Recreational fisheries economics between illusion and reality: The case of Algeria.

Nadhéra Babali,Daniel Pauly,Ferial Louanchi,Mohamed Kacher,Dyhia Belhabib,Athanassios C Tsikliras

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0201602

Abstract

Recreational fishing is often perceived as harmless when it comes to fisheries management, and its impact often estimated to surpass the economic outcomes of e.g. large-scale fisheries. Recreational fisheries are often an indication of political stability and sound ecosystem management. However, despite a high economic impact, the economic costs on traditional and small-scale commercial fishers is yet to be known. This paper answers the question of how unregulated recreational fisheries could rather generate a loss to an economy, and cause unfair competition with existing commercial sectors using the example of Algeria. This paper assesses catches and economic value of recreational fisheries in Algeria, and finds that over 6,000 tonnes reach commercial markets annually, competing directly with the small-scale artisanal sector, while selling recreationally caught fish is still illegal. The paper further finds that the public is thereby deprived—through lost tax, licence income and landed value of $45 million US annually.

Highlights

Fishing is one of the oldest activities on earth [1]
Catch reconstructions revealed that data reported to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) do not reflect this reality [7]
Recreational catches for 14 coastal wilayas of Algeria are either not reported or are reported as part of the commercial catch. We estimate these catches based on annual Catch Per Unit of Effort (CPUE) data, where effort is defined as the number of actives vessels

Summary

Introduction

Fishing is one of the oldest activities on earth [1]. With fisheries industrialization, fish stocks are increasingly subject to over-exploitation and are declining at an alarming rate [2, 3]. This paper assesses catches and economic value of recreational fisheries in Algeria, and finds that over 6,000 tonnes reach commercial markets annually, competing directly with the small-scale artisanal sector, while selling recreationally caught fish is still illegal.

Results

Conclusion