GEPTEO has agreed upon a number of cases, between the sector and scientific coordinators that will be used as the basis to define the management units so that we can develop long-term management plans later.

Building Long term Plans for Fisheries Management

Large-Scale Fisheries (LSF)

Celtic Sea Bay of Biscay Iberian Mixed FisheriesTarget species Demersal + Nephrops Demersal + 1 PelagicCaveats Several species without assessment and stocks widely distributedChoke stocks COD ---- HKEObjectives Integration of single stocks MSYMethod FLBEIA (LT) IAM (LT) FCUBE (ST)LTMP DAMARA ---- FLBEIA (MYFISH)Sector engagement Yes Only French industry Scenario BRoad map Proposals from the sector ICES

In large scale fisheries, management advice has been traditionally given on an individual stock basis. For each assessed stock, catch options are provided for the following year thorough the set of a TAC. However, in mixed fisheries there are inconsistencies between the TACs set for the exploited species, since they are not in agreement in each other and TACs for some species are likely to be exhausted sooner than for others. Therefore, the management of mixed fisheries, mainly demersal fisheries, should move from a single species to a multispecies advice. This approach has been followed in GEPETO with the objective of integrating single stocks MSY.

Although all three CS mixed fisheries analy-sed target demersal stocks, other stocks are also target namely nephrophs (Celtic Sea and bay of Biscay CSs) or pelagic (Iberian Mixed Fishery CS). For each case study, mixed fis-heries models (FLBEIA, IAM (LT), FCube) were applied to explore several fisheries scenarios. In the CSs of Celtic Sea and Ibe-rian Mixed Fisheries the cod and hake were considered the choke stocks, respectively, whereas for Bay of Biscay any stock was identified as a choke stock. Notwithstanding, is important to underline that not all species that occur in abundance in catches were in-corporated in the models since they are not currently being assessed.

Due to the short lifetime of the GEPETO pro-ject it was not possible to develop Long Term Management Plans for the case studies se-lected, however for all of them the work that have been carried out in GEPETO will continue through a new GEPETO project or through other projects already in course such as DAMARA in the case of the Celtic Sea CS or MyFish in the case of Iberian Mixed Fisheries. Regarding the Bay of Biscay CS there is a commitment of the French Administration to support the studies necessary to implement a LTMP for the area.

Full value of mixed fisheries models will only be realized with input from stakeholders on trade-offs between different species in catch that’s why the sector is fully engaged in the CSs in order to incorporate mixed-fishery effects in LTMP. Nevertheless, in the case of Bay of Biscay CS only the French sector is involved and therefore there is a need to engage the sector from others countries which fishing fleets operates in the area, as it is the case of Spanish sector. In the fra-mework of the GEPETO project there were designed a working road map for each CS based on proposals from the sector (Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay case studies) or from scientists (ICES, for the case of Iberian Mixed Fisheries).

SMALL-Scale Fisheries (SSF)

Galicia (Spain)

Ria de Aveiro(Portugal)

Tenerife(Spain)

Capbreton(Spain & France)

Target species Octopus Bivalves Several species Several speciesFishing gear Traps Hand dredges Several gears Several gearsCaveats Fleet of definition Lack of information Lack of information Lack of agreement

Regulations Yes Yes Yes YesManagement plan Yes No No NoMethod Questionnaire;

oficial dataQuestionnaires;

Fishing logbooks; Surveys

Questionnaire Questionnaire; logbooks; VMS

LTMP Yes Financial issues Financial issues Agreement issuesSector engagement Yes Yes Yes Yes/NoRoad map Proposal SWG Proposal No

In EU the small-scale fleet is considered artisanal when the overall length of the vessels is lower than 12m. Based on this criterion, the artisanal fleet comprises around 80% of the European fishing fleet. Notwithstanding, and although the socio-economical importance of artisanal fisheries, there is a lack of basic information which impedes the sustainable management of the fleets, the target species and the ecosystems.

This constrain is reflected in the four case studies selected in the framework of the GEPETO project, namely in the Octopus trap fishery in Galicia, the bivalve harvesting in Ria de Aveiro and in the artisanal fisheries that are carried out in Tenerife. The Capbreton CS is slightly different from the other SSF CSs since it involves not only the artisanal fishing fleet but also the LS fleet segment that operates in that area.

Albeit all the fisheries that have been studied are managed somehow, the legislation that regulates them is often not based in scientific information and usually does not take into considera-tion local specificities, which enables the implementation of truly management plans. Even in the case of the Octopus CS where a management plan is in place there is no information about the distribution and abundance of the target stock, fundamental to guarantee the sustainability of the fishery.

In that context, the approach followed in the SSF CSs was different to that applied in LSF since the research effort was directed to gather basic information on the fisheries studied through the implementation of questionnaires (all CSs), fishing logbook and field surveys (Ria de Aveiro CS), and/or analyse of VMS-logbooks data (Capbreton CS).

The sector was deeply engaged in all CSs through Stake-holders Working Groups that were constituted or promo-ted during the GEPETO project. However, in the case of Capbreton CS the lack of agreement between the Spanish and French led to the redefinition of the objectives of the CS that move from the design of a road map to develop LTMP to a simple characterization of fishing activity and as a result the WG was dissolved. For the other CSs, all stakeholders showed their interest in proceed with the work undertaken in GEPETO, however in the case of Bi-valve Harvesting in Ria de Aveiro as well as in the Tene-rife CS it is necessary to find funds to maintain the WGs functional.

Despite this, in the framework of the GEPETO project there were designed a working road map for each CS but Capbreton, based on proposals from the sector (Bivalve Harvesting in Ria de Aveiro CS) or from scientists (Octopus Fishery and Tenerife CSs).