Tavira Island
island in Portugal
Tavira Island (Portuguese: Ilha de Tavira) lies south of the town of Tavira, Portugal, just a few hundred metres off the coast. It is 11 kilometres long and varies between 150 m to 1 km in width. The island has 11 km of the best beaches in the Algarve, including areas where naturism can be legally practised. It is part of the Natural reserve of Ria Formosa. It is also popular among tourists, people that like to swim and bird watchers.
History
The island was home to a thriving tuna industry using the old Phoenician technique called Almadrava, between 1841 and 1967, on Barril beach, where approximately 80 families lived. During the 1960s the tuna numbers declined, the migration patterns of tuna changed and fishing for tuna was abandoned, as well as the canning factories in the area. Sometime after 1966 the anchors used in the Almadrava technique were lined up on the island as a monument to the old tuna fishing industry. A train was used to transport the large tuna to the mainland from the island which has been converted to transport tourists. The old fisherman's houses are now used as shops and restaurants.
The public source identifies “Tavira Island” as island in Portugal. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Tavira, Island and island.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Tavira Island”, the useful work is to connect “island in Portugal” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6809962. Authority coordinates are 37.087, -7.666. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1841, 1967 and 1966.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Tavira Island” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.