This project is the heir to the INTEMARES, IMPALHA1 and IMPALHA2 and others (BIODIV_A11) projects, in which research campaigns have been developed with the aim of analysing the impact of artisanal fishing gear on benthic habitats. The Spanish Institute of Oceanography and some of the members of the project (there are representatives from all the demarcations) participate nationally and internationally in scientific advice for the development and application of management measures for fishing activity in relation to benthic habitats, within the scope of the sustainability of the activity and the conservation of habitats. Finally, all these projects together with other processes (such as the creation of the El Cachucho Marine Protected Area) have been punctuated by innumerable participatory processes and workshops, the most important conclusions of which can be summarised in the fact that the current participatory processes generate frustration in the fishing sector, which compromises the effectiveness of management plans. In addition, another derivative is that artisanal fishing is in decline, which represents a threat to food security, the blue economy, the coastal socioeconomic fabric and cultural heritage.

This project initiates a process with which it will be possible to establish a pressure-state relationship, which will allow quantifying the affected area according to the habitat and the intensity of the pressure depending on the type of fishing gear. This is a very relevant aspect, because currently only this relationship is known for dragging. It is necessary to have a continuous unity of effort that in the future allows establishing when a benthic habitat is negatively affected by a specific artisanal pressure.

The initiative aims to quantify the intensity of the pressure spatio-temporally, which will determine the vulnerability of the habitat and quantify how much of the area is affected. Combining this with socio-economic information can maximise habitat protection and minimise the impact on economic and social activities, as well as develop management plans tailored to the actual impact.

Another of IMPALHA3’s objectives is to begin to lay the foundations for the development of a co-management process in the Cantabrian Sea, more specifically on the coast of Cantabria. There are currently no reserves of Fishing Interest in the north of Spain and, on the other hand, a low level of associationism is detected by the participatory workshops. This type of environmental protection, which comes from the sector itself and is included in the Network of Marine Protected Areas of Spain (RAMPE), is a successful experience in many areas in the Mediterranean. Thus, it is intended to transfer good and bad experiences to the fishermen of Cantabria, so that it is interesting for them to initiate protection processes of this nature.

Objective 1 seeks to guarantee the proper development of the project through adequate organizational and communicational coordination. To this end, management tools will be applied to facilitate the monitoring of activities, the resolution of incidents and technical justification. It includes mandatory tasks of the call, the preparation of the final report with methodology and results, the production of informative material (videos, brochures) and participation in scientific and dissemination events. In addition, regular meetings between partners and actors related to objective 4 are foreseen, thus ensuring a coherent and collaborative implementation of the project in all its phases.

The second objective is aimed at analysing the ecological impact of the main artisanal fishing gear used in the different marine demarcations, assessing how they influence the health and conservation of marine habitats. This work is carried out in three phases, the first being the compilation of existing information from the static gear impact campaigns on existing habitats. The information will be systematized in a common database, which will make it possible to identify information gaps, contrast methodologies and will be complemented with information that may exist and that helps to achieve the objective.

With the information collected, a comparative analysis will be developed to evaluate how different fishing gears affect benthic habitats. The results will make it possible to establish criteria for the differentiated management of gear according to its impact, thus contributing to a better conservation of marine ecosystems. Priority will be given to the analysis of pressure gradients, which will be what will allow the pressure-state curves to be established for each gear in the future.

The third objective of the project seeks to improve the estimation of the spatial fishing effort in all marine demarcations, continuing the work started in the IMPALHA 2 project. In collaboration with Asturias and Cantabria, tools were developed to analyse the spatial distribution of artisanal fisheries using high-quality data and a tool was created that allows these autonomous communities to generate automatic reports for continuous monitoring of their fishing activity. This objective now aims to transfer this knowledge to other communities that already have or are developing similar information, a key transfer to standardise methodologies at the national level and, at the same time, to give back to the autonomous communities the value of their collaboration with scientific bodies through a useful and constantly evolving tool, which strengthens their management and analysis capacity in the field of artisanal fisheries. Finally, and as a result of collaboration in various participatory processes, it is intended to initiate a process of improvement in the co-management/self-management of artisanal fisheries, in this case in Cantabria. It is intended that a process of creation of some of the figures of fisheries management and conservation from the artisanal sector of Cantabria itself will be launched, which would be the first of its kind in the Cantabrian Sea.

In the IMPALH2 workshops it was revealed that the incorporation of women could mean a change in fishing activity. This would imply a paradigm shift not only in the business structure, but would also lead to the introduction of a totally new vision in the activity. From this point of view, during the talks/workshops in the fishermen’s guilds, the topic of women’s participation in fishing and business activity will be introduced. In addition, during the south-north transfer workshop, an attempt will be made to bring examples of women linked to activity and management to Cantabria to talk about the effects of co-management and self-management measures and their role in their development.

INTEMARES complementary project.

Acts as a collaborating entity: Principality of Asturias.