Evaluating the Sustainability of an Eastern Mediterranean Gillnet Fishery Based on the Catches of Undersized Individuals and the Reproductive Period of Targeted Species

Abstract

The catch composition of a coastal gillnet fishery in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea was analyzed through a two-year experimental fishing survey. Seven fish species occurred regularly in the hauls. Surmullet, Mullus surmuletus, which is the most valuable demersal fish in Greek waters and the intended target of the gillnets in small-scale fisheries, was the most abundant and systematically caught species. Almost all surmullets were larger than their minimum conservation reference size. However, three commercially exploited species (Diplodus annularis, Pagellus acarne, and P. erythrinus) were caught systematically as undersized individuals. In addition, these three species were caught mostly as immature individuals. Moreover, the operational season of the surveyed métier overlapped completely with the reproductive period of five commercially exploited species (D. annularis, M. barbatus, M. surmuletus, Sphyraena sphyraena, and Trachurus trachurus). Improvements and the establishment of additional technical measurements should be considered for the small-scale gillnet fisheries in the studied area to attenuate their detrimental effects and achieve a better compromise between sustainable exploitation of the local multi-species fish resources and the need for an economically sustainable practice.