Description

The project has managed to obtain a graphic description of the current state of fishing discards carried out by the coastal trawl and gillnet fishing fleets of Galicia and Cantabria, as well as an analysis of the causes that may explain their intensity, as well as possible measures for their reduction.

To achieve this objective, a publication has been prepared on the discards of trawl fisheries in the Cantabrian‐Northwest Fishing Ground. “Atlas of discards” where a description and maps of the current state of discards are collected based on scientific data from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) and surveys of trawl fleets from 20 ports on the Cantabrian and Galician coast.

These scientific data have been obtained directly from commercial vessels that provide the necessary information to characterise fisheries and the basis for the debate on how to reduce discards, through an approximation to the possible causes that may explain the intensity of discards and their impact in terms of biomass distribution and diversity in trawl and gillnet fisheries in the Cantabrian‐Northwest Fishing Ground.

Within the framework of the project, fishing organisations with trawling and gillnet fleets in the ports of Galicia and Asturias have been surveyed with the aim of collecting fishermen’s perception of fishing discards in their activity, resources, environment and socio-economic context.

See the project