Stock boundaries for fisheries assessment and management in the Mediterranean: the Balearic Islands as a case study

Quetglas, Antoni; Guijarro, Beatríz; Ordines, Francesc; Massutí, Enric

doi:10.3989/scimar.2012.76n1017

Cited by 33 publications

(32 citation statements)

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“…In the Balearic Islands (GSA05), the fishing effort has remained relatively low as compared to that in the nearby areas (Quetglas et al, 2012). The all-time maximum number of bottom trawlers in Mallorca, for instance, has been 70 units in 1977 and presently (2014) there are only 28 trawlers and some vessels leave the fishery every year.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trawl fishing exploitation in GSA05 is much lower than in GSA06, with the density of trawlers around the Balearic Islands being one order of magnitude lower than in adjacent waters (Massutí and Guijarro, 2004). As a result, the demersal resources and ecosystems in GSA05 are in a healthier state than in GSA06, which is reflected in Quetglas et al (2012), Ordines (2015): (i) the size-structure of the main commercial stocks; (ii) the higher abundance and diversity of vulnerable species such as elasmobranchs; and (iii) the presence of some sensitive benthic habitats, some of them acting as essential fish habitats, which overlap with traditional fishing grounds. These differences among areas should be taken into account for fisheries management, avoiding the use of general measures for all areas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Balearic Islands are one of the most distant insular areas in the Mediterranean, being separated from the Iberian Peninsula by depths of 2,000 m except in the Ibiza Channel (the nearest point between both coastlines) where the maximum depths are 800 m. A comprehensive comparison including different aspects such as geomorphology, habitats, fisheries, and exploitation state of resources and ecosystems between the Balearic Islands and the adjacent coast of the Iberian Peninsula, concluded that the Archipelago should be maintained as an independent unit for assessment and management purposes in the western Mediterranean (Quetglas et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Harvest Strategies for an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management in Western Mediterranean Demersal Fisheries

et al. 2017

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The serious overfishing of most Mediterranean stocks demands urgent reforms of the management measures aiming to guarantee the sustainability of resources, notably when compared with the improvement observed in other European areas. The new EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) constitutes an excellent opportunity to introduce the changes needed for such a reform. According to this CFP, all European fish stocks should be brought to a state where they can produce at MSY by 2020 at the latest. The CFP also establishes that the objective of sustainable exploitation should be achieved through multiannual plans (MAPs) adopted in consultation with relevant stakeholders having fisheries management interests such as fishermen, non-governmental organizations, and policy makers. Together with the MSY and MAP approaches, the new CFP contains several other measures, directed to guarantee the ecological and socio-economic sustainability of fisheries by means of the implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM). With this new perspective, the CFP wants to avoid past failures of fisheries management based on monospecific approaches. This study is a first step toward the application of the EAFM in the Balearic Islands by means of the development of a harvest strategy with defined objectives, targets, limits, and clear management control rules aimed at optimizing socioeconomic and ecological objectives in the framework of the new CFP. Different management scenarios designed to achieve that goal were modeled for the main demersal commercial fisheries from the study area, the bottom trawl, and small-scale fisheries. The work begins with a general description of those fisheries, their main fishing grounds, and assessments of the exploitation status of the main target stocks in order to establish the current situation. Secondly, alternative management scenarios to maximize catch and profits while considering societal objectives were evaluated by means of bio-economic models. Thirdly, management measures were provided based on the previous modeling and discussions with stakeholders. Finally, a monitoring scheme was outlined to assess the progresses of the proposed management actions. This work is intended to be a working example of co-management (fishers, policy-makers, and scientists) in the Mediterranean in the framework of the new EU CFP.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Harvest Strategies for an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management in Western Mediterranean Demersal Fisheries

et al. 2017

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“…Though the GSA management areas established by the GFCM were based on political and statistical considerations rather than on biological or economic factors (Lleonart and Maynou 2003), they are indeed appropriate for anchovy management purposes in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea, so GSA01 and GSA06 should be maintained as individual areas for assessment, as also happened with demersal stocks in GSA05 (Balearic Islands) and GSA06 (Quetglas et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anchovy (<em>Engraulis encrasicolus</em>) otoliths reveal growth differences between two areas of the Spanish Mediterranean Sea

