Spearfishing pressure on fish communities in rocky coastal habitats in a Mediterranean marine protected area

Lloret, Josep; Zaragoza, Núria; Caballero, David; Font, Toni; Casadevall, Margarida; Riera, Victòria

doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2008.07.002

Cited by 114 publications

(171 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…5), the Galician recreational spear fishery (competitive and non-competitive) accounted for 16% of the annual catches of the species common to commercial fisheries. In fact, this is a similar figure to that obtained by Lloret et al (2008) in a Mediterranean spear fishery (29%). In this case, recreational catches on L. bergylta (1447 t) would be even higher than commercial catches (266 t).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Consequently, although some of the comparisons made in this study between recreational and commercial fisheries may experience variations in either direction, the estimates of the overall catch and its distribution among the species are correct and constitute valuable information for management. Moreover, as suggested for the South Pacific (Godoy et al 2010), the Coral Sea (Frisch et al 2012), the Mediterranean Sea (Coll et al 2004, Morales-Nin et al 2005, Lloret et al 2008, Lloret and Font 2013 and the Atlantic Pereira 2013, 2014), the evidence presented here showed that the impact of the recreational spear fishers must be taken into consideration in the management models of the coastal ecosystems of Galicia.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Actually, their average vulnerability is lower than the vulnerability found in other spear fisheries, e.g. in the Mediterranean (IV=54, Lloret et al 2008) and in the Atlantic Ocean (IV=50.9, Diogo and Pereira 2014). It also should be noted that among the preferred targets of Galician spear fishers, i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…This index is based on ecological characteristics and life history of marine fish (Cheung et al 2005) and has four levels of vulnerability: low (1-40), moderate (40-60), high (60-80) and very high (80-100). The vulnerability index of the catches of the recreational and the commercial fisheries was also estimated by the arithmetic mean of the vulnerability of the fish species, weighted by their respective catches (see Lloret et al 2008). …”

Section: Vulnerability Of Fish Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are few studies on its consequences (Jouvenel andPollard 2001, Morales-Nin et al 2005), and these are contradictory. While (Smith and Nakaya 2002) consider the spear fishery ecologically sustainable, other authors have found large negative effects on ecosystems (Rusell 1977, Harmelin et al 1995, Coll et al 2004, Lloret et al 2008, Frisch et al 2012. This fishery has been regulated in a precautionary way (Morales-Nin et al 2005) and has even been subjected to several restrictions (Smith and Nakaya 2002) because of this lack of information for decisionmaking and management (Pawson et al 2008, Godoy et al 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the impact of spear fishing by using competitions records and underwater visual censuses

Pita¹,

Freire²

2011

Sci. Mar.

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Summary:Recreational fishers are increasingly competing for space and resources with commercial fishers worldwide, but have been poorly studied. In particular, the impacts of spearfishing competitions on the temperate fish assemblages have seldom been analysed. In Galicia (NW Spain), there are currently 5000 spear fishers, and 500 of them participate in spearfishing competitions. An historic archive of spearfishing competitions was used to assess their influence on the subsequent competitions in the area and to analyse their effect on the fish abundances estimated by underwater visual censuses. The annual recreational catch of the spear fishers was also estimated and comparisons with the commercial landings were performed. The spear fishers targeted 29 species, although six accounted for 95% of the catch. Most of the species show low vulnerabilities to fishing pressure and only Dicentrarchus labrax, among frequently caught species, can be considered as moderately vulnerable. The overall impact of spearfishing competitions on fish populations was limited, although some competitions temporarily reduced the abundances of Labrus bergylta, the main target species, by up to 83%. Spear fishers caught a large proportion of the total catch of common species, with recreational catches of some species (e.g. L. bergylta) matching or exceeding the commercial catch. The inclusion of this fishery in the management models of the coastal ecosystems is strongly recommended.Keywords: underwater visual censuses; fish assemblages; recreational fisheries; spear fishing; fishing impacts; coastal ecosystems.Evaluación del impacto de la pesca submarina mediante el uso de registros de concursos y censos visuales subacuáticos Resumen: Los pescadores recreativos compiten cada vez más intensamente por el espacio y los recursos con los pescadores comerciales en todo el mundo, pero han sido poco estudiados. En particular, rara vez se han analizado los impactos de los concursos de pesca submarina sobre las comunidades de peces propias de las regiones templadas. En Galicia (noroeste de España), en la actualidad hay 5000 pescadores submarinos, y 500 de ellos participan en concursos. Se utilizó un archivo histórico de competiciones de pesca submarina para evaluar su influencia sobre los concursos celebrados posteriormente en la zona y para analizar su efecto sobre las abundancias de peces, estimadas mediante censos visuales subacuáticos (UVC). Además, se estimaron las capturas recreativas anuales de los pescadores submarinos y se realizaron comparaciones con los desembarques comerciales. Los pescadores submarinos capturaron 29 especies, aunque seis representaron el 95% de sus capturas. La mayor parte de las especies muestran bajas vulnerabilidades a la presión pesquera y sólo Dicentrarchus labrax, de entre las especies capturadas con frecuencia, puede ser considerada como moderadamente vulnerable. El impacto global de los concursos de pesca submarina sobre las poblaciones de peces fue limitado, aunque algunos concursos redujeron temporalmente las...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Section: Vulnerability Of Fish Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the impact of spear fishing by using competitions records and underwater visual censuses

