Basically, fishing in Barcola was often practiced by Slovenes, who had settled on the shores of the Adriatic since the 8th century AD. They also used the "Cupa", a simply hollowed-out tree trunk, until World War II. Only when storm-proof harbors could be built under Habsburg administration in the 19th century did fishing experience a strong boom and fishermen increasingly bought their own larger fishing boats. After the First World War, the Slovenian fishermen were systematically disadvantaged by the Italian fascist policy and the Slovenian fishing cooperatives were abolished. Expropriations were carried out and the influx of non-local fishermen from Naples was financially supported. Today there are only a few local professional fishermen left.