Bioeconomic simulation analysis of hake and red mullet fishery in the Gulf of Saronikos (Greece)

Authors

  • Gorka Merino Institut de Ciències del Mar - CSIC, Barcelona
  • Constantina Karlou-Riga Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Fisheries Laboratory
  • Ioanna Anastopoulou Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Fisheries Laboratory
  • Francesc Maynou Institut de Ciències del Mar - CSIC, Barcelona
  • Jordi Lleonart FAO, Rome

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2007.71n3525

Keywords:

Saronikos Gulf, trawl fisheries, beach seiner, European hake, red mullet, fisheries management, bioeconomic model

Abstract


Hake (Merluccius merluccius) and red mullet (Mullus barbatus) are two of the most important species in Greek fisheries due to their high commercial interest. Both have been reported to be overexploited and in need of management to preserve the continuity of their exploitation. Hake is exploited by trawlers and red mullet by both trawlers and beach seiners in Saronikos Gulf (Greece). The MEFISTO bioeconomic simulation model is applied in order to test the interaction between trawlers and beach seiners through the age-specific fishing mortality applied by each fleet to the red mullet stock. The effects of the withdrawal of some beach seiners in 2002 and the increase in trawl mesh size that has already been implemented (from 28 mm to 40 mm stretched mesh) are tested jointly with alternative management scenarios such as the complete withdrawal of beach seiners and effort reduction in trawler activity. The analysis of the simulation results is based on the evolution of biological and economic indicators through 15-year stochastic projections. It is shown that limiting fishing effort and improving selectivity patterns of the trawl fleet would be beneficial for the recovery of the populations and for the profitability of the fishery. In addition to the increase in trawl mesh size, a further fishing effort reduction of 12% is recommended for the trawling fleet. Conversely, limiting or completely removing the beach seiner fleet would protect red mullet juveniles but would not significantly increase the profitability of the trawling fleet, and it would cause unemployment.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Diapouli, E., N. Vrantzas, M. Kalagia and C. Karlou. – 2000. Age and growth of hake (Merluccius merluccius) in the Saronikos gulf (in Greek with English abstract), Proc. 9th Panhellenic Conf. Ichthyologists, Messologi (Greece). 33-36.

Griffin, W.L. – 2003. A General Bioeconomic Fisheries Simulation Model: Description, Calibration, Validation, and Application, Proc. 1st North Am. Fish. Econ. Forum. 97-112.

Horwood, J.W. – 1994. Modelling of fisheries management strategies. Privately published, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Lowestoft (U.K.).

Kalagia, M. and C. Karlou-Riga. – 2003. Comparative study of red mullet growth between different areas and different periods, Proc. 11th Panhellenic Conf. Ichthyologists, Preveza (Greece). 87-90.

Kalagia, M., N. Vrantzas and C. Karlou. – 2000. Age and growth of red mullet (Mullus barbatus) in the Saronikos gulf (in Greek with English abstract), Proc. 9th Panhellenic Conf. Ichthyologists, Messologi (Greece). 37-40.

Karlou-Riga, C., I. Anastopoulou and A. Argyrokastritis. – 2005. Hake (Merluccius merluccius) Stock Assessment in the Saronikos Gulf (GFCM Geographical Sub-Area 22) in 2004.

Karlou-Riga, C. and N. Vrantzas. – 2001. Assessment of the state of some demersal fish stocks in the Saronikos Gulf and the Cyclades islands. WD, 2nd Session of the Working Group on Demersal Fisheries, GFCM-SAC, Tunis, Tunisia, 13-16 March 2001

Karlou-Riga, C., N. Vrantzas and M. Kalagia. – 2000. Evaluation of state of stocks for red mullet (Mullus barbatus) and hake (Merluccius merluccius) in the Saronikos Gulf (Greece). WD, 1st Session of the Working Group on Demersal Fisheries, GFCM-SAC, Sète, France, 21-23 March 2000.

Lleonart, J. and F. Maynou. – 2003. Fish stock assessments in the Mediterranean: state of the art. Sci. Mar., 67: 37-49.

Lleonart, J., F. Maynou, L. Recasens and R. Franquesa. – 2003. A bioeconomic model for Mediterranean fisheries, the hake off Catalonia (western Mediterranean) as a case study. Sci. Mar., 67: 337-351.

Maynou, F., F. Sardá, S. Tudela and M. Demestre. – 2006. Management strategies for red shrimp (Arsiteus antennatus) fisheries in the Catalan sea (NW Mediterranean) based on bioeconomic simulation models. Aquat. Liv. Res., 19: 161-171. doi:10.1051/alr:2006014

NSSG. – 2000. Results of the sea fishery survey by motor vessels (for the years 2003). 46.

Punt, A.E. – 1992. Selecting management methodologies for marine resources with an illustration for Southern African hake. S. Afr. J. Mar. Sci., 12: 943-958.

Punt, A.E. – 1993. The comparative performance of production model and adhoc tuned VPA based feed back control management procedures for the stock of Cape hake off the West Coast of South Africa. Can. Spec. Publ. Fish. Aq. Sci., 120.

Sardá, F., N. Bahamón, B. Molí and F. Sardá-Palomera. – 2006. The use of a square mesh codend and sorting grids to reduce catches of young fish and improve sustainability in a multispecies bottom trawl fishery in the Mediterranean. Sci. Mar., 70(3): 347-353.

Schnute, J. – 1985. A general theory for analysis of catch and effort data. Can. J. Fish. Aq. Sci., 42: 414-429.

Sparre, P.J. and R. Willman. – 1993. Software for bio-economic analysis of fisheries. BEAM 4. Analytical Bio-economic Simulation of Space-structured Multispecies and Multi-fleet Fisheries. Vol. 1. Description of the model. Computerized information series (Fisheries). FAO, 186.

Ulrich, C., B. Le Gallic, M.R. Dunn and D. Gascuel. – 2002. A multi-species, multi-fleet bioeconomic simulation model for the English Channel artisanal fisheries. Fish. Res., 58: 379-401. doi:10.1016/S0165-7836(01)00393-9

Downloads

Published

2007-09-30

How to Cite

1.
Merino G, Karlou-Riga C, Anastopoulou I, Maynou F, Lleonart J. Bioeconomic simulation analysis of hake and red mullet fishery in the Gulf of Saronikos (Greece). Sci. mar. [Internet]. 2007Sep.30 [cited 2024Mar.28];71(3):525-3. Available from: https://scientiamarina.revistas.csic.es/index.php/scientiamarina/article/view/57

Issue

Section

Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)

<< < 1 2 3 4 > >>