Pita¹,

Freire²

2011

Sci. Mar.

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Marine Protected Areas

Claudet¹

2012

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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Human‐induced disturbance can affect the ecological functioning of coastal areas and reduce the associated goods and services required for human welfare. Major concerns are rising over observed declines in the abundance of particular species as well as reductions in functional diversity and changes in food web structure. As a result, the conservation and restoration of marine biodiversity and functions is a major concern. Marine protected areas are a useful management tool to mitigate some of the human‐induced changes in marine ecosystems. If properly managed and enforced, they can have several ecological, fisheries and socio‐economic benefits. Effects of marine protected areas are variable and context‐dependent but main drivers of change are now known. In recent years, MPA research made several important advances but some questions still remain unresolved. Key Concepts: Marine protected areas are a useful management tool. Marine protected areas can have ecological, fisheries and socio‐economic benefits. Partial protection confers less ecological benefits than full protection. Effects of marine protected areas mainly depend on their design and age, on the socio‐cultural context in which they are established and on the life history traits of the species targeted by protection. Effective marine protected areas need to be well enforced. The global coverage of marine protected areas is still very low.

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Biological implications of recreational shore angling and harvest in a marine reserve: the case of Cape Creus

Font¹,

Lloret

2011

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Recreational shore fishing along the coast of the marine reserve of Cap de Creus (NW Mediterranean) was studied in 2007 and 2009 based on roving creel surveys (on-site angler surveys during which anglers' harvests are examined by the survey clerk). The study aimed to assess the biological impacts of this leisure activity on coastal fish stocks and the potential risks arising from the use of exotic baits. 2. Recreational shore fishers employ seven different fishing techniques, of which the bottom fishing rod (a fishing rod whose hooks, together with the bait, lie on the bottom or near it by means of a heavy weight) is by far the most widely used method (nearly 90% of observations). In total, 25 fish species were identified in the catch from the bottom fishing rod. 3. The estimated annual shore fishing catches (c.3 tons) are much lower than those obtained by recreational boat and spear fishing (c.20 tons each), and those from commercial (artisanal) fishing (c.50 tons). The weighted mean vulnerability index and trophic level values in the catch from the bottom fishing rod are 52.2 and 4.03, respectively. 4. A minimum of 43% of the baits used by the shore anglers were live, non-native species (mostly polychaetes). 5. Overall, results highlight the impact of shore angling on coastal fish communities of a protected area and the increasing environmental risks arising from the use of exotic marine baits, which constitute a potential and unregulated vector of introduction of non-native species in the MediterraneanThis study was funded by the Natural Park of Cap de Creus. Additional financial support was provided by project Ref. CTM2009-08602 and a Ramo´n y Cajal Research contract (J. Lloret) from the Spanish Ministry of Science & Innovatio

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Spearfishing pressure on fish communities in rocky coastal habitats in a Mediterranean marine protected area

Cited by 114 publications

References 38 publications

Assessing the impact of spear fishing by using competitions records and underwater visual censuses

Assessing the impact of spear fishing by using competitions records and underwater visual censuses

Marine Protected Areas

Biological implications of recreational shore angling and harvest in a marine reserve: the case of Cape Creus

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