GENERAL FISHERIES COMMISSION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN ISSN 1020-9549 STUDIES AND REVIEWS No. 77 2006 For years, the impoverishment of artisanal fishery in Mediterranean countries has been INVENTORY OF ARTISANAL FISHERY COMMUNITIES frequently reported at all levels when the urgency for intervention was systematically IN THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN highlighted. In addition, it has also been reiterated that, at present, there is not enough knowledge either of the primary and secondary magnitudes of artisanal fishery or of the normative and managerial tools that cover the entire spectrum of competence. Information on artisanal fishery, in the wide sense, is fundamental for planning and management purposes. It is, therefore, extremely important to document all the elements that influence and interact directly or indirectly with artisanal fisheries (e.g. synergies, conflicts or friction, possible interaction and connection, etc.). During the project Cooperation Networks to Facilitate Coordination to Support Fisheries Management in the Western and Central Mediterranean (COPEMED), the first-ever inventory of regional artisanal fishery communities in the Central and Western Mediterranean was implemented. This was possible through direct assistance to some member countries to develop and improve their capacity to collect and analyse information on artisanal fisheries. The inventory resulted in a comprehensive list of all the fishing communities performing artisanal fisheries in the region, including their localization, description, use, pictures and other ancillary information. This exercise, based on 13 582 sites visited (interviewed), produced 11 papers, involved 16 scientists (regional and national), and also collected a selected bibliography of about 200 documents. Most of the results are presented in this paper. ISBN 978-92-5-105606-6 ISSN 1020-9549 9 7 8 9 2 5 1 0 5 6 0 6 6 TR/M/A0824E/1/11.06/1200 STUDIES AND REVIEWS No. 77 GENERAL FISHERIES COMMISSION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN INVENTORY OF ARTISANAL FISHERY COMMUNITIES IN THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN by Salvatore R. Coppola Fishery Resources Division FAO Fisheries Department FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2006 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. ISBN 978-92-5-105606-6 All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Chief, Electronic Publishing Policy and Support Branch, Information Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to [email protected] © FAO 2006 PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT Reorganization of the artisanal fishery sector in the Mediterranean is one of the recurring issues in the many debates on the future status of its fisheries. At the same time, it is believed that more knowledge on this sector is indispensable. Therefore, only an appropriate assessment of these fisheries and the resources they exploit, including the other economic components implicated in the same area, will enable modern and effective management. The project Cooperation Networks to Facilitate Coordination to Support Fisheries Management in the Western and Central Mediterranean (COPEMED) took up the challenge to assess the artisanal fisheries in its eight member countries through a subregional project activity, thus for the first time acting at the regional level on an issue which is normally only dealt with at national level. The inventory implemented by COPEMED produced a comprehensive listing of all the artisanal communities performing artisanal fisheries in the region including their localization, description, practices, pictures and some other ancillary information. The whole study, summarized in this document, consisted of the planning and realization of: (a) the methodological design; (b) the data collection (field work); (c) the database Artisanal Fishery in the Mediterranean (ArtFiMed); (d) the case studies; (e) the processing and analysis and (f) the CD- ROM output, including appropriate documentation and a power-point presentation. It is also worth mentioning that this exercise, based on 13 582 sites visited (interviewed), has produced 11 papers, involved 16 regional and national scientists, and has also gathered a selected bibliography of about 200 documents concerning artisanal fishery in the Mediterranean region. Coppola, S.R. Inventory of artisanal fishery communities in the Western and Central Mediterranean. Studies and Reviews. General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. No. 77. Rome, FAO. 2006. 82p. ABSTRACT For years, the impoverishment of artisanal fishery in Mediterranean countries has been frequently reported at all levels when the urgency for intervention was systematically highlighted. In addition, it has also been reiterated that, at present, there is not enough knowledge either of the primary and secondary magnitudes of artisanal fishery or of the normative and managerial tools that cover the entire spectrum of competence. Information on artisanal fishery, in the wide sense, is fundamental for planning and management purposes. It is, therefore, extremely important to document all the elements which influence and interact directly or indirectly with artisanal fisheries, (e.g. synergies, conflicts or friction, possible interaction and connection, etc.). During the project Cooperation Networks to facilitate Coordination to Support Fisheries Management in the Western and Central Mediterranean (COPEMED), the first-ever inventory of regional artisanal fishery communities in the Central and Western Mediterranean was implemented. This was possible through direct assistance to some of the member countries to develop and improve their capacity to collect and analyse information on artisanal fisheries. The inventory resulted in a comprehensive list of all the fishing communities performing artisanal fisheries in the region, including their localization, description, use, pictures and other ancillary information. This exercise, based on 13 582 sites visited (interviewed), produced 11 papers, involved 16 scientists (regional and national), and also collected a selected bibliography of about 200 documents. Most of the results are presented in this paper. iii CONTENTS Page Preface............................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 2 1. Background ........................................................................................................................... 3 2. The original programme.. ......... ......... ................................................................................. 3 2.1 The objective..............................................................................................................3 2.2 The objective situation reported ................................................................................. 4 2.3 Effort to define the artisanal fishery in the COPEMED area...................................... 5 2.4 The agreed change of objectives................................................................................. 7 2.5 Workshop’s conclusions and recommendations......................................................... 7 3. The new approach ................................................................................................................. 8 3.1 The programme of work ............................................................................................. 8 3.2 The inventory programme .......................................................................................... 10 3.3 Standardization of the data items................................................................................ 11 3.3.1 Fishing gear...................................................................................................... 11 3.3.2 Target species................................................................................................... 11 3.3.3 Species name.................................................................................................... 12 3.3.4 Fishing zone...................................................................................................... 12 3.3.5 Fishing port....................................................................................................... 12 3.3.6 Fishing seasons................................................................................................. 12 3.4 Data structure.............................................................................................................. 12 3.5 Coverage....................................................................................................................