Marine Recreational Fisheries in the Canary Islands: State of Knowledge, Preliminary Results

Abstract

According to the data collection framework (DFC, Regulation (EU) 2017/1004) for marine recreational fisheries (MRF), the compilation of biological, environmental, technical and socioeconomic data is essential. However, the MRF in the Canary Islands does not have official catch statistics even though there are around 90,000 recreational fishers unequally distributed among the eight islands along 1500 km of coastline. Nevertheless, this has not been an obstacle for the research groups that have made notable efforts to infer the role of MRF in Canary Island fishery. We found 54 research references (2000–2021) in this regard. The studies were classified according to Pita et al. (2020). Most of the references (22) corresponded to peer-reviewed articles. The key results were mainly related to catch and effort estimates (26) and there were few publications referring to dissemination (3) and legislation (1). The data collection techniques included: face to face interviews, on-site data gathering and telephonic and online surveys. Is noteworthy that the catch/effort data is directly taken from fishers in only three publications (peer-reviewed). On a regional basis, only one work considers all modalities (coast, boat and spearfishing) and the other two are about spearfishing with significant differences regarding total catch estimates. As many authors have pointed out, most or all these methodologies are based on non-probabilistic samples or are specific to one island. Consequently, inferences must be taken with caution. The research carried out so far has been opportunistic (research groups) and with a short-term vision (administrations) to respond to specific needs. However, as in any fishery assessment, a long-term vision is necessary. Since January 2021 an MRF working group was created to contribute to the development of DFC at the national level. It would be a big step if the research groups could detail a roadmap with unified methodologies. In this way, the management of public resources would be more efficient. This effort should be led by the two fishing administrations (national and regional) of the Canary Islands. This work was developed within the framework of the PLASMAR+ Project (MAC2/1.1a/347), co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (EDRF) and INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal MAC 2014-2020.