Swordfish harpoon fishery in the Mediterranean Sea: Recent data to implement the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the EcAp (Ecosystem Approach) process

摘要

This paper provides new data on the swordfish harpoon fishery carried out during 1999-2011 in Italian waters (central Mediterranean Sea), concerning fleet structure and its changes over the last decade, spatial distribution of fishing effort and catches, trend of catch rates, size composition of catches as well as fishing of other species. These data were partially used to implement the MSFD Initial Assessment of Descriptor 3 for Italian waters, and could be useful for the forthcoming application of the EcAp (Ecosystem Approach) process, regarding Ecological Objective 3.