Assessing the sustainability and adaptive capacity of the gooseneck barnacle co-management system in Asturias, N. Spain

Abstract

The gooseneck barnacle fishery in Asturias (N. Spain) has undergone three important changes: (1) the early implementation of a co-management system based on Territorial User Rights for Fishing, (2) a change in management measures (due to a decrease in landings), and (3) an economic crisis. This has allowed us to analyze the systems' sustainability in time through examining five critical variables: landings, effort, catch per unit effort (CPUE), mean market prices, and annual revenue. Additionally, we used focus groups and questionnaires to determine the response of the system to these three changes. Co-management has succeeded in maintaining or increasing CPUE throughout all management areas and produced stable mean market prices. This was achieved through flexible management policies and adaptive strategies adopted by the fishers, such as increased selectivity and diversification. The analysis of this fishery provides important lessons regarding the need to understand the evolutionary dynamics of co-management and the importance of embracing adaptive capacity.

Trends, drivers, and lessons from a long-term data series of the Asturian (northern Spain) gooseneck barnacle territorial use rights system

“…3, Online Appendix 2). Therefore, we can agree with previous research that the adaptive management policies have aided in the sustainability of the fishery (Rivera et al 2016a). As in other fisheries (Folke et al 2002), the adaptive management of the AGTS, where the resource users needs and uncertainty are accounted for, has given resilience to the fishery.…”

“…Information generated by scientists on the status of the fishing sites is disseminated to the fishers every year at the beginning of the fishing season during the designation of bans. Additionally, scientific information on the larval dispersal of the species (Rivera et al 2013), the effect of topography on the quality of the resource (Rivera et al 2016b), and the system's adaptive capacity (Rivera et al 2016a) are communicated to the fishers through science outreach programs that include websites (https://oma.uniovi.es/participacion/percebe), media coverage, information leaflets, and seminars. The generation of scientific knowledge and its constant incorporation in management policies has strengthened the AGTS.…”

“…Although the AGTS does not appear to be directly impacted by climate change, the adaptive capacity displayed by the co-management system (e.g., adaptive management policies, Fig. 3; see also Rivera et al 2016a) is a useful tool in withstanding any possible climate change effects. The general weather system works at small spatiotemporal scales and interacts directly with local fishing activity (Fig.…”

“…The gooseneck barnacle (Pollicipes pollicipes Gmelin, 1790) is a pedunculate cirripede that inhabits exposed rocky shores in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, from France to Senegal (Barnes 1996). The artisanal, small-scale gooseneck barnacle fishery on the Asturian coast (northern Spain) has been known to reach extreme market values (Rivera et al 2016a) and is currently an important part of the local fishing fleet (INDUROT 2010). The fishery has been managed through TURFs since it was first established, >20 yrs ago.…”

Fisheries regulatory regimes and resilience to climate change

“…Finally, Community-based management (SCR-6) is expected to increase social resilience by enhancing the sense of stewardship and sensitivity of fishers to socio-economic constraints, and by allowing for the incorporation of local knowledge of the resource (Gutierrez et al 2011). Community-based management is also a potentially useful approach to generate adaptive capacity (Rivera et al 2015). Adaptive capacity refers to the ability to anticipate and respond to disturbances, and to minimize, cope with, and recover from their consequences (Maldonado and Moreno-Sánchez 2014).…”