Evaluation of the Importance of Recreational Fisheries on a Mediterranean Island

摘要

Coastal ecosystems are a cause for concern due to pervasive human disturbance, which is more acute in areas of rapid development and where comprehensive studies to estimate and regulate human activities are lacking. An example is the Mediterranean, where the economic transformation experienced over the last century— from a primary economy based on agriculture and cattle raising to a tertiary one based on tourism—has dramatically altered its coastal areas (Morey et al. 1992, Ozhan 1996; van der Meulen 1996; Garcia and Servera 2004). As a result of this transformation there is a greater use of the shoreline all year round with a considerable proliferation of, inter alia, aquatic leisure activities such as scuba diving, water-skiing, sailing, and fish-tog, which also affect the coastal and maritime ecosystems. Of these, commercial fish-tog plays a particular economic, social, and cultural role in the Mediterranean where it is largely made up of small-scale concerns operating in coastal areas. Over the last 20 years, catches of several key commercial stocks have been in sharp decline despite the increase in fishing effort.