Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T09:10:16.506Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Assessment and bioeconomic analysis of the Majorca(NW Mediterranean) trammel net fishery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2008

Gorka Merino
Affiliation:
Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Beatriz Morales-Nin
Affiliation:
Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA-CSIC-UIB), Miquel Marquès 21, 07190 Esporles, Illes Balears, Spain
Francesc Maynou
Affiliation:
Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Antoni Maria Grau
Affiliation:
Dirección General de Pesca del Govern de las Illes Balears, Foners 10, 07006 Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain
Get access

Abstract

Trammel net is the main fishing gear used by artisanal fishers in Majorca Island (NW Mediterranean), and is representative of Mediterranean small-scale fisheries using static gear. The use of static gears close to the coast, where seasonal variability and spatial heterogeneity are high, promotes the diversification of fishing practices or metiers. We analyze the seasonal dynamics of the nets used, target species (red and black scorpionfish, red mullet and cuttlefish) exploitation patterns and the socio-economic conditions under which this fishery takes place, based on General Fisheries Directorate daily sale records (2002–2006). Additional personal socioeconomic interviews allowed the characterization of the trammel net fishery, its fishing behaviour, cost structure and conflicts. Catch and effort data and market surveys are used to evaluate the level of exploitation of the target species and allowed describing Majorca trammel net fishery as an activity based on a sustainable resource. The main target species were found to be near their maximum sustainable yield both by means of a surplus production model (with parameters estimated by CEDA-Catch Effort Data Analysis, software) and an age structured assessment model based on yield-per-recruit analysis. Management actions currently debated by local administration and fishers focus on improving fishers' economic situation, rather than on protecting a threatened resource. One of the management actions proposed is a one day effort reduction, which was analyzed here with the help of a bioeconomic simulation model. A 15-year (2005–2020) simulation allows providing advice to local managers to focus on the commercialization aspects, in order to obtain a higher value to the fish production, rather than expecting to obtain higher profits only by a reduction of the offer.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bas C., 2002, The Mediterranean Sea: Living resources and exploitation. Zaragoza.CIHEAM-IAMZ / FAO-COPEMED.
Colloca, F., Crespi, V., Cerasi, S., Coppola, S.R., 2004, Structure and evolution of the artisanal fishery in a southern Italian coastal area. Fish. Res. 69, 359369. CrossRef
Dunn, M.R., 1999, Aspects of the stock dynamics and exploitation of cutlefish, Sepia officinalis (Linnaeus, 1758), in the English Channel. Fish. Res. 40, 277293. CrossRef
FAO, 2003, Strategies for increasing the sustainable contribution of small-scale fisheries to food security and poverty alleviation. FAO COFI/2003/9, 1–14.
Forsythe, J., Lee, P., Walsh, L., Clark,T., 2002, The effects of crowding on growth of the European cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis Linnaeus, 1758 reared at two temperatures. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 269, 173185. CrossRef
Iglesias M., Massutí E., Reñones O., Morales-Nin B., 1995, Three small-scale fisheries based on the island of Majorca (NW Mediterranean). Monografies Bolleti Societat Historia Natural Balears, 37, 35–58.
Garcia-Rodriguez, M., Fernandez, A.M., Esteban, A., 2006, Characterisation, analysis and catch rates of the small-scale fisheries of the Alicante Gulf (SE Spain) over a 10 years time series. Fish. Res. 77, 226238. CrossRef
Gordon, H.S., 1954, The economic theory of a common-property resource: the fishery. J. Polit. Econ. 62, 124142. CrossRef
Lleonart, J., Maynou, F., 2003, Fish stock assessments in the Mediterranean: state of the art. Sci. Mar. 67, 3749. CrossRef
Lleonart, J., Maynou, F., Recasens, L., Franquesa, R., 2003, A bioeconomic model for Mediterranean fisheries, the hake off Catalonia (western Mediterranean) as a case study. Sci. Mar. 67, 337351. CrossRef
Maynou, F., Demestre, M., Sánchez, P., 2003, Analysis of catch per unit of effort by multivariate analysis and generalised linear models for deep-water crustacean fisheries off Barcelona (NW Mediterranean). Fish. Res. 65, 257269. CrossRef
Merino, G., Karlou-Riga, C., Anastopoulou, I., Maynou, F., Lleonart, J., 2007, Bioeconomic simulation analysis of hake and red mullet fisheries in the Gulf of Saronikos (Greece). Sci. Mar. 71, 525535. CrossRef
Merino, G., Maynou, F., Garcia-Olivares, A., 2007, A new bioeconomic simulation tool for small scale fisheries based on game theory: GAMEFISTO model. Aquat. Living Resour. 20, 223230. CrossRef
Morales-Nin, B., 1991. Parámetros biológicos de Mullus surmuletus (L. 1758) en Mallorca. Bol. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr. 7, 139–147.
Morey, G., Moranta, J., Massutí, E., Grau, A., Linde, M., Riera, F., Morales-Nin, B., 2003, Weight-length relationships of litoral to lower slope fishes from the Western Mediterranean. Fish. Res. 62, 8996. CrossRef
Punt, A.E., 1992, Selecting management methodologies for marine resources with an illustration for South African hake. S. Afr. J. Mar. Sci. 12, 943-958. CrossRef
Reglero P., Moreales-Nin B., 2008, Relationship between first sale price, body size and total catch of trammelnet target species in Majorca (NW Mediterranean). Fish. Res. In press.
Royer, J., Pierce, G.J., Foucher, E., Robin, J.P., 2006, The English Channel stock of Sepia officinalis: Modelling variablity in abundance and impact of fishery. Fish. Res. 78, 96106. CrossRef
Sanchez, P., Demestre, M., Ramon, M., Kaiser, M.J., 2000, The impact of otter trawling on mud communities in the northwestern Mediterranean. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 57, 13521358. CrossRef
Schaefer, M.B., 1954, Some aspects of the dynamics of populations important to the management of commercial marine fisheries. Bull. IATTC 2, 247285.
Schnute, J., 1985, A general theory for analysis of catch and effort data. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 42, 414429. CrossRef
Stergiou, K.I., Christou, E.D., Petrakis, G., 1997, Modelling and forecasting monthly fisheries catches: comparison of regression, univariate and multivariate time series methods. Fish. Res. 29, 5595. CrossRef
Stergiou, K.I., Moutopoulos, D.K., Soriguer, M.C., Puente, E., Lino, P.G., Zabala, C., Monteiro, P., Errazkin, L.U., Erzini, K., 2006, Trammel net catch species composition, catch rates and métiers in southern European waters: A multivariate approach. Fish. Res. 79, 170182. CrossRef
Tzanatos, E., Somarakis, S., Tserpes, G., Koutsikopoulos, C., 2006, Identifying and classifying small-scale fisheries métiers in the Mediterranean: A case study in the Patraikos Gulf, Greece. Fish. Res. 81, 158168. CrossRef
Ulrich, C., Le Gallic, B., Dunn, M.R., Gascuel, D., 2002, A multi-species, multi-fleet bioeconomic simulation model for the English Channel artisanal fisheries. Fish. Res. 58, 379401. CrossRef