1. Fishing in the antipodes: Fishers and fishes
in two opposite poles
RESEARCH GROUP
MARINE RESOURCES AND FISHERIES
Recursos Marinos y Pesquerías
Pablo Pita http://www.udc.es/
http://www.verdeprofundo.net/
UWA Oceans Institute, W Australia, February 20 th, 2013 http://www.recursosmarinos.udc.es/

2. 25 faculties/schools
25000 graduate, 1500 postgraduate students,
some 1200 academic and/or research staff, and
800 administrative staff

3. MARINE RESOURCES AND
FISHERIES
Multidisciplinary group formed by
biologists, oceanographers and social
scientists
Extensive experience in applied
research:
• Assessment and management of living
marine resources
• Integrated management of the coastal
zone
• Socioeconomics of coastal communities

4. http://recursosmarinos.udc.es/

5. MARINE RESOURCES
AND FISHERIES
Research projects (1990-2007):
•16 autonomic projects
• 6 EU projects
•13 national projects
• Contracts with private companies
Funding: 1,750,000 euros (last 5 years)
Aprox. 150 publications in international journals
Two spin-off companies

6. Research funding– R+D
contracts
Regional government
Spanish government
European Union
Foundations
Partners Spin-offs
Public institutions
Companies
NGOs

7. GAP 2 Project
Connecting Science,
Stakeholders and Policy

8. Partners
• EU
• Scientific (Universities and other research
centres)
• Stakeholders (professional and recreational
fishers, NGOs)
• Politicians (regional, national and international
fishing ministries and RACs)

9. Objectives
• Mutual learning between scientists, fishermen and
managers
• User participation in the management of fisheries and
the marine environment
• Collaborative research that integrates the scientific and
users knowledge in the management policies

10. Cases of study
1. UK. Sustainability of brown crab stocks with studies on behavior and migrations
2. Spain. Mapping habitats and fishing grounds in coastal ecosystems of Galicia
3. Germany. Climate change effect on the inshore and Wadden Sea brown shrimp fishery
4. DenmarkManagement plans for herring in ICES IIIa and adjacent areas; perceptions of stocks and
fisheries
5. Norway. Developing a fisheries-based resource monitoring system for Norwegian coastal cod
6. Sweden. Development of selective fisheries on whitefish in Lake Vattern - joint research involving
regional stakeholders inked to “Fisheries Co-management Initiatives”
7. Spain-France. Conservation and management issues of tuna fisheries around FADs
8. Italy. Spatio-temporal distribution of fishing effort and biological resources in the Northern Adriatic
Sea: towards the identification of fish habitats and management proposal in the framework of a
participatory approach
9. Malta. Management of the trawl industry in the Maltese 25nm Fisheries Management Zone (FMZ)
10. Spain. Ecological impact and alternative management strategies for the NW Mediterranean red
shrimp (Aristeus antennatus) fishery
11. Estonia. Mapping Baltic Fisheries in support of Marine Spatial Planning
12. Holland. Collaborative discard sampling in the Dutch flatfish fisheries
13. UK. Long term management plans and the ecosystem approach in the North Sea

11. Mapping habitats and
fishing grounds in coastal
ecosystems of Galicia
• Partnership with the Galician Organization of Fishermen
• Useful information to improve (self) management
• Information for multiple objectives (management plans,
technical reports, proposals, conflict resolutions, etc.)

12. Collecting TEK

13. Map working

14. Map working

15. Map working

16. Habitat cartography

17. Fisheries monitoring

18. More information
www.recursosmarinos.udc.es/gap2
www.gap2.eu
gap2galicia@gmail.com

19. WP 1 International exchange
Commercial catches of razor clams are performed by free divers in Galicia.
Just the same as the abalone fishery of Australia, in the other side of the
world.
Dr Jeremy Prince called The Barefoot Ecologist Toolbox to a set of user-
friendly tools to effectively manage fisheries.
Effective implementation of these ideas has been successful, especially when
applied to artisanal small-scale invertebrate fisheries, like the abalone fishery
of Australia.

22. WP 1 International exchange
I attended the annual meeting of the Western Zone Abalone Divers
Association (WADA) in Victoria. They settled the catch and size limits for the
next year.
Before the virus struck 300 tons of abalone were caught on WADA reefs. In
2012 they captured 40 tons.
Now divers wants to raise quotas to 70 tons.
Also propose flexible quota distribution among the reefs so that fishing effort
can spread following the divers decisions.

28. WP 1 International exchange
Pending the final decision of the Ministry, there will not be an increase in the
total quota for the next year, but divers can reallocate some reef quotas
according to their proposal.

29. WP 1 International exchange
New Data-Poor Harvest Strategies based on SPR
Jeremy Prince, Adrian Hordyk & Sarah Valencia
Acknowledgements:
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Marine Stewardship Council
The Nature Conservancy

30. WP 1 International exchange
Size Histogram
from the Catch
Data
Size of Maturity Data:
Collected only once Size Composition
to develop each Data: Collected each
assessment time an Assessment
framework is repeated

31. WP 1 International exchange
Estimate of SPR
100% SPR
Current SPR
Depletion
(F/M ~ SPR)

32. Visual censuses in dark waters

33. Visual censuses in dark waters

34. Visual censuses in dark waters

35. Visual censuses in dark waters

36. Visual censuses in dark waters

37. Visual censuses in dark waters
Relevant constrictions
1. Rough sea conditions
2. Poor visibility
m

38. Visual censuses in dark waters

39. Thank you very much