Abstract
Since the Balearics are one of the key tourism destinations in Europe, the tourism industry has entailed a radical transformation of coastal life on the islands. In the 1960s and 1970s, fish captures increased enormously due to the expansion of consumption derived from tourism, and through technological improvements. There has been a change in target species from cheap fish consumed by local people towards expensive species consumed by tourists. However, since the 1980s a combination of factors including the adoption of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, the globalization of trade, and overfishing of some target species has led to a drastic fall in fishing sector jobs, catch reductions, and an increase in cheap imports. This article analyses the transformation of Balearic fisheries combining ecological economics (EE) and political ecology (PE) approaches. Material flow accounting (MFA) and the ecological footprint (EF) are applied in order to conceptualize the biophysical dimension of fisheries in relation to the historical dynamics of capital in the archipelago. Between 1940 and 2012, total fish catches doubled the official landings, while nonreported or hidden catches were underestimated. In the neoliberal period (1990-2012), fish catches decreased and seafood consumption was satisfied mainly through imports, five times the local captures. Thus, the metabolism of fish consumption in the Balearics illustrates the logics of capital and its metabolism in advanced capitalist regions, characterized by the displacement of socio-ecological conflicts to distant waters.Keywords: Balearic Islands; tourism; fisheries; material flow accounting; ecological footprint.
Highlights
Marine ecosystems and fisheries are seriously threatened by overfishing, and by land based activities and global environmental variability
Since the Balearics are a centerpiece for global tourism, the transformations of coastal and island spaces over time, and the effect on the fishing sector that was once very important to the islands, are emblematic
This study has shown how fusing ecological economics accounting methods with political ecology can inform the historical analysis of capitalism
Summary
Marine ecosystems and fisheries are seriously threatened by overfishing, and by land based activities and global environmental variability. Previous studies have identified: first, the displacement of fishing by tourism with little benefit for artisanal fishers and local communities (Hoefle 2014); second, the promotion of tourism in order to substitute for commercial overfishing, with ambiguous results (Fabinyi 2010; Lovelock et al 2010); and third, using ecotourism as a strategy to preserve marine ecosystems and as a form of 'blue grabbing' (Benjaminsen and Bryceson 2012). Given this breadth of approaches, studies are needed in situations where tourism has altered fishing patterns. Conclusions are drawn in order to think beyond the neoliberal agenda for fishing and Blue Capitalism
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