Abstract
The cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) trammel net fishery is one of the most important small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea. Here we describe the main catch, by-catch and discard patterns found in this fishery on Mallorca Island by onboard surveys of 1005 netting walls from 23 fishing trips. The number of items captured, their size and their subsequent use, i.e. kept for sale or discarded, were recorded. Furthermore, the immediate survival of the unwanted items (i.e. vitality state when the gear came on board) and the medium-term survival of a subsample were assessed. The cuttlefish was the dominant species in the commercial fraction of the catch, particularly during the fishing season peak (March). However, S. officinalis catches quickly decreased further into the season, with other high-value fish, such as Scorpaena scrofa, increasing in the commercial fraction of the catch. As species composition is continuously changing, it is often difficult to determine the main target species of this fishery. This strategy possibly complicates management but maximizes fishing revenue, which was an average of €175 per trip. With respect to discards, up to 104 different species were caught but not commercialized. The most abundant were Holothuria sp. and Torpedo marmorata. Their immediate survival was 100% and 20%, respectively. In both cases, the medium-term survival and the vitality status were high after seven days in monitored captivity. Therefore, in these cases, their immediate release to the sea should be promoted, given that they are exempt from the EU landing obligation. Interviews with fishers revealed that the perceived quantity of discards was lower than the amount recorded by the present study. Currently, just a small percentage (1.5%) of these discards will be affected by the landing obligation enforced by the new European discards ban.
Highlights
Small-scale fisheries are characterized by the use of small boats and by being highly heterogeneous in terms of landings, fishing gear, fishing strategies and species targeted (Stergiou et al 2006, Palmer et al 2017)
We describe the main catch, by-catch and discard patterns found in this fishery on Mallorca Island by onboard surveys of 1005 netting walls from 23 fishing trips
The immediate survival of the unwanted items and the medium-term survival of a subsample were assessed
Summary
Small-scale fisheries are characterized by the use of small boats (less than 15 m long) and by being highly heterogeneous in terms of landings, fishing gear, fishing strategies and species targeted (Stergiou et al 2006, Palmer et al 2017). In the Mediterranean, small-scale fleets play an important socio-economic role and have a longstanding tradition (Stergiou et al 2006, MoralesNin et al 2010) These fleets represent 80% (42000 boats) of the EU Mediterranean fishing vessels and contribute 12% of the EU catches (C.O.M. 2002, Morales-Nin et al 2010, Maynou et al 2013). The small-scale fisheries in the Balearic Islands (GSA05) provide fresh, local seafood of high quality to both local consumers and tourists (Morales-Nin et al 2013, Quetglas et al 2016) This fleet comprises 318 boats, which represent 85% of the total Balearic fleet (official data in 2016 from the Regional Fisheries Administration (Direcció General de Pesca i Medi Marí, DGPMM). The gross revenues of the cuttlefish fishery are €959000 per year (24.6%), surpassed only by the spiny lobster trammel net fishery (Palmer et al 2017)
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