Small-scale fishers’ perception of the implementation of the EU Landing Obligation regulation in the outermost region of the Azores

Abstract

The archipelago of the Azores (mid-north Atlantic Ocean) is an outermost region of the European Union (EU) in which small-scale fisheries are a strong component of the local economy. Bottom longlining and handlining are the most important Azorean fisheries in landing values, fishing vessels and fishers. Despite their high selectivity and low discards, these fisheries can be highly impacted by the implementation of the Landing Obligation (LO). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Azorean small-scale fishers to document their perceptions about discards and the LO, and to ascertain the mitigation measures they already implement or could further implement to avoid unwanted catch. Results suggest that most fishers strongly oppose the LO, perceiving it as inadequate to their fisheries. Several discard avoidance measures are already commonly used by most fishers, of which hook size and changing areas where there are too many undersized or over-quota individuals, are believed to be the most efficient. Additional measures to further improve selectivity and avoid unwanted catch appear limited. The recent conversion of many bottom longliners to handlining and the exemptions foreseen as part of the LO for the region might help Azorean fishers to mitigate the potential impacts of the LO. Highlights ► Fishers' perceptions about the LO and potential mitigation measures were appraised. ► Most fishers strongly opposed the LO, perceived as inappropriate to their fisheries. ► Hook size and changing areas are already commonly used to avoid unwanted catch. ► Conversion of longliners to handliners might help mitigate the impacts of the LO. ► Options to further improve selectivity and avoid unwanted catch seem limited.

On the Role of Perception: Understanding Stakeholders’ Collaboration in Natural Resources Management through the Evolutionary Theory of Innovation

“…Broadly speaking, the LO was referred to as an ambiguous, complex, wrongly transmitted and a measure unilaterally imposed on the industry [60]. A similar perception was reported by other recent developments on the LO in different European fishing areas and fleets [25,27,57,61]. Different forms of distance can be identified among the fishers' arguments for rejecting the discard ban policy.…”

Monitoring the Environmental, Social and Economic Dimensions of the Landing Obligation Policy

“…Where discards are in high densities (Catchpole et al, 2006) or discarding patterns exhibit high spatio-temporal heterogeneity (Maina et al, 2018), the LO regulation effects cannot be accurately estimated (Damalas et al, 2018). Therefore, while the LO is an important step for fisheries conservation in European waters, to monitor the implementation of the LO is expected to be challenging due to the diversity of issues that must be taken into account for proper monitoring, the limited control and surveillance capabilities of fisheries management agencies and the reluctance of the industry to comply with the LO (Fauconnet et al, 2019;Villasante et al, 2019).…”

“…Decisions made by fishers to address the LO may result in modifications of the fishing method to enhance post-release survival, changing fishing grounds to avoid high concentrations of UWC, or the use of more selective fishing gears to minimize the catch of undersized fish (Fauconnet et al, 2019). Also, there might be changes in the utilization of former discards, fostering their transformation in fish processing plants to meet the growing demand for aquaculture, agriculture and livestock industries (Sardà et al, 2015).…”

Εκτίμηση Των Επιπτώσεων Του Κανονισμού Υποχρεωτικής Εκφόρτωσης (Κανονισμός ΕΕ Αριθ. 1380/2013) Στη Μεσογειακή Αλιεία

“…Με την πρόοδο της τεχνολογίας και την εξέλιξη των αλιευτικών μεθόδων έχουν χρησιμοποιηθεί αρκετές νέες τεχνικές για να μειωθούν τα ποσοστά των ανεπιθύμητων αλιευμάτων αυξάνοντας την επιλεκτικότητα των εργαλείων και μειώνοντας την αλιευτική θνησιμότητα πριν τη σύλληψη με διάφορους τρόπους απελευθέρωσης ή αποφυγής των παραλιευμάτων (Breen et al 2012, Fauconnet et al 2019, Marçalo et al 2019. Τα διαχειριστικά μέτρα που προτάθηκαν για την ελαχιστοποίηση των απορρίψεων είναι κυρίως τεχνικά (π.χ.…”

“…Συγκεκριμένα, οι εμπειρογνώμονες σχολίασαν ότι ο βαθμός υλοποίησης του Κανονισμού ήταν πολύ χαμηλός και ότι δεν παρακολουθήθηκε σωστά η μέχρι τώρα εφαρμογή του Κανονισμού. Οι αλιείς έχουν επίσης αναφέρει τη μερική εφαρμογή της υποχρέωσης εκφόρτωσης στις χώρες της Νότιας Ευρώπης, ενώ ισχυρίστηκαν ότι αυτό το νέο καθεστώς μπορεί να μην έχει σημαντικό αντίκτυπο στη δραστηριότητά τους (Maynou et al 2018, Fauconnet et al 2019, Villasante et al 2019.…”