Diversity, competition and collaboration in the Catalan Mediterranean coastal fisheries

15 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107257.-- Data availability: Data will be made available on request

The coastal fishing sector encompasses a great diversity of fishing activities, each exhibiting distinctive ecological, social, and economic characteristics. These activities are subject to a complex interplay of common and opposing interests, resulting in competitive and collaborative behaviours. This paper presents a case study of the Catalan Mediterranean Sea, examining the diversity of fishing fleets from the perspective of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2, 8, 12, 13 and 14. The results of this study demonstrate the trade-offs between fishing fleets' performances in relation to the explored SDG objectives, and the common but differentiated contributions of the fleets tracked. Secondly, the competition for shared stocks and the economic implications of fleets’ competition in terms of catches are assessed. The bottom trawl fleet is found to interact the most with the rest of the fleets. Finally, we evaluate the collaborative relations between the fleets through the analysis of the collective success attracting public subsidies and achieving tax exemptions for the sector. While being a collective action, again, the bottom trawl fleet is the most benefited. These results contribute to the ongoing debate on the socio-ecological and economic transitions taking place worldwide. In our case, the asymmetry between fleets is especially relevant because of the dominant role of bottom trawls over other fishing fleets. The recognition of this asymmetry has significant implications for the management of coastal fisheries and the formulation of public policies, as these should be managed according to the social interests over which fisheries act. In conclusion, this study highlights why coastal fishing activities cannot be considered as a single unit, but as a diversity of fishing activities that interact, compete, and collaborate for ecological and economic resources in a shared socio-ecological system

This study is a contribution to SOSMED project “Mejora del conocimiento científico-técnico para la sostenibilidad de las pesquerías demersales del Mediterráneo occidental”, Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca (MAPA), financed with EU NextGeneration funding. This work acknowledges institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX 2019-000928-S) to the Institute of Marine Science (ICM-CSIC)

Peer reviewed