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Miguel Ángel Civera's opinion: "It is better to fish little and always, than to fish all at once"

03 July 2020 - 08: 58

When we reflect on fishing in the Mediterranean we are almost always referring to the sea and the extraction of renewable living marine resources, and we often forget to talk about human evolution, food, infrastructure (ports, lighthouses, fish markets, fishmongers ... ), of fishing systems and fishing gear, of a vocabulary of seafarers, of festive events, dishes, stories, research, innovation and training, art, management models, the role of the administration, seaside neighborhoods, of economic activity, or of identity and brand.

Fishing in the Marina, an ancient culture, is the result of the interaction of nature with social models that throughout history have shaped a very rich cultural heritage that at the present time, despite its recognized great socio-economic importance , cultural and environmental, is suffering a significant decline.

Multidisciplinary forums of the EU and FAO, which analyze data, discuss methodologies and propose reports, warn that 90% of the stocks in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea are overexploited reaching the highest levels of overfishing in the world, while recognizing their potential recovery if appropriate measures are taken. Overfishing, understanding as such the fact that more biomass is removed than is being reproduced by natural growth, affects 80% of demersal species in the western Mediterranean, including some of great value: red mullet, hake, red shrimp, Norway lobster ... Therefore, it has a great ecological and economic impact, both in the medium and long term, because it is still possible that, if the fishing effort is increased in overexploited fisheries, the catches will increase until they no longer give more of itself and collapse.

These are data that alert us to the current high vulnerability of the resource and the sector, as reflected in the charts of the Local Fisheries Action Group (GALP) of the Navy, which show the trend towards a general decrease in catches. , the maintenance of economic performance in our region due to the extraordinary demand for restoration and the high price of some fishery (shrimp), and a decrease in the fleet and fishermen, to which we should add the aging of the sector and the lack of qualified generational replacement.

We are, therefore, facing some evidence: increasingly scarce catches due to overfishing and impacts on the marine environment regulated by management models that, even with good intentions, have not achieved the intended results. If to this is added a greater demand derived from the great urban and tourist growth, with a little responsible consumption in which the local is often diluted, and a scarce, if not null, task of patrimonialization of the different dimensions of the world of fishing, the conditions are being created for the perfect storm that predicts a bad journey.

In this situation, if we were to ask ourselves what to do to contribute to a marine-fishing culture of the Navy and a gastronomy of fish committed to the SDGs and that can meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda? The response must necessarily be multiple, since there are many fields on which to act in coordination, but all must have as a base line the good environmental status of the Mediterranean Sea and, therefore, the maintenance of its ecosystem services. Without it, there is no recourse.

The goal would be to capture marine species fit for human consumption, economically viable and so that they do not irreversibly alter the characteristics and functions of ecosystems. To achieve this, we should consider the different factors that influence fishing activity and that are associated with the uniqueness, diversity, complexity and vulnerability of fishery resources in the Mediterranean.

It is a little productive sea, in which there are very different habitats occupied by a great diversity of species. That is why the fishing is very varied, multispecific due to this high biodiversity, and among other things because we eat it all - fish, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, cnidarians ... - as well as not abundant, compared to fisheries in other seas and oceans. .

But the species of fishing interest do not live in isolation, they are part of the web of interactions of marine ecosystems and, therefore, are affected by the changes that may occur as a consequence of climate change, the increase in invasive species, pollution and the impacts derived from the increase of activities that are carried out in the marine environment and that affect the resources and the activity of the fishing sector. This complexity forces to know very well the habitats where the different species are found, and to design and select the art and the most suitable moment for its capture.

These resources need methods of analysis and an activity that has to be regulated. It is known, from experience, that the lack of management of any fishery resource leads to the "Tragedy of the commons", to collapse. This is the case of the sea urchin in the Marina. This is why fisheries have had management regulations and organizations for centuries. Currently, fishermen's guilds, local fishing action groups, international and national multidisciplinary forums, research centers and the different administrations are responsible for both the evaluation systems and the management models. They are also models implemented by those who have the
competences, which in this case start from Europe and which are later adapted by national and regional authorities, which have been changing and have had very different results without managing to avoid overfishing.

In the current scenario and in order to achieve the proposed goal, the focus of resource assessment must be changed to an ecosystem-based fisheries management model. According to the principle that "Everything is connected to everything", this model has a more holistic vision, adopts the precautionary principle, incorporates the new variables (climate change, invasive species, pollution) and includes other activities that take place in the marine environment and that affect fisheries; In addition, it proposes a more adaptive management according to the needs of the species, of the habitats, and bases its development on co-management.

In 2018, the Scientific Forum for Spanish Fisheries in the Mediterranean was recovered, which proposes to improve the incorporation of scientific information into decision-making, and that this decision be adaptive based on fluctuations in resources, for which it is necessary have the best information and local co-management structures. It advises that measures on fishing effort be taken according to the objectives: in activity time, by improving gear selectivity, establishing protected areas, space and temporary closures and reviewing minimum sizes and the discard plan .

They are proposals that coincide with those of the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), based on research done in the so-called GSA6 area, one of the largest in the Spanish Mediterranean where most of the fishing effort is concentrated, with 55 Brotherhoods. The results of establishing temporary (12-month) and permanent fisheries areas in order to recover habitats and populations (hake, red shrimp ...) have been analyzed, as well as the validity of the recommendations on the size of the nets or the days of activity. Their reports have been sent to the different actors so that adjustments are proposed in many of the controversial and controversial proposals. "Multi-annual plan for demersal fishing in the western Mediterranean of the EU", which entered into force in January 2020.

The ICM also participates in other co-management models such as "Management plan regulating the fishing of pink shrimp (Aristeus antennatus) with bottom trawling in certain maritime areas near Palamós" considered a good practice in fisheries management of a very important resource.

The present and future of the sector will depend on making adequate decisions related to the management of the resource. At D * na Forum These points were debated, the importance of fishing as heritage of the Navy, its interdependence with research, with restoration and gastronomic tourism, with training and culture, the need to act and that in this boat, fishing, we must all be on board, from fishermen to consumers.

Governing that complexity, articulated by knowledge and participation, is what can provide the hope of a good journey and not an end to a sea without fish.

1 Comment
  1. Xavi says:

    A good article written from good sense and knowledge. Thank you.


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