Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour is a commercial marina

Marina

A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....

 in Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...

 adjacent to the more recently constructed Challenger Harbour

Challenger Harbour

Challenger Harbour is a marina in Fremantle, Western Australia, adjacent to the Fishing Boat Harbour. Part of the harbour uses reclaimed land which once included the Fremantle Long Jetty. A stone breakwater protects the harbour from the ocean....

. It provides large sheltered mooring areas, wharf space for vessels up to 60 metres, refuelling facilities and support services to the Fremantle fishing industry.

History

The harbour was built in 1919 when a 300-metre breakwater was constructed to provide an anchorage for fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 vessels. South Jetty was immediately adjacent and included a fish market which was removed in 1929. A southern breakwater was constructed in 1962 and land reclaimed to house fishing companies and service industries. Between 1969 and 1972, up to 120 fishing boats were housed in the harbour and in 1982, construction of a boat lifting facility commenced.

Tourism

Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour is now surrounded by a well established tourism precinct, and over a dozen restaurants and a brewery are immediately adjacent.

Blessing of the Fleet

Many of the fishing enterprises housed at Fremantle are descended from the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 towns of Molfetta

Molfetta

Molfetta is a city and comune of the province of Bari in the southern Italian region of Apulia, on the Adriatic coast, at sea-level. It is 25 km WNW of Bari.It has a well restored old city, and its own dialect.- History :...

 on the Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

, and Capo d'Orlando

Capo d'Orlando

Capo d'Orlando is a comune in the province of Messina, Sicily, Italy and is considered the capital of comprensorio dei Nebrodi. Well-known as a vivacious, active, touristic and commercial center, Capo d'Orlando is also the birthplace of the poet Lucio Piccolo, cousin of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa...

 in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

. Each year, a ceremony known as the "Blessing of the Fleet" occurs in the harbour where a procession of the fishermen and their families walk through the streets of Fremantle to the harbour carrying two statues.