Small-scale coastal fisheries in European Seas are not what they were: Ecological, social and economic changes

Lloret, Josep; Cowx, I. G.; Cabral, Henrique N.; Castro, Margarida; Font, Toni; Gonçalves, Jorge M. S.; Gordoa, Ana; Hoefnagel, Ellen; Matić‐Skoko, Sanja; Mikkelsen, Eirik; Morales‐Nin, Beatriz; Moutopoulos, Dimitrios Κ.; Muñoz, Marta; Santos, Miguel N.; Pintassilgo, Pedro; Pita, Cristina; Στεργίου, Κωνσταντίνος Ι.; Ünal, Vahdet; Veiga, Pedro; Erzini, Karim

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2016.11.007

Cited by 120 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…The implementation of bivalve sanctuaries as a management measure is less expensive than other alternatives (like restocking and transplantation programmes), does not have a negative impact on the survival of bivalves (restocking operations have survival rates of ~50% for transplanted individuals; Joaquim et al, ), and can have little impact on the commercial fishery (because bivalve harvesting is forbidden in just a small part of the coastal area). The success and effectiveness of such a management strategy is greatly improved through the involvement, commitment, and co‐responsibility of the sector, fishery organizations, and stakeholders, however (Aburto & Stotz, ; Aburto, Stotz, & Cundill, ; Guyader et al, ; Lloret et al, in press). Indeed, a common risk with the implementation of bivalve sanctuaries is the infringement of no‐take areas by the fishing fleet.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bivalve sanctuaries to enhance stocks along the Algarve coast of southern Portugal: A spatio‐temporal approach

Rufino

Vasconcelos

Pereira

et al. 2018

Aquatic Conservation

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Populations of marine bivalves are subject to large interannual fluctuations as a result of their sensitivity to unfavourable environmental conditions. These populations have a strong dependence on recruitment, which constitutes a risk to stock conservation and the sustainability of the commercially exploited species. Bivalve sanctuaries comprising no‐take areas can promote the restocking of large coastal areas as a result of the high fecundity and the potentially long‐distance larval dispersal of bivalves. The present study explores a novel spatio‐temporal approach to investigate suitable locations for bivalve sanctuaries, aimed at protecting and enhancing stocks along the Algarve coast in southern Portugal. In the context of small‐scale fisheries, bivalve dredging constitutes an important socio‐economic activity. Three bivalve species are targeted: the striped venus (Chamelea gallina), the donax clam (Donax trunculus), and the surf clam (Spisula solida). Data gathered from 36 bivalve fishing surveys conducted over three decades (1986–2015) were analysed using geostatistical methods, accounting for temporal and spatial autocorrelation to produce continuous prediction maps of species distribution for each survey. The approach taken permitted the use of all scattered historical data collected by different methods. The predictions were then used to summarize and illustrate the spatial distribution of species across time, in terms of average biomass, variability, and maximum potential biomass, and to delimit the areas as a function of the species persistence (recurrent, occasional, or rare). The temporal patterns through space were further investigated using empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. The areas accounting for 80% of the species biomass were also estimated. Results of this set of analyses led to the proposal of locations for establishing bivalve sanctuaries, aimed at enhancing the stocks of commercial bivalve species in the long term. Such an innovative spatio‐temporal approach and management strategy is replicable in other fishing resources and geographic areas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bivalve sanctuaries to enhance stocks along the Algarve coast of southern Portugal: A spatio‐temporal approach

Rufino

Vasconcelos

Pereira

et al. 2018

Aquatic Conservation

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“…The interest of MPAs as fishery management tool lies mostly on their potential to improve artisanal fisheries of high-value species in surrounding fishing grounds (Kerwath et al, 2013;Di Franco et al, 2016;Lloret et al, 2017). At the same time, they intend to favor the economic development of the area through the establishment of services related to tourism and diving activities providing an alternative source of inputs also for fishermen (Angulo-Valdés and Hatcher, 2010;Rees et al, 2015;Pascual et al, 2016).…”

Section: Mpas As Fisheries Management Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

North East Atlantic vs. Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas as Fisheries Management Tool

2017

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The effectiveness of management initiatives implemented in the context of the European Common Fisheries Policy has been questioned, especially with regard to the Mediterranean. Some of the analyses made to compare the fishing activity and management measures carried out in the North East Atlantic and in the Mediterranean do not take into account some of the differentiating peculiarities of each of these regions. At the same time, they resort to traditional fisheries management measures and do not discuss the role of marine protected areas as a complementary management tool. In this respect, the apparent failure of marine protected areas in the North-East Atlantic compared with the same in the Mediterranean is challenging European fishery scientists. Application of the classical holistic view of ecological succession to the functioning of fishery closures and no-use areas highlights the importance of combining both management regimes to fully satisfy both fishery-and biodiversity-oriented goals. We advocate that an optimal management strategy for designing an MPA to protect biodiversity and sustain fishing yields consists of combining a network of no-use areas (close to their mature state) with fish boxes (buffer zones maintained by fishing disturbance in a relatively early successional stage, where productivity is higher), under a multi-zoning scheme. In this framework, the importance of no-use areas for fisheries is based on several observations: (1) They preserve biological diversity at regional scale, at all levels-specific, habitat/seascape, and also genetic diversity and the structure of populations, allowing natural selection to operate. (2) They permit the natural variability of the system to be differentiated from the effects of regulation and to be integrated in appropriate sampling schemes as controls. (3) They maintain the natural size and age structure of the populations, hence maximizing potential fecundity, allowing biomass export to occur from core to regulated areas, dampening the fluctuations derived from deviations from the theoretical optimal effort in the fishing zone.

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“…In the case of fisheries, large-and small-scale fisheries as well as the fishing sectors of different member states took different positions on the proposed reforms. The conflict between large and small fisheries is traditional, in so far as they have different technological options and financial resources available (Lloret et al 2016;Veiga et al 2016;Villasante et al 2016). However, in this case, a conflict between the fishing sectors of member countries became apparent.…”

Section: Windows Of Opportunity In the Eu's Fisheries And Climate Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Windows of Opportunity for Whom? Commissioners, Access, and the Balance of Interest in European Environmental Governance

Fuchs¹

2017

Social Sciences

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Abstract:The European Union's ambition on environmental issues proves to be highly uneven. While it has agreed on stringent binding sustainability objectives in its reforms of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2013, it failed to reach such agreement on its 2030 climate change objectives at almost the same time. How can we make sense of this uneven performance of the European Union (EU) in environmental policy? The present article argues that integrating the multiple streams approach (MSA) with a focus on business power allows a better understanding of the divergence in the EU's sustainability ambitions across policy fields. Based on this framework, it suggests that Commissioners can be highly influential policy entrepreneurs in the European governance process. Employing a content analysis of relevant documents from the two policy processes as well as interviews with representatives from political as well as non-state actors, the article depicts the suggested dynamics and deduces corresponding lessons for science and politics.

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Small-scale coastal fisheries in European Seas are not what they were: Ecological, social and economic changes

Cited by 120 publications

References 54 publications

Bivalve sanctuaries to enhance stocks along the Algarve coast of southern Portugal: A spatio‐temporal approach

Bivalve sanctuaries to enhance stocks along the Algarve coast of southern Portugal: A spatio‐temporal approach

North East Atlantic vs. Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas as Fisheries Management Tool

Windows of Opportunity for Whom? Commissioners, Access, and the Balance of Interest in European Environmental Governance

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