Ms Lee began her trip this week, travelling to the Basque region of Spain to discover how they use their locally caught seafood to contribute to the food tourism of the region.

“The only place you can eat Basque seafood is if you travel to Basque,” Ms Lee said.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity for us to learn from the Basque people about how to improve our seafood tourism in Tasmania.”

Ms Lee will spend just under six months in Spain and will spend some time studying at the AZTI-Tecnalia fisheries research facility in Spain.

“It’s crazy to think that 95 per cent of Tasmania's abalone is exported to South East Asia. Tourists would come here and want to know where they can try the seafood and they can’t because most of it is sent away,” she said.

Ms Lee said she hoped seafood and fisheries food tourism could work alongside traditional and commercial fishing operations in the state.

"As Indigenous people, we can show leadership in the cultural connection with seafood through our heritage sustainable fisheries management and I hope to draw upon this experience in Spain to help expand the industry in Tasmania, and even develop a high class seafood festival," Ms Lee said.

 Director of the Institute for Regional Development Associate Professor Robyn Eversole said Ms Lee's work in Spain reinforced the impact which was being made by University of Tasmania.

"Emma's work is a great example of the international reach of our research.  She has taken her interest in Indigenous co-management of land and sea resources onto the world stage.  This project will generate important insights for the development of distinctive regional food economies here in Tasmania," Associate Professor Eversole said.

Ms Lee departed for Spain on Thursday.