Characterizing the fishing strategies and the temporal dynamics of the small-scale fleet operating in the Cíes Islands (NW Spain)

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Characterizing the fishing strategies and the temporal dynamics of the small-scale fleet operating in the Cíes Islands (NW Spain) Rosana Ouréns1*, Giulia Cambiè2 and Juan Freire3 1 Stanford University, Hopkins Marine Station, United States 2 Bangor University, United Kingdom 3 Teamlabs, Spain Small-scale fisheries are characterized by a high diversification of fishing strategies and a highly dynamic pattern of their use in time and space that complicate data collection and management. Ignoring this variability can produce an incomplete image of the fisheries dynamics and thus can lead to the implementation of inappropriate regulations. In the present study we analyzed the fishing dynamics of the small-scale fleet operating around the Cíes Islands, situated in the marine National Park of Illas Atlánticas (Galicia, NW Spain). In spite of this protection figure created in 2002, no spatially-explicit information on the fishing system in the area is currently available and no specific management is applied. Fishery information systems in Galicia are related only to the landing ports, and the spatial aspects of the fishing operations are not available despite their importance for assessment and management. We carried out interviews with the fishers to first identify the fleet from nearby base ports operating in the Cíes Islands, and then to obtain temporal patterns of effort and catch data. A series of hierarchical cluster analyses of the individual monthly catch profiles was performed to identify the fishing strategies and to study their temporal dynamics. The Cíes fleet was composed of 565 boats coming from 11 ports of the South of Galicia. Although purse seine vessels were present in the park, the fishing effort was mainly exerted by the artisanal segment (vessels less than 12 m long using mobile and passive gears) because it was the largest sector in terms of number of boats. We identified 19 active and passive fishing gears operating in the Cíes Islands. Eight of them were selective gears (traps, clam rakes, and manual harvesting) which were specialized in capturing a single target species. In contrast, the remaining gears were multispecies (trammel nets, purse seine nets, gillnets, longlines, trawl) with a different catch species composition depending on the season, mesh size and the fishing zone. Thus, we identified up to 7 fishing strategies practiced with the same gear and aimed to catch different target species. In total 33 fishing strategies operating in Cíes Islands were described, being the most used ones: pots targeting common octopus and velvet crab; gillnet targeting hake and pouting; trammel net targeting either European spider crab or Ballan wrasse; clam rakes; and manual harvesting for goose-barnacles and razor shells. The main season in which each fishing strategy was used changed according to the fishing policy (e.g. closed seasons for target species or fishing gears), the fish prices, and the temporal variation in the abundance of target species. Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and the European Regional Development Fund. We would like to thank the National Marine Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia and the "Consellería do Mar" of the Autonomous Government of Galicia for their cooperation. Special thanks to the fishing cooperative "Cofradía de Cangas" and all the fishers involved for the valuable information they provided. Keywords: Fishing strategies, fleet dynamics, small-scale fisheries, National Marine Park, Galicia, Target species Conference: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2014, Peniche, Portugal, 10 Jul - 11 Jul, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: FISHERIES AND MANAGEMENT Citation: Ouréns R, Cambiè G and Freire J (2014). Characterizing the fishing strategies and the temporal dynamics of the small-scale fleet operating in the Cíes Islands (NW Spain). Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2014. doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2014.02.00149 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 06 May 2014; Published Online: 18 Jul 2014. * Correspondence: Dr. Rosana Ouréns, Stanford University, Hopkins Marine Station, Monterey, California, CA 93950, United States, rosanaoc@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Rosana Ouréns Giulia Cambiè Juan Freire Google Rosana Ouréns Giulia Cambiè Juan Freire Google Scholar Rosana Ouréns Giulia Cambiè Juan Freire PubMed Rosana Ouréns Giulia Cambiè Juan Freire Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.