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Research Project
RECREATIONAL FISHING IN THE SOUTH OF PORTUGAL: BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS AND PERSPECTIVES FOR MANAGEMENT
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Recreational shore fishing in southern Portugal: biological and socio-economic aspects and perspectives for management
Publication . Veiga, Pedro Filipe Duarte Alves da; Erzini, Karim; Gonçalves, Jorge M.S.
Although overfishing is a concern for many fish stocks, it was for a long time only associated
with commercial fishing exploitation, with less or no attention being given to the recreational
fisheries. Recent research has shown however that the impact of recreational fishing on
particular species can be considerable, and that the recreational harvest needs to be taken into
account if fisheries are to be accurately assessed and effectively managed. In Portugal, the
first recreational fishing regulations were only recently implemented. However, mirroring
other European countries, regulations lacked scientific support, and specific knowledge of the
activity was limited to a few studies with limited coverage. This thesis aimed to characterize
the biological and socioeconomic aspects of the recreational shore angling activity in southern
Portugal, to investigate whether the regulations in place were adequate and effective, and to
provide recommendations for improved management and conservation of the inshore fisheries
resources.
A combined aerial-roving survey was conducted to gather data on fishing effort, catch, fishing
trips and socioeconomic aspects (including anglers’ perceptions of regulations) of the
recreational angling activity. The analysis of anglers’ catches suggested that compliance with
daily bag limits was high, with less than 0.5% of creels exceeding the 10 kg angler-1 day-1 bag
limit. Overall, 11.5% of the retained fishes were undersized, but non-compliance with
minimum size limits was found to be high for some species (e.g. seabass, 73% undersized). In
terms of the impact of recreational shore angling, the total estimated catches corresponded to
less than 1% of the commercial landings for the same period (shared species). However, shore
angling catches for white sea bream (Diplodus sargus) were found to be considerable,
corresponding to 65% of the commercial landings (39.4% of total catch). In terms of anglers’
perceptions about the recreational fishing regulations in Portugal, the present study has shown
that the majority of anglers accepted the existence of some kind of SRF regulations, but in
general there was a partial or total disagreement with the recreational fishing restrictions
recently put in place. Most anglers perceived themselves as not being involved in the
decision-making process and claimed that some restrictions lacked a meaningful rationale
(e.g. prohibition of fishing from piers/jetties). Fishers’ awareness with regard to specific aspects of the restrictions (such as the rationale for minimum size limits) was found to be very
limited.
During the same period, catches from sport fishing competitions were examined to test for
differences with the recreational activity in terms of catches, and evaluate long term trends in
catch and mean size of fish. Catches of the sport fishing competitions were found to be
different from those observed for recreational fishing, being dominated by different species
(e.g. garfish, mullets), and suggesting different fishing strategies of the the two types of
anglers. High percentages of undersized fish were observed to be captured (and retained)
during the competitions (in particular seabass, with 100% undersized), probably as a result of
a single allowable minimum size (AMS) of 15 cm for all species in use in competitions.
Lastly, catch and release fishing experiments were carried out to assess post-release mortality
of three recreationally important species: two banded sea bream Diplodus vulgaris; black sea
bream Spondyliosoma cantharus; and gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata. Post-release
mortalities were found to be low (0-12%). The main predictor of mortality for Sparus aurata
was anatomical hooking location, with 63% of the fishes that died being deeply hooked. The
results support the release of fish, either from mandatory (e.g. minimum landing sizes) or
voluntary practices.
In summary, this thesis has demonstrated that the impact of recreational fishing for particular
species is significant and needs to be taken into account for more effective management and
stock assessment purposes. It has also highlighted several management issues that should be
addressed in order to promote more adequate regulations in the future and prevent noncompliance
issues. A periodic monitoring of the recreational fishing activity including all
fishing modes (i.e. spear fishing, boat, and shore angling) would also be beneficial to ensure a
timely knowledge on the global recreational fishing activity and support future management
actions.
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Funding agency
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Funding programme
Funding Award Number
SFRH/BD/28723/2006