41e Congres de la Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée (CIESM), 12-16 September 2016, Kiel.-- 1 page, 2 tables ; The issue of the fishery discards is of great interest in fishery management from the new policy of the European Union 2013 ((EU) No 1380/2013) which proposes a gradual reduction of discards. In the framework of the European project >Science, Technology, and Society Initiative to minimize Unwanted Catches in European Fisheri es> MINOUW (H2020-SFS-2014-2) a seasonal study between the years 2011-2012 was conducted in order to assess the discard composition and the invertebrate survival coming from the trawl metier for hake in the Catalan Coast (Palamós Port). Some of the main species discarded were Alcyonium palmatum and undersize Merluccius merluccius. Sessile invertebrates as Alcyonium palmatum showed high rates of survival, while species of echinoderms as Astropenten irregularis or crustaceans as Pagurus excavatus displayed lower rates ; Peer Reviewed
14 pages, 5 figures, 14 tables, 4 appendixes ; A bioeconomic model was built to assess the contribution of more selective trawl nets to the objectives of the European Multi-Annual Plan for demersal fisheries in the Western Mediterranean (WM MAP). The biological submodel was parameterized with age-structured population parameters for the five target stocks in the WM MAP (European hake, red mullet, deep-water rose shrimp, Nephrops and red shrimp) with a sixth stock combining the remaining commercial by catch and following a biomass dynamics model. The trawl fleet was composed of three fleet segments, according to Vessel Length class (VL1218, VL1824, VL2440), practicing two métiers: coastal mixed demersal fishery and deep-water crustacean fishery. The technological solutions analyzed are two simple technical modifications to the otter bottom trawl and based on i) using a panel of meshes turned 90° (T90) in the extension of the trawl net, and ii) inserting a selective grid built from 40 mm square mesh (SM40) netting into the extension of the trawl net. The Results show that, in terms of policy objectives, the reduction in the values of fishing mortality achieved with these selectivity modifications would be insufficient to reach the target fishing mortality at maximum sustainable yield (Fmsy) prescribed in the WM MAP by 2025. However, model results project a substantial recovery of hake and red mullet stock biomass. The recovery of these two important stocks would help improve the evolution of the economic indicators, resulting generally in higher income, profits and salaries in the short (2025) and mid term (2030) ; Funding was provided by the research projects CriMa (Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation, RTI2018-095770-B-I00) and the Mediterranean Marine Initiative of WWF and the Adessium Foundation (contract nº: 351/2018/9E204550/AD17–39-44). With funding from the Spanish government through the 'Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence' accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S) ; Peer reviewed
8 pages, 6 figures, 7 tables ; The landing obligation in the revised European Union Common Fisheries Policy allows for exemptions to obligatory landing of the entire catch for species for which "high survival" of discards can be demonstrated. Nephrops norvegicus is an important target species in many fisheries across Europe in the Mediterranean Sea, NE Atlantic Ocean and North Sea. Historically, Mediterranean fisheries have had a high discard rate of small-sized Nephrops, and it is suspected that this unwanted component of the catch may have a high survival potential that is comparable to those of other EU fisheries, where survival rates of up to 0.56 have been demonstrated. However, to date, no investigations have confirmed a high discard survival rate for Nephrops in the Mediterranean Sea. Furthermore, the environmental, technical and biological characteristics that could affect Nephrops survival have been shown to be substantially different from those in the survival assessments conducted in the NE Atlantic and the North Sea. To address this knowledge gap, this study was conducted to determine the survival of Nephrops discarded from trawls in the Mediterranean Sea. The survival and vitality status of the discarded Nephrops removed from trawl catches were monitored onboard and for 14 days in the laboratory. The results showed seasonality in survival, with the highest survival rate in winter (0.74; CI: 0.7−0.78), lower survival in spring (0.36; CI: 0.31−0.41) and the lowest survival in summer (0.06; CI: 0.04−0.09). Survival was monitored to the asymptote in all cases, and season and vitality status were shown to have statistically significant relationships with survival ; This work was funded by the research project MINOUW (H2020-SFS-2014-2) of the European Commission (contract n° 634495) ; Peer reviewed
