Surveys
Relative share of catches of recreational fisheries compared to commercial fisheries
- Aim of pilot study
The aim of this pilot study is to assess the share of catches from recreational fisheries in relation to commercial catches and to obtain indicative data on fishing effort and the qualitative and quantitative composition of the catch particularly in relation to the species listed in Table 3 EUMAP (eel and elasmobranchs, while highly migratory ICCAT species are already included in on site sampling). In order to achieve this goal the annual catches by species in both weight and number shall be obtained.
- Duration of pilot study
The anticipated duration of the project is one year, and will be performed by early 2019.
The results of the pilot study will be included in the Annual Report for 2018 by the end of May 2019. In line with RCG MED&BS 2018 Recommendation 2, an ad-hoc workshop on recreational fisheries is planned in April 2019 where a review of pilot studies implemented in EU MED&BS MS is planned, so as Assessment of the share of catches from recreational fisheries in relation to commercial catches for all species in the Mediterranean and in Black Sea and Design of national surveys of recreational fisheries, including list of species and thresholds for data collection for the future EUMAP (2020 and onwards).
- Methodology and expected outcomes of pilot study
Considering the large number of participants in sport and recreational fisheries (in recent years, over 70,000 permits is being issued), and the problem of direct (on-board) data collection, the necessary data collection for recreational fisheries is planned through a simple questionnaire that will be distributed to fishermen when purchasing the fishing permit. Data would partly be collected by a prepaid post card survey (for those anglers who purchase their permit in the offices of the Directorate of Fisheries (in further text: DoF) and sports associations), and the other by an e-survey for those who buy an online permit. During the survey information on the types of fishing gears used will be gathered, as well as data on fishing effort, and qualitative and quantitative composition of the catch, with special reference to species listed in Table 3 of the EUMAP (eel and elasmobranchs).
The target population shall consist of all recreational fishing and shall include fishing activities carried out on shore (eg. angling, spearing and fish caught using harpoons) and onboard vessels.
