Guided Visit to the Agurtza Boat Museum in Santurtzi

The Agurtza Boat Museum is a wooden fishing vessel built in 1968 at the Murelaga shipyards in Lekeitio. After decades of fishing in the Cantabrian Sea and distant waters, it was saved from scrapping by Santurtzi and converted into an Interpretation Centre for Fishing Techniques. It is the only vessel of its kind open to visitors in Biscay, and is part of the European Route of Industrial Heritage and the Basque Industrial Tourism Network. Guided visits take visitors through the interior of the boat, covering two fishing techniques: purse seine fishing for catching live bait, and rod fishing for northern albacore tuna. The tour also explores daily life aboard: the role of the txos or cabin boys, the work of the engineer, and the captain's bridge from which the skipper directed the vessel. Onshore, the essential work done by women — unloading, net repair, cleaning and selling the catch — is also brought to light. The boat is moored on Santurtzi's seafront promenade, between the fishing harbour and the Bizkaia Bridge, with views over the Abra Bay. A natural stop on any itinerary along the Biscay coast.