Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Landings by species and their associated fishing effort are crucial for stock assessment and estimating fishing mortality. While large scale fisheries (LSF) have historically received more attention, interest in standardized data from small scale fisheries (SSF) has increased significantly over the last decade. This study characterizes SSF and ongoing fishing activity data collection across 17 European countries, from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean, using 2019 as a reference year. The analysis reveals that 88% of commercial active fishing vessels are smaller than 15 m in total length and that such SSF (as considered in this study) accounts for over 83% of the total days at sea and 12% of the landed weight. However, fishing activity data collection for SSF is less comprehensive compared to LSF. Vessels larger than 10 m typically report their fishing activities in logbooks and sales notes, whereas for <10 m vessels, only 40% provide additional data sources to sales notes, namely with declarative forms. This results in significant data gaps and inaccuracies, especially regarding fishing effort, gears used, or fishing locations. This is especially true for vessels smaller than 10 m, likely as a product of having comparatively less ongoing requirements put in place, whereas vessels between 10 and 15 m also present fewer data reporting obligations (e.g. large part of this fleet is not covered by geo-localization data especially for the [10–12) m vessels) compared to vessels above 15 m (LSF). In the end, SSF fisheries have not only less data available than LSF, but their provided information is also consequently subject to more inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Therefore, a concerted effort will be needed to improve SSF data quality through coordinated, harmonized, and comparable data collection efforts across countries. Recommendations include enhancing data reporting requirements for smaller vessels, implementing supplementary technological solutions, and conducting cross-checks of census information with sampling data. Additionally, the development and use of geolocation devices and apps are recommended to enhance the accuracy and completeness of SSF fishing activity data collection.
Source: ICES Journal of Marine Science
Authors: Sébastien Demanèche, Eneko Bachiller, Maciej Adamowicz, Estanis Mugerza, Rita P Vasconcelos, Maksims Kovsars, Josefine Egekvist, Mike Armstrong, Karen Bekaert, Angela Canha, Sofia Carlshamre, Abraham S Couperus, Jon Elson, Ana Cláudia Fernandes, Giorgos Gitarakos, Gildas Glemarec, Georgios A Orfanidis, Stefanos Kavadas, Uwe Krumme, Sofie Nimmegeers, Håkon Otterå, Dália Reis, Perttu Rantanen, Katja Ringdahl, Sven Stötera, Ioannis Thasitis, Joni Tiainen, Jon Helge Volstad, Elisa Barreto, Hans Gerritsen, Karolina Molla Gazi, Nuno Prista, Ana Ribeiro Santos
Institutions: Ifremer, AZTI, National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute, Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR”, Technical University of Denmark, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Instituut voor Landbouw en Visserijonderzoek, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Hellenic Agricultural Organization - DIMITRA, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Department of Fisheries and Marine Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Marine Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,686
Funder: European Commission
OpenAlex ID: W4413105254