Browsing by Author "Pita, Cristina"
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- Do fisher associations really represent their members’ needs and opinions? The case study of the octopus fishery in the Algarve (south Portugal)Publication . Rangel, Mafalda; Pita, Cristina; de Oliveira, Manuela Maria; Guimarães, Maria Helena; Rainha, Rita; Sonderblohm, Carlos; Monteiro, Pedro; Oliveira, Frederico; Ballesteros, Marta; Gonçalves, Jorge Manuel Santos; Pierce, Graham J.; Erzini, KarimFishers’ participation in the fishery management decision-making process is generally low, particularly in small-scale fisheries (SSF). Within the overarching goal of improving fisheries governance, fishers’ participation is crucial. Yet, how can fishers participate in the decision-making processes which affect their actions, and to what extent do fisher associations represent their interests? These questions were tackled by means of an empirical case study in the “Tertúlia do Polvo” project, focusing on the octopus SSF in the Algarve region (south Portugal), where the octopus fishery is managed top-down with sporadic participation of fishers. During the study (2014 and 2015), seven participatory workshops (tertúlias) were held, involving fisher associations, management authorities and researchers, to propose and discuss management measures for the fishery. Also, a face-to-face questionnaire survey (121 valid replies) was undertaken with local fishers to gauge their opinions about the management measures proposed during the workshops. Results show a strong agreement between the outcomes achieved during the workshops and the main concerns and possible solutions identified by fishers. Taking into consideration the difficulty in structuring and assuring a transparent and effective participation of fishers in the management of their activity, the results obtained are promising. In this study, the use of a participatory process (restricted to a small group of stakeholders) combined with consultation (targeting a sample of the fisher population) allowed the validation of the overall results obtained. Such a methodological approach can be tried in other fishing communities to implement efficient and effective collaborative management, contributing to improved fisheries governance.
- Fishers' perceptions about the EU discards policy and its economic impact on small-scale fisheries in Galicia (North West Spain)Publication . Villasante, Sebastian; Pierce, Graham J.; Pita, Cristina; Pazos Guimerans, César; Garcia Rodrigues, João; Antelo, Manel; Da Rocha, José Maria; Garcia Cutrini, Javier; Hastie, Lee C.; Veiga, Pedro; Sumaila, U. Rashid; Coll, MartaThis paper investigates the impact of the European Union landing obligation in the Galician (North West of Spain) multispecies small-scale gillnet fishery. By combining results from semi-structured interviews with small-scale fishers and a bioeconomic model, we found that the percentage of discards for small-scale fisheries is usually low, which is consistent with general empirical observations globally but can be high when quotas are exhausted. Our results also confirm that the landing obligation would generate negative impacts on fishers' activities by investing more time on-board to handle previously discarded fishes, and putting at risk the security of fishers at sea due to full use of allowable storage on-board coupled with often adverse sea conditions in Galician bays. The application of the landing obligation policy to small-scale fisheries would result in short-and long-term losses of fishing days and yields, with high negative impacts on sustainable fisheries such as the Galician multi species small-scale gillnet fishery. The expected number of fishing days under the landing obligation is estimated to be reduced by 50% during the five years following the implementation of the policy. The future yield (catches) under the landing obligation would be only 50% of catches expected in the absence of the landing obligation, regardless of the total volume of quotas allocated to the fleet. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Marine Recreational Fishing in Portugal: Current Knowledge, Challenges, and Future PerspectivesPublication . Diogo, Hugo; Veiga, Pedro; Pita, Cristina; Sousa, Alina; Lima, David; Pereira, Joao Gil; Gonçalves, Jorge Manuel Santos; Erzini, Karim; Rangel, MafaldaMarine recreational fishing (MRF) in Portugal is a traditional leisure activity with considerable importance for coastal populations. In the absence of available information from the national data collection framework, this article aims to review the existing information on MRF across the country. MRF was an open access fishery until recently, but with rising evidence of overexploitation of coastal resources, a precautionary approach was imposed top-down, without consulting recreational fishers. In Portugal, the MRF participation rate is comparable to the European average (2%). The most important fishing mode (according to the official issued licenses) is shore angling. Mainland Portugal marine recreational catches (0.8% of total commercial landings) are likely underestimated, while the estimate for the Azores (6% of total commercial landings) is probably closer to the national reality. The Portuguese MRF sector faces several challenges, including: (1) the need for a definition of a national data collection framework; (2) the inclusion of MRF harvest estimates in stock assessments for key captured species; (3) management approaches which also take into account the ecosystem approach to fisheries and any potential effects of climate change; (4) additional research on post-release mortalities for the most important MRF species; and (5) a stronger involvement of all stakeholders in the decision-making process of MRF. The latter would be critical to improve the adequacy of regulations to the MRF reality, mitigate conflicts with other sectors (e.g., commercial fishing), and potentially increase fishers compliance.
