors in their harbour. In Honour of the Fish was an adaptation of this tradition.

The project wanted, through the direct contact between fisherman and consumer, to initiate an event or development that would strengthen and secure the sustainability of the diverse Danish coastal fishery, with the ultimate goal being to convince the consumer of the benefits of buying fish. As a precondition for this, the consumers needed to learn about fish of high quality and easy ways to prepare that fish. Through this it could be expected that the consumers would start posing new demands regarding various consumer aspects regarding fish, and as a result the nature of fish distribution would have to undergo positive change. At the same time, the nature of fishermen would have a change to see that the public and the consumers are really interested in getting to know them and their fish. And in the end this contact might result in the fishermen posing new demands towards their organisations, concerning the distribution of fresh fish in Denmark and Northern Europe.

The project was implemented in two of the six REFITOUR weeks, from 14 July until 25 July 1997. In the first week a 'harbour in the harbour' was established in Grenå; during the second it moved to Bønnerup. In each harbour four vessels and their crews, apart from "Anton", were actively involved. The ‘harbour in the harbour’ was, of course, the wharf from where the boats departed and where they later landed their fish. On the wharf, a fish kitchen, a large grill, a tent for debates, a tent for exhibitions, and a number of tables, where people could filet the fish, were set up. During the day the fishermen would instruct the customers in how to filet the fish, and if interested people could visit the fishing vessels. The filets were prepared on the grill, and eaten with a green salad and bread from the kitchen. While working with the fish, fishermen and consumers would discuss subjects such as fish quality, prices, fishing methods, second economy fish, seasons, species, local dishes, and everyday life of the fishermen. These days lasted from 8 am until 6 pm, and during the two weeks approximately 5,000 people had an interesting talk and/or got a delicious lunch in the setting.

The tent for debates was less filled than was expected, as most of the invited politicians and officials could not attend because of their summer holiday. Nevertheless, the project received widespread publicity, and every day press releases were sent to 25 recipients. The project also gave rise to a few constructive political discussions on what to do with the rigged out vessels, and, from the side of the fishermens' organisation, what to do about the poor fish distribution in Denmark. A number of fishermen from other harbours visited the project to see what was going on, and they all agreed that this was a good substitute for their traditional fish days, where the visitors would play a more passive role. Therefore, the project has been adopted by a number of Danish harbours, that will arrange this kind of meeting between fishermen and consumers in 1998.

The performance of the two test projects at the same time gives a unique opportunity to compare the two visions: to invite people on board to show them the fishery in action, and/or to concentrate on the harbour as such, and let possibilities arise from the contacts that are established there. It seems quite clear that the active fishermen prefer to talk to people on the wharf, to tell about their fishery and to discuss the onland conditions of the fishery sector. In addition, the owners of the vessels apparently prefer to get a first hand impression of their potential visitors onboard - before inviting them. The chosen visitors had a truely authentic impression of the Danish fishery, departing at 4 am, there being only one or two guests on board, and following the fishing as it would happen, as if they were not on board. During the two weeks these tours were free, but under market conditions, they would be relatively expensive. So the tourists' interest has not really been investigated. The mayor in Grenå expressed interest in being able to invite the city's guests on a fishing trip. Thus the target group will propably be primarily people who are professionally interested in the Danish fishery, e.g. biologists, authorities, teachers.

From the fishermens' perspective the In Honour of the Fish vision seems most acceptable. But what about the visitors? The harbour naturally opened room for a vast number of people. But this activity demands a lot of man hours, and together with the food, it is also a rather expensive affair if arranged on market conditions. Still, it seems that the Danish consumers will get the offer once a year in a number of Denmark’s fishing harbours. The target group here will mainly be national. The number of tourists actually being invited on the active fishermens' vessels is small, and these trips are definitely not for children. Therefore, another vision is needed if the tourists in general are to get a chance to experience the fishing.

The educated guides were not part of the fishing trips under the Honour of the Fish. They were present at the wharf where they could show a few things about the sea's ecology. But the real educational content of the seaward tourism, propably needs an educated person to tell about the smaller organisms in the sea, about the feeding and breeding habits of the fish etc.

Thus the project In Honour of the Fish was a vision that included the fishermens' wishes, and that created room for a very direct contact between fishermen and the rest of the society. In contrast, REFITOUR was a tourism project, with an intention to show the fishery sector new economical alternatives. In Honour of the Fish created possibilities for the involved fishermen to do things that they themselves had expressed their wish to do, whereas REFITOUR tried to market a solution that the fishery sector had not itself asked for. According to the project coordinator, the fishermenÕs need to have contact with the surrounding society would not have been debated or proposed had it not been for the discussions connected with REFITOUR. Thus, the REFITOUR tourism project resulted in innovations with the Danish fishermens contact with their landsmen.

Propably the educational sector is the one developed the furthest in the direction of the REFITOUR vision. Both the fishery sector and the tourism sector will need time and experience to get used to the REFITOUR scenario. Without further initiative from the educational sector, and without supporting the vision in a longer preparational phase, it can still be said that the REFITOUR project has created the possibility for converting fishery into tourism, but it cannot be said to have implemented it - nor can one expect that the vision will be implemented by either the tourism or the fishery sector alone.