A viable initiative to boost the fishing industry in coastal communities.

The main objective of this project is to contribute toward the sustainable development of fishing communities in the city of Paraty, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. This initiative promotes the use of net tanks, which provides the fishermen with a significant opportunity to increase their income in a direct relationship or partnership with the local network of restaurants to which they supply their catch.

The net tanks made available by the IAB to the fishermen are 26.4 x 26.4 x 6.56 feet (8 x 8 x 2 m). They function as submerged storage for the fishers' catch. The net tanks themselves eliminate the need for ice and other related storage costs and also prevent the fish from spoiling before they arrive to their venues of sale, especially over great distances.

These net tanks afford restaurants the comfort and guarantee that they are purchasing a better, fresher, quality product. The fishermen, in turn, may obtain a better price for their product while decreasing operational costs and increasing their income as a result.

In the very year of its creation the Seabass Project received the Von Martius Award, in the humanities category: an initiative of the Brazil-Germany Chamber of Commerce for the recognition of endeavors conceived to boost cultural and socio-economic development, with an emphasis on respecting the environment.