3. Littoral Fishermen, Aquaculture, and Tourism in the Canary Islands: Attitudes and Economic Strategies

Reconstruction of marine small-scale fisheries captures in the Canary Islands (NE Atlantic Ocean) from 1950 to 2010

“…As the number of artisanal boats began to decline, due in part to the national regulations, this gave way to a rise in unregulated fishing activities by those who officially leave the fishing industry. For example, in Valle Gran Rey (La Gomera) in the 1990s, the number of legally licensed fishing boats dropped by more than 50%, which "led to a rise in part-time and non-legal fishing activities by some fishers who left the activity professionally, but continue to fish and sell their catches through different channels" (Pascual 2004). This trend was and remains true for all the islands (Castro and Santana-Ortega 2008).…”

“…Data on the tourist population were available from 1990 to 2010 (http:// www.gobiernodecanarias.org/istac/). The expansion of tourism dates back to the 1960s and steadily increased up until the 1990s (Pascual 2004).…”

“…In contrast to the neighbouring African coast, the productivity of waters within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Canary Islands is low (Bas et al 1995), due to the narrow insular shelf which limits demersal life. While the abundance is low, the diversity is quite high, with approximately 200 species targeted by small-scale fisheries (Pascual 2004, Santamaría et al 2013. Currently, the small-scale fisheries of the Canary Islands share many characteristics and problems of other European, especially Mediterranean, artisanal fisheries (Guyader et al 2013, Maynou et al 2013.…”

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“…Fishing activities in the Canary Islands were of little significance until the 1900s when an increase in population and urbanization brought a new demand for fish (Pascual, 2004). As compared with the very rich fishing grounds in the upwelling area, waters around the Canaries are relatively poorer, whereas the narrow continental shelf of the islands limits the abundance of demersal resources.…”

4. Power, Culture and the Production of Heritage

“…Tourism has come to be the major industry for most of the larger islands (Tenerife, La Palma, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote) and forms a large part of the GDP for the region. There were 10 million foreign tourists visiting the archipelago in 2001 and official data describes the tourist sector as playing a central role in the economy (Pascual 2004). Tourism has become increasingly important for La Gomera, where the primary industries of agriculture and fishing were once dominant until the 1980s; this small island has a population around 22,000 (2006) and a size of 378 square km.…”