Estos son los resúmenes de tres ponencias en las que participé y que fueron presentadas durante el Primer Simposio Internacional sobre Pesca Marítima Recreativa ISMAREF 2018, que tuvo lugar el 14 y 15 de septiembre de 2018 en el Museo do Mar de Galicia de Vigo.

ESTADO DEL ARTE DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN SOBRE PESCA MARÍTIMA RECREATIVA EN ESPAÑA

En Europa practican la pesca marítima recreativa (PMR) 10 millones de aficionados que generan un gasto de 6 000 millones de euros anuales [1]. En España se estima que hay 300 000 pescadores recreativos que realizan un gasto de 217 millones de euros anuales [1]. Por estos motivos, la Política Pesquera Común (PPC) reconoce que “la pesca recreativa puede tener un impacto significativo en los recursos pesqueros y por ello los Estados Miembros (EM) deben asegurar que se realiza de forma compatible con los objetivos de la PPC». En la Unión Europea se han desarrollado algunas iniciativas dirigidas a analizar la PMR, pero es necesario realizar un mayor esfuerzo investigador para gestionar la actividad de manera sostenible, especialmente en el Sur de Europa [2]. En España no existe una recogida sistemática de información sobre la PMR y no se ha realizado un análisis sobre las iniciativas de investigación desarrolladas hasta la fecha con el objetivo de identificar las necesidades futuras y mejorar su gestión. Precisamente, el análisis del estado del arte de la investigación sobre PMR en España es uno de los objetivos del Proyecto SICORE. El Proyecto SICORE es una iniciativa dirigida a promover la sostenibilidad ambiental, social y económica de la PMR en España, impulsada por un consorcio liderado por la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela y del que forman parte la Federación Gallega de Pesca Marítima Responsable y Náutica de Recreo, el Centro Tecnológico AZTI-Tecnalia, el CSIC, a través del el CEAB-CSIC y el CSIC-IMEDEA, la Universidad de Girona y la Universidad de Murcia. En esta comunicación, se presentan los resultados del Proyecto SICORE en relación con un análisis de la información contenida en los 22 proyectos, 68 artículos, 5 libros, 8 comunicaciones a congresos, y 35 informes técnicos sobre PMR realizados en España hasta la fecha.

PESCARDATA – RECREATIONAL FISHERIES IN MAINLAND PORTUGAL

Recreational fishing is an important socioeconomic activity that needs systematic studies and data monitoring programs. The Pescardata project, coordinated by the Centre for Marine Sciences of the University of Algarve has two goals: (1) fill the gaps with regard the systematic collection of data on the recreational catches of the species included in the Data Collection Framework of the European Union; and (2) analyze different dimensions of the recreational fishing activity that takes place in the mainland Portugal coastal area. The project aims at: characterizing several aspects of this activity, describing socioeconomically the recreational fishery population, analysing different characteristics of the fishing trips, typifying fishing areas, quantifying and qualifying catches, identifying fate of caught individuals, and estimating the proportion of recreational catches when compared to commercial catches. To attain these objectives, a comprehensive sampling strategy was defined for 2018, by dividing the continental coastline in 5 km sections within NUTS II areas (Territorial Units for Statistical Purposes): North, Center, Metropolitan Area of Lisbon – AML, Alentejo and Algarve. Data is obtained by: face-to-face questionnaire surveys (digital format in an Android system), fishing logbooks, historical sport fishing activity data from anglers’ federations and associations, and fishing tournaments. Onboard observers are used for boat angling, while face-to-face questionnaires are conducted via roving creel surveys for shore angling and spearfishing, and access point surveys used for onboard angling and spearfishing. Here we describe and discuss the sampling methodology. Also, we present an outline of the main outcomes observed during winter (the season sampled and analyzed so far), where the number of fishing events observed, and consequent caught individuals, were below the anticipated, even though 79 face-to-face questionnaire campaigns were carried out, covering 9103 km of visited coastline. The atypically harsh atmospheric and sea conditions observed during this season may account for these observations.

THE VALUES OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES THAT SUPPORT MARINE RECREATIONAL FISHERIES IN SPAIN

Marine ecosystem services are the contributions of marine ecosystems to people, supporting, directly or indirectly, people’s survival and quality of life, and also the development of the global economy [1]. Humans have always benefited from marine ecosystems, either more obviously in the form of food resources or materials, or more subtly in the form of cultural heritage and identity, or recreational opportunities [2].
The vast majority of the world’s nation-states ratified international agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services, recognising that human actions are dismantling the Earth’s ecosystems at an alarming rate, crossing safe planetary boundaries [3]. In fact, Humanity has entered the Anthropocene epoch, where human activity is the major driving force behind environmental change on the planet [4]. Recognising the plural values of biodiversity and ecosystem services for human well-being, and taking into account those values in policy and practice, can help halting and mitigating negative impacts of human activities on nature. Ecosystem services provide the settings for marine recreational fisheries in Spain, but the informal nature of that recreation means that the characteristics of the activity, and the values associated to it, are difficult to determine. Given the increasing social and economic relevance of marine recreational fisheries, we present a rapid systematic literature review about the existing scientific evidence on ecosystem services that support marine recreational fisheries in Spain. We will include economic and socio-cultural valuations of ecosystem services that support marine recreational fisheries, at different spatial and temporal scales.

El ISMAREF 2018, fue organizado por el Proyecto SICORE, financiado por la Fundación Biodiversidad del Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica, a través del Programa Pleamar, cofinanciado por el Fondo Europeo Marítimo y de Pesca.