2017

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Summary:Anchovy is a commercial species that supports large fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, anchovy is an essential element of the pelagic food web, playing a considerable role in connecting the lower and upper trophic levels. Comparisons made regarding length frequency distribution, demographic structure, growth during the first year inferred from otoliths, and the condition factor of anchovy inhabiting the Spanish Mediterranean Sea (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean management units, GSA06-Ebro Delta and 01-Alboran Sea), based on five-year data, clearly showed significant growth differences between areas and evidenced the existence of two independent anchovy stocks in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea. The anchovies inhabiting the Alboran Sea had higher growth than the anchovies inhabiting the Ebro Delta for the same age (one year old). The dramatic decline of the Alboran Sea anchovy could be related to the current management legislation in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea, based mainly on a common minimum catch size (9 cm), which should be revised given that sustainable anchovy exploitation is crucial for the pelagic food web equilibrium.Keywords: anchovy growth; length-frequency distribution; otolith first radius; anchovy stocks; condition factor; fisheries management; Spanish Mediterranean Sea. Otolitos de anchoa (Engraulis encrasicolus) revelan diferencias de crecimiento entre dos áreas del Mediterráneo españolResumen: La anchoa es una especie de interés comercial sometida a gran explotación pesquera en el mar Mediterráneo. Asimismo, esta especie es un elemento esencial de la cadena trófica pelágica dado que actúa como nexo entre los niveles más altos y más bajos de ésta. En este trabajo se han llevado a cabo comparaciones, basadas en un conjunto de datos de 5 años, entre las distribuciones de frecuencias de tallas; la estructura demográfica; el crecimiento durante el primer año, inferido empleando otolitos y el factor de condición de individuos de anchoa recogidos en el Mediterráneo español (unidades de gestión de la General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, GSA06-Delta del Ebro y GSA01-Mar de Alborán), mostrando diferencias significativas entre áreas y evidenciando la existencia de dos stocks de anchoa independientes en el Mediterráneo español. Las anchoas procedentes del mar de Alborán presentaron un mayor crecimiento que aquellas procedentes del Delta de Ebro para la misma edad (1 año). La dramática disminución de la población de anchoa del mar de Alborán podría estar relacionada con la aplicación de una única legislación para todo el Mediterráneo español basada, principalmente, en una misma talla de primera captura (9 cm), que debería ser revisada puesto que la explotación sostenible de la anchoa es de crucial importancia para el equilibrio de la cadena trófica pelágica.Palabras clave: crecimiento de anchoa; distribución de frecuencias de tallas; primer radio del otolito; stocks de anchoa; factor de condición; gestión de pesquerías; mar Mediterráneo español.

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“…PDR was static between 1940 and the early 1960s when landings were mainly for local consumption and from lower trophic levels (mean trophic level 1940: 3.39); and again from the early 1990s when fish landings decreased and the trophic level also fell (mean trophic level 2012: 3.53) due to overfishing of large pelagic fish. Due to overfishing, fish size was also reduced (Quetglas et al 2012).…”

Section: Primary Production Required To Sustain Fish Catches (1940-20mentioning

confidence: 99%

The fishing footprint of a tourism-based economy: displacing seafood consumption from local to distant waters in the Balearic Islands

Murray

2015

Journal of Political Ecology

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Since the Balearics are one of the key tourism destinations in Europe, the tourism industry has entailed a radical transformation of coastal life on the islands. In the 1960s and 1970s, fish captures increased enormously due to the expansion of consumption derived from tourism, and through technological improvements. There has been a change in target species from cheap fish consumed by local people towards expensive species consumed by tourists. However, since the 1980s a combination of factors including the adoption of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, the globalization of trade, and overfishing of some target species has led to a drastic fall in fishing sector jobs, catch reductions, and an increase in cheap imports. This article analyses the transformation of Balearic fisheries combining ecological economics (EE) and political ecology (PE) approaches. Material flow accounting (MFA) and the ecological footprint (EF) are applied in order to conceptualize the biophysical dimension of fisheries in relation to the historical dynamics of capital in the archipelago. Between 1940 and 2012, total fish catches doubled the official landings, while nonreported or hidden catches were underestimated. In the neoliberal period , fish catches decreased and seafood consumption was satisfied mainly through imports, five times the local captures. Thus, the metabolism of fish consumption in the Balearics illustrates the logics of capital and its metabolism in advanced capitalist regions, characterized by the displacement of socio-ecological conflicts to distant waters. Keywords: Balearic Islands; tourism; fisheries; material flow accounting; ecological footprint. RésuméDepuis les Baléares sont l'une des principales destinations touristiques en Europe, l'industrie du tourisme a entraîné une transformation radicale de la vie sur les îles côtières. Dans les années 1960 et 1970, les captures de poissons a énormément augmenté en raison de l'expansion de la consommation d'un secteur touristique en plein essor, et les améliorations technologiques. Il y a eu un changement dans les espèces cibles de poissons pas cher consommée par les populations locales à l'égard des espèces coûteuses consommés par les touristes. Cependant, depuis les années 1980, il y a eu une chute drastique dans les emplois du secteur de la pêche, une réduction des captures, et une augmentation des importations à bas prix. Ceci a été causé par l'adoption de la politique commune de la pêche de l'UE, la mondialisation des échanges, et la surpêche de certaines espèces cibles. Cet article analyse la transformation de la pêche Baléares en combinant une approche de l'économie écologique (EE) et de l'écologie politique (PE). La comptabilité des flux de matières (AMF) et l'empreinte écologique sont appliqués afin de conceptualiser la dimension biophysique de la pêche dans le cadre de la dynamique historique du capital de l'archipel. Entre 1940 et 2012, les captures officielles de poisson a doublé, tandis que les captures non déclarées ou cachées ont été sous-estimés. Da...

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Stock boundaries for fisheries assessment and management in the Mediterranean: the Balearic Islands as a case study

Cited by 33 publications

References 36 publications

Harvest Strategies for an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management in Western Mediterranean Demersal Fisheries

Harvest Strategies for an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management in Western Mediterranean Demersal Fisheries

Anchovy (<em>Engraulis encrasicolus</em>) otoliths reveal growth differences between two areas of the Spanish Mediterranean Sea

The fishing footprint of a tourism-based economy: displacing seafood consumption from local to distant waters in the Balearic Islands

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