Importance of recreational shore angling in the archipelago of Madeira, Portugal (northeast Atlantic)

Abstract

In 2017, a total of 4825 licences were issued for shore angling in Madeira. Surveys were conducted on 734 anglers, some in the government fisheries office during the licence request and others during the fishing activity. Shore angling is practised throughout the year, mostly at weekends and during day time, and with an increase in summer. More than 60% of the anglers are unemployed, have low incomes, and spend on average €254 per person per year on this activity, adding up to a total of €1.16 million per year. Shore angling average number of fishing days per year per fisher was 65.1±62.0 and the average catch per unit of effort was 0.35±0.26 kg/angler/hour. The estimated total annual catch was 520.7 t. Forty-three teleost species, 2 elasmobranchs and 6 invertebrates were identified in the catches. Despite the limitations and inaccuracies inherent to the surveys, they still provided valuable information and gave a general perception of the recreational shore fisheries in Madeira. The possible impact on the most captured species, such as the white seabream, Diplodus sargus (Linnaeus, 1758), and the parrotfish Sparisoma cretense (Linnaeus, 1758), should be analysed because high fishing pressure could affect populations and ecosystems.

Small-scale fisheries in Madeira: recreational vs artisanal fisheries

“…The absence or low number of women fishers is a recurrent characteristic of recreational boat fishing, as observed in other studies from different parts of the world (Lloret et al 2008, Diogo and Pereira 2013, Ryan et al 2013). This contrasts with the relatively high proportion of women fishers in Madeira (in comparison with other regions), around 10%, but they are mostly restricted to other modalities, especially shore angling and limpet collection (Martínez-Escauriaza et al 2020a, Hermida andCosta 2020). The average age of recreational boat fishers was similar to that of shore angling fishers (42.9; Martínez-Escauriaza et al 2020a), but they were older than spearfishers, an activity which tends to attract younger people with an average age of 32.8 (Martínez-Escauriaza et al 2020b).…”

“…Among all the recreational fishing modalities, a higher percentage of boat fishers (8.5%) admitted to selling their catches, followed by spearfishers (6.9%; Martínez-Escauriaza et al 2020b) and shore anglers (3.5%; Martínez-Escauriaza et al 2020a). This percentage is surely underestimated for all the modalities, because many fishers who sell their catch illegally are reluctant to admit it in a questionnaire.…”

“…Recreational fishery is a sector that is rapidly growing in Madeira and encompasses modalities, such as boat fishing, shore angling, shellfish gathering and spearfishing (Font et al 2012, Martínez-Escauriaza 2020a.…”

The Role of Sea-Urchins in Marine Forests From Azores, Webbnesia, and Cabo Verde: Human Pressures, Climate-Change Effects and Restoration Opportunities

“…Recent studies also reported strong recreational fishing pressures, reaching annual catches of almost 12,000 t in the Canary Islands (Gordoa, 2019) and 1,500 t in Madeira (Martínez-Escauriaza et al, 2020a,b). In Madeira, many recreational fishermen have reported a decrease in catches, and attribute this to both (i) the generalized degradation of coastal systems, and (ii) the fishing of individuals below the minimum landing size (Hermida and Delgado, 2016;Martínez-Escauriaza et al, 2020a). Fish biomass is more than three times higher in Selvagens than Madeira (Friedlander et al, 2017).…”

The collapse of marine forests: drastic reduction in populations of the family Sargassaceae in Madeira Island (NE Atlantic)

“…Subsequently, sea urchin populations flourish as more individuals are recruited, and they reach larger sizes. The high recreative fishing activity on the coast of Madeira has been studied (Martínez-Escauriaza et al 2020a, 2020b in addition to the effect of the predation of D. africanum on macroalgae (Alves et al 2003). Other grazers, such as the sea urchins Arbacia lixula and herbivorous fishes (Sparisoma cretense and Sarpa salpa), also contribute to the consumption of Sargassaceae species (Verges et al 2009).…”