- Participatory assessment of management measures for octopus vulgaris pot and trap fishery from southern PortugalPublication . Sonderblohm, Carlos; Guimarães, Maria H.; Pita, Cristina; Oliveira, M.R.; Pereira, João; Gonçalves, Jorge Manuel Santos; Erzini, KarimCo-management has shown promising results for the sustainable use of fishery resources. The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) pot and trap fishery in the Algarve (Portugal) holds the potential for implementation of a co-management system. To explore this potential, seven participatory workshops took place between 2014-2015, bringing together 60 participants from 10 fishing associations and 16 fisheries management and research institutions. The exercise resulted in promising outcomes with regards to the possible implementation of a co-management system for the fishery. In the present work an overview of the outcomes of the participatory workshops is given and compared with initiatives worldwide. Among the management actions identified, some have direct impacts on the octopus' life cycle, while all target the same overall objective: to regulate fishing effort. In the informal setting of the workshops, a formal request was developed: the establishment of an annual closed season in the Algarve. This request was taken into consideration by the responsible management institution.
- Ready for co-management? Portuguese artisanal octopus fishers preferences for management and knowledge about the resourcePublication . Silva, Priscila; Cabral, Henrique; Rangel, Mafalda; Pereira, João; Pita, CristinaIn Portugal, the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) dominates the total catches and landings from small scale fisheries. The small-scale fisheries have been targeting the common octopus for a long time and it is consistently one of the most important commercial fishing resources in the country. Questionnaires were conducted in 13 fishing ports in the south and southwest coasts of Portugal, from November 2014 to December 2016, to explore octopus artisanal fishers’ preferences for management and their knowledge about the biology and ecology of octopus. The survey revealed that fishers are generally not satisfied with the current management of the octopus fisheries. Some differences in preferences for management were found between regions, but in general, fishers strongly supported biological closures and local management plans developed by themselves. Fishers seemed to be interest in being more involved in the decision-making process, but only seem to have a moderate knowledge about the biology and ecology of the resource they exploit. A greater involvement of fishers in decision-making process will contribute to increase their awareness and knowledge about the resource, their receptivity to and acceptance of management measures, as well as increase their feeling of responsibility towards, and ownership of the resource.
- Research and management priorities for Atlantic marine recreational fisheries in Southern EuropePublication . Pita, Pablo; Artetxe, Inaqui; Diogo, Hugo; Gomes, Pedro; Gordoa, Ana; Hyder, Kieran; Pereira, Joao; Pita, Cristina; Rangel, Mafalda; Garcia-Rodrigues, Joao; Sague, Oscar; Veiga, Pedro; Vingada, Jose; Villasante, SebastianMarine Recreational Fishing (MRF) is an important activity in Europe, with 9 million fishers and generating annually 6 billion in direct expenditures. However, there is a lack of data and understanding of MRF in Europe, particularly in Southern countries, which prevents a number of fish stocks from being effectively assessed and managed. In November 2016, a participatory workshop on MRF was held in Vigo (Spain) to identify challenges and opportunities for data collection, and to diagnose key research gaps and management issues for MRF in the Southern European Atlantic. Experts from a wide range of disciplines (researchers, policy makers, fisheries managers and commercial and recreational fishers) highlighted that the management of MRF is a challenge due to complex and dispersed legal frameworks, with multiple administrations involved, and overlapping uses of space with commercial fishing, aquaculture, navigation and tourism, among others. The lack of strong and representative fishing associations hampers research and management initiatives. Effective communication between recreational fishers, researchers and fisheries managers is also lacking. Despite the ecological, social and economic relevance of MRF, there is no systematic and comprehensive collection of information on fishing effort, recreational catches, expenses, social profile and access conditions of European recreational fishers. These data would be useful to avoid biases in the assessment of recreational fisheries due to the great diversity of ecosystems, species and typologies of users. Strategic recommendations and research priorities were also identified to address knowledge gaps and are discussed in the context of the management of MRF across Europe.
