A quantitative and qualitative assessment of the discard ban in European Mediterranean waters

Abstract

The new Common Fisheries Policy aims to reduce the discard rate in Europe, and one way in which it seeks to achieve this goal is by making it compulsory to land all species subject to catch limits, and some of species managed by minimum catch size. The characteristics of the Mediterranean Sea raise serious concerns over the viability, efficacy and consequences of these measures, and the purpose of this study is therefore to analyse these with a view to improving discard management in this region. The Port of Santa Pola was chosen as a reference fishing port in the Spanish Mediterranean for quantitative analysis, comparing all the species caught with those proposed by the CFP. Additionally, a qualitative SWOT analysis was performed, incorporating the views of fishermen, administrators, NGOs, scientists and entrepreneurs on the regulation. The daily discard rate during the period analysed was 11.7 t (All Species) and 1.8 t (Regulated Species), with annual discards totalling 2623 t (47.3%) (All Species) and 421 t (7.6%) (Regulated Species). The regulation was found to have more weaknesses and threats (72.6%) than strengths and opportunities (27.4%). The governing system should take into consideration the contextualisation of discard management according to the specific characteristics of each métier; coordination between stakeholders; and caution about the ecological cost of landing discards. The high logistical, surveillance, monitoring and ecological costs produce a negative outcome despite the objective pursued, the willingness of the fishing industry to reduce discards and the profitable use of the resource by its proposed end users. This may lead to the measure proving unviable in the Mediterranean Sea and its ensuing failure to reduce discards. The alternatives proposed in this paper may help to improve the management of discards and create more sustainable and profitable fisheries.