Shark Depredation and Unwanted Bycatch in Pelagic Longline
Shark Depredation and Unwanted Bycatch in Pelagic Longline
Shark Depredation and Unwanted Bycatch in Pelagic Longline
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Appendix 4<br />
Italy Mediterranean Industrial <strong>Pelagic</strong><br />
Longl<strong>in</strong>e Swordfish Fishery:<br />
Industry Practices <strong>and</strong> Attitudes towards <strong>Shark</strong> <strong>Depredation</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Bycatch</strong><br />
Susanna Piovano, Deptartment of Animal Biology, University of Tor<strong>in</strong>o, susanna.piovano@unito.it<br />
A4.1. Introduction<br />
A literature review on the <strong>in</strong>dustrial drift<strong>in</strong>g (pelagic) longl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> Italy<br />
raises several issues. First, it is necessary to dist<strong>in</strong>guish between the<br />
artisanal <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustrial fisheries. In Italy, there is a legal dist<strong>in</strong>ction<br />
between small <strong>and</strong> large scale fish<strong>in</strong>g. The small scale fish<strong>in</strong>g is<br />
def<strong>in</strong>ed by M<strong>in</strong>isterial Decree 14 September 1999 as: artisanal fish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
done with vessels shorter than 12 m, lower than 10 TSL <strong>and</strong> 15 GT of<br />
tonnage, practised with specific gear (longl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong>cluded), with<strong>in</strong> 12<br />
miles off the coast. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to this def<strong>in</strong>ition, drift<strong>in</strong>g longl<strong>in</strong>e for<br />
large pelagic species is ‘large scale’ fish<strong>in</strong>g. However, Italian drift<strong>in</strong>g<br />
longl<strong>in</strong>e vessels are ma<strong>in</strong>ly fishermen owned, with small f<strong>in</strong>ancial<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestments, usually without gear mechanization, <strong>and</strong> with relatively<br />
short trips of nearly a week. Despite the legal def<strong>in</strong>ition, these<br />
characteristics are commonly associated with artisanal fish<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Interviews with fishermen work<strong>in</strong>g on big, “nearly <strong>in</strong>dustrial”<br />
longl<strong>in</strong>e vessels were conducted to determ<strong>in</strong>e the exact type of<br />
fish<strong>in</strong>g activity. This study focuses on the Italian pelagic longl<strong>in</strong>e<br />
fleet that targets swordfish <strong>in</strong> the Mediterranean, exclud<strong>in</strong>g small<br />
coastal vessels (MAGP Segments, Commission Regulation (EC) No.<br />
2091/98 of 30 September 1998).<br />
A second issue that requires address<strong>in</strong>g is the dist<strong>in</strong>ction between<br />
gear types <strong>in</strong> official statistics. In Italy fish<strong>in</strong>g licenses are regulated<br />
by a M<strong>in</strong>isterial Decree of 26 July 1995. The Decree groups permitted<br />
fish<strong>in</strong>g gear accord<strong>in</strong>g to homogeneous classes, def<strong>in</strong>ed as “fish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
systems”. Permission to fish with a system means permission to<br />
fish with any gear <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> that system. Unfortunately, the<br />
longl<strong>in</strong>e fish<strong>in</strong>g system <strong>in</strong>cludes both drift<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> set (demersal)<br />
longl<strong>in</strong>e gears. Thus, official statistics (compiled by ISTAT - Italian<br />
Institute of Statistics, <strong>in</strong> 2004 <strong>and</strong> 2006, <strong>and</strong> by IREPA - Institute for<br />
Economic Research for Fish<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> Acquacolture, 2006) group data<br />
on both demersal <strong>and</strong> pelagic longl<strong>in</strong>e gear; data are not available<br />
just for pelagic longl<strong>in</strong>e gear. Some local studies are available with<br />
data for drift<strong>in</strong>g longl<strong>in</strong>e by-catches only: these studies are based on<br />
<strong>in</strong>terviews <strong>and</strong> on-board or at l<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g surveys.<br />
Information from the literature was complemented with <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
from <strong>in</strong>terviews with fishermen of Sicily. Interviews, carried out<br />
through the cooperation of AGCI Pesca, were conducted between<br />
August <strong>and</strong> December 2006, <strong>and</strong> a total of 15 large-scale longl<strong>in</strong>e<br />
fish<strong>in</strong>g vessels were <strong>in</strong>volved.<br />
All the <strong>in</strong>terviewed fishermen are owner or co-owner operators. The<br />
17 fishermen have been pelagic longl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g between 6 <strong>and</strong> 50 years<br />
with a mean of 29.7 years, dur<strong>in</strong>g which they never change their<br />
port-based.<br />
We selected fishermen that operated with longl<strong>in</strong>e vessels with a TSL<br />
bigger then 10 <strong>and</strong> a LFT bigger than 12 m. The type of fish<strong>in</strong>g license<br />
range from “coastal fish<strong>in</strong>g” 20 or 40 nm, <strong>and</strong> the Mediterranean one.<br />
A4.2. Fleet Characteristics<br />
The last available statistics calculated with data from the Italian<br />
Fish<strong>in</strong>g Licence Register date back to 2004 <strong>and</strong> comb<strong>in</strong>e small-scale<br />
<strong>and</strong> large-scale longl<strong>in</strong>e fisheries. The Register <strong>in</strong>cludes a total of<br />
14,873 vessels. Of these, 569 vessels are identified as us<strong>in</strong>g longl<strong>in</strong>e<br />
gear (Tables A4.1 <strong>and</strong> A4.2) as their ma<strong>in</strong> fish<strong>in</strong>g gear (the fish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
gear considered to be the most frequently used on board for a<br />
fish<strong>in</strong>g period of a year – Commission Regulation (EC) 26/2004). As<br />
mentioned <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>troduction, no official data are available just for<br />
drift<strong>in</strong>g pelagic longl<strong>in</strong>e gear.<br />
Tables A4.1 <strong>and</strong> A4.2 show that the Sicilian longl<strong>in</strong>e fleet is the<br />
largest <strong>and</strong> most efficient (56% of vessels, 73% of catches). Mean<br />
values per vessel are high (153 days/vessel, 20 tons of fish/vessel).<br />
Drift<strong>in</strong>g longl<strong>in</strong>e catch<strong>in</strong>g for swordfish <strong>in</strong> Sicily has been known for<br />
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