- Towards global traceability for sustainable cephalopod seafoodPublication . Gleadall, Ian G.; Moustahfid, Hassan; Sauer, Warwick H. H.; Ababouch, Lahsen; Arkhipkin, Alexander I.; Bensbai, Jilali; Elegbede, Isa; Faraj, Abdelmalek; Ferreiro-Velasco, Pedro; González-Gómez, Roberto; González-Vallés, Carmen; Markaida, Unai; Morillo-Velarde, Piedad S.; Pierce, Graham J.; Pirro, Stacy; Pita, Cristina; Roumbedakis, Katina; Sakurai, Yasunori; Scheel, David; Shaw, Paul W.; Veiga, Pedro; Willette, Demian A.; Winter, Andreas; Yamaguchi, TadanoriCephalopods are harvested in increasingly large quantities but understanding how to control and manage their stocks, and tracking the routes of the consumption that exploits them, lag behind what has been developed for exploiting finfish. This review attempts to redress the imbalance by considering the status of the major cephalopod stock species and the traceability of cephalopod seafood along the trade value chain. It begins with a general overview of the most important exploited cephalopods, their stock status and their market. Four major cephalopod resources are identified: the three squid species Todarodes pacificus, Dosidicus gigas and Illex argentinus; and one species of octopus, Octopus vulgaris. The techniques and problems of stock assessment (to assess sustainability) are reviewed briefly and the problems and possible solutions for assessing benthic stock such as those of octopuses are considered. An example of a stock well managed in the long term is presented to illustrate the value of careful monitoring and management: the squid Doryteuthis gahi available in Falkland Islands waters. Issues surrounding identification, mislabelling and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing are then reviewed, followed by a discussion of approaches and techniques of traceability as applied to cephalopods. Finally, some of the mobile apps currently available and in development for tracking seafood are compared. This review concludes with observations on the necessity for the strengthening and international coordination of legislation, and more rigorous standards for seafood labelling and for taxonomic curation of DNA sequences available in public databases for use in seafood identification.
- Trends and drivers of marine fish landings in Portugal since its entrance in the European UnionPublication . Bueno-Pardo, Juan; Pierce, Graham J.; Cabecinha, Edna; Grilo, Catarina; Assis, Jorge; Valavanis, Vasilis; Pita, Cristina; Dubert, Jesus; Leitão, Francisco; Queiroga, HenriqueMarine landings in Portugal have decreased at a higher rate than fishing effort in the last 20 years. Identifying the variables driving the quantity and composition of landings is pivotal to understand the dynamics of the fisheries sector, which entails complex social and environmental aspects. In this study, we investigate the main drivers of marine fish landings in continental Portugal between 1989 and 2014. To identify common trends in time series, and quantify the importance of environmental factors, we applied a dynamic factor analysis considering four regions and three types of gear (trawling, purse-seine, and a multi-gear fishery). Our results show the importance of fishing effort as the most relevant factor driving marine landings in Portugal, both at the long and short terms. In addition, the effect of environmental factors such as the winter river discharge and the spring East Atlantic Teleconnection index should not be neglected, probably through mechanisms affecting coastal productivity. We provide a comprehensive amount of information that permits to improve our understanding of the trends of the most important commercial species in Portugal during the period of study.