Line of action:

Status:

Execution date:

General Objective:

In the context of the obligatory nature of landings, the objective is to characterize the dynamics and catch (including seasonality) of the Cantabrian fleets in order to make proposals for specific solutions for differentiated artisanal fisheries along the Cantabrian coast.

Specific objectives:

1. Characterization of the trades
2. Identification of the problem of the most limiting strangler species or species
3. Analysis of the selectivity pattern for species before identifying them
4. Proposal of pre-solutions
5. Contrast with the fishing sector
6. Dissemination of the work carried out

The CANARD project has made it possible to review the adaptation needs of the small artisanal fleet of the Cantabrian Sea (Basque Country, Cantabria and Asturias) in relation to the implementation of the Compulsory Disembarkation (OD). Likewise, it has contributed to strengthening relations between the three Cantabrian communities, generating synergies with respect to governance mechanisms in the management of artisanal fisheries, and the transfer of knowledge between researchers and fishermen has been enhanced.

The project has collected the information and data available for the characterisation of discards in the artisanal fleet of the Cantabrian Sea. The study includes the collection of data, both on the fleet and on catches (landings and discards), of the small fleets of small gear in the autonomous communities of the Basque Country, Cantabria and Asturias – 7% of the total number of vessels in the State. By autonomous communities, 88% of the fleet in Asturias is considered to be in small gear, 52% in Cantabria and 33% in the Basque Country.

To obtain this information, a questionnaire was carried out with data such as the number of vessels belonging to the census of small gear and based on the port of the survey; discharges by species, trade and month (in the months of February to April high concentrations of activity were obtained).

Among the conclusions that have been reached in the development of the project, it stands out that:

• The catch compositions (retained and discarded) are unique to each modality and trade, but common, in general, between the three geographical areas, highlighting the appearance of species deeper in Asturias, unique in the longline. A differentiation between areas is the number of species caught, twice as much in the case of the Asturian artisanal fleet compared to the Cantabrian fleet. This fact may be due to the morphological and oceanographic characteristics of the seabed and the areas where these gears operate.

• As for the identification of strangler and limiting species, the problem of mackerel has been identified in general, a species of explosive abundance in the season between February and April and with a low quota. The modalities that catch the most mackerel are the betas (mallabakarras), the children and all the gillnet modalities that are used during this season. Other species with significant amounts of discards have been the ray, hake, monkfish and horse mackerel, especially important in the summer months, and the mackerel, the latter the one with the highest discarding. The discarding of horse mackerel occurs mainly in the summer months and the quantities can be significant.

• Deep-sea species, such as sea bream and viceroy/alfonsino, are discarded (with few fishing opportunities) and by the time their mini-quotas are reached they could limit longline activity.

• Artisanal gears, despite the multispecies capture of gillnets, remain selective in their target species and their size. The high multispecificity of the catch leads to a greater discarding of species with low value, but the main cause of discarding is the lack of quota of most of the target species. Possibilities for improving selectivity have been studied:

1. Solutions with changing tactics

• Reduction of stalling times or change to areas with less discard
• Changes in depths or reducing the number of panels/day

2. Solutions with change of modality (temporary)

• Diversify, changing from gillnets to longlines, with the same target species (hake, monkfish, scorpionfish, sole)
• Diversify, changing from gillnets to longlines or pots, with another target species (longline, conger eel, pots, octopus and squid, etc.)
• Diversify into other activities (fishing-tourism, garbage, algae collection, barnacle, mussel harvesting)

Among the solutions presented to the fishing sector as a relief from a possible situation of strangulation of the activity of the artisanal fleet, are:

1. Existing solutions: it compiles a set of actions contemplated in the regulation itself that allow us to continue discarding:

• High survival rates: for species such as the ray and sea bream (in a specific art: the voracera). They can still be discarded, perhaps an attempt could be made to extend the exemption for the survival of sea bream to other gears.
• Fish with predator damage: Any fish that arrives preyed on board, or in poor condition for human consumption, can be discarded.
• De minimis exemptions. It is a small percentage that, for various reasons, allows certain species in certain fisheries to continue to be discarded. The difficulty is in calculating it; for minor gear it is, on average, 3% of the catch.

2. Administrative solutions

• Subsidised stops at times with maximum discard. It could be a good solution to the mackerel problem. As an example, the Basque Country is already carrying out temporary shutdowns of the fleet registered in small gear.
• Exchange and/or quota increase for problem species: request a higher percentage de minimis.
• Distribution modulated by sustainability indices: those fleets that are more sustainable can be “rewarded” with more shares.

Finally, based on the knowledge and feedback of the fishing sector, the administrative, legal, technological and diversification proposals have been reviewed and analysed to continue working on the adaptation of the fleet to the regulation on the implementation of the discard ban in line with the Operational Programme for Spain 2014-2020.