Special issue on Discards regulation vs Mediterranean fisheries sustainability.-- 10 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, supplementary material http://scimar.icm.csic.es/scimar/supplm/sm04784esm.pdf ; [EN] There is currently very little information on the survival to discarding of unwanted and non-regulated catches of invertebrates, after the stresses due to capture. A great number of the non-regulated invertebrate species are the basis of Essential Fish Habitats for important fisheries resources such as hake, red mullet or cuttlefish. Thus, data on their survival to discarding may help to interpret the role of these species within the benthic ecosystems. Furthermore, descriptor 6 of Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, EU Directive 2008/56/E) foresees maintaining sea floor integrity at a level that ensures that the structure and functions of the ecosystems are safeguarded and article 7(d) of the Common Fishery Policy (CFP, EU Reg. 1380/2013) foresees the implementation of management measures for fishing with low impact on the marine ecosystem and fishery resources. Survival measurements by direct recovering tagged discarded species are not effective in bottom trawl fisheries for which alternative studies, such as semi-quantitative measures obtained on board prior to discarding, can be considered as appropriate for mortality estimation. The present work assessed the survival of unwanted species using a Semi-Quantitative Assessment (SQA) on deck of trawlers and at the laboratory for a period of 96 hours in two Mediterranean areas (Catalan Coasts and Ligurian and Northern Tyrrhenian Sea). The results showed that a high number of discarded invertebrates had a high percentage of survival (>70%) in both assessments. The purpose of these results is to provide information that can help to achieve higher survival levels of the discarded specimens. At the same time, it is expected that this improvement can enhance the productivity of the fishing grounds by increasing the health of the benthic ecosystems ; [ES] Actualmente, hay muy poca información sobre la supervivencia del descarte de los invertebrados no-deseados y no-regulados después del stress de la captura. Un gran número de especies de estos invertebrados son básicas para los hábitats esenciales de importantes recursos pesqueros como la merluza, el salmonete o la sepia. Por lo tanto, información sobre su supervivencia al ser descartados pueden ayudar a interpretar el papel de estas especies dentro de los ecosistemas bentónicos. Además, el punto 6 de la Directiva Marco de Estrategia Marina (MSFD, EU Directive 2008/56/E) prevé mantener la inte-gridad del fondo marino a un nivel que garantice la protección de la estructura y de las funciones de los ecosistemas, y el artículo 7 (d) de la Política Pesquera Común (PPC EU Reg. 1380/2013) prevé la implementación de medidas de gestión para la pesca, que tengan bajo impacto tanto en el ecosistema marino como en los recursos pesqueros. En el caso de las pescas de arrastre de fondo, no es efectiva la estimación de la supervivencia a partir del método directo de captura-recapture de las especies del descarte marcadas, por lo que los estudios alternativos, como las medidas semicuantitativas obtenidas a bordo antes del descarte, pueden considerarse una estimación de la mortalidad apropiada. El presente trabajo evaluó la supervivencia del descarte de especies no-deseadas utilizando una Evaluación Semicuantitativa (SQA) mediante dos estudios: uno sobre la cubierta de los arrastreros y el otro en laboratorio durante un período de 96 horas, en dos áreas del Mediterráneo, las costas Catalanas y en los mares de Liguria y del Tirreno Norte. Los resultados mostraron en ambos estudios, que un alto número de invertebrados descartados tenía un alto porcentaje de supervivencia (>70%). El propósito de estos resultados es proporcionar información que puede ayudar a alcanzar niveles de supervivencia más altos de los individuos descartados. Al mismo tiempo, se espera que con esta mejora se consiga potenciar la productividad de los caladeros al aumentar la salud de los ecosistemas bentónicos ; This study received funding from the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 634495 for the project "Science, Technology, and Society Initiative to Minimize Unwanted Catches in European Fisheries" (MINOUW) ; Peer Reviewed
