Comparison of the catch and fishing yield from an artificial reef system and neighbouring areas off Faro (Algarve, south Portugal)

Abstract

In 1990 an artificial reef system, consisting of a protection reef (PR – 735 cubic modules) and an exploitation reef (ER – 20 large concrete modules), was deployed off Faro by the Portuguese Institute of Marine Research (IPIMAR). A gill net survey was carried out over four and a half years to test the effectiveness of the artificial reef in attracting fish assemblages and enhancing fishing yield. The fishing yield (in weight) from the reefs exceeded that from the control sites: 1.86 times for the PR, and 2.28 times for the ER. The mean CPUE of species and the mean CPUE species diversity were also higher at the ER than at the respective control site. The overall conclusion was that the Faro artificial reef system enhances fishing success and the CPUE of benthic species. However, reef deployment did not affect the community equilibrium, since the relative proportion of the different functional groups, that constitute the fish assemblages caught by the gill nets, did not change.