Fishing fleet typology, economic dependence, and species landing profiles of the French fleets in the Bay of Biscay, 2000-2006

Type Article
Date 2009-10
Language English
Author(s) Daures FabienneORCID1, Rochet Marie-Joelle2, Van Iseghem Sylvie1, Trenkel VerenaORCID2
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, Dept DEM, UMR AMURE, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
2 : IFREMER, Dept EMH, F-44311 Nantes 3, France.
Source Aquatic Living Resources (0990-7440) (Edp Sciences S A), 2009-10 , Vol. 22 , N. 4 , P. 535-547
DOI 10.1051/alr/2009031
WOS© Times Cited 24
Keyword(s) Fishing methods, Fishing vessels, Fleet dynamics, Mixed fisheries, Catch distribution, Economy, Atlantic Ocean
Abstract Thirty French fleets fishing primarily in the Bay of Biscay were defined based on techno-economic input criteria: i) 18 fishing gear or gear combinations ii) the location of fishing grounds visited during a year (<12 nautical miles from coast, beyond 12 nm or both) and iii) total vessel length (<20 m for trawlers and other gears <24 m). The fleets were then characterised in terms of horse power, economic dependence on a list of nine dominant commercial species (sole, Nephrops, sea bass, hake, monkfish, anchovy, cuttlefish, sardine and squid) and their contribution to the landings of these species from the Bay of Biscay. Most fleets derived the majority of their income from one or two among the nine species. Species dependencies changed little during the study period, except for those vessels targeting anchovy before the fishery restrictions starting in 2005. Fish community impacts were compared based on fleet landings' profiles. Twelve landings profiles were determined using hierarchical cluster analysis. Fleets using similar gears had the same landings' profiles and therefore exercised similar pressures on the ecosystem, though not always in the same areas. The depletion of anchovy and the closure of the fishery lead to a change in landings profile for offshore pelagic trawlers from anchovy dominance to one with a larger proportion of albacore and sea bass. During the study period, the overall vessel number decreased from 2163 to 1845. Few vessels changed fleets, but if they did, they primarily started to fish closer to the coast, which might be a result of increasing fuel prices.
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Daures Fabienne, Rochet Marie-Joelle, Van Iseghem Sylvie, Trenkel Verena (2009). Fishing fleet typology, economic dependence, and species landing profiles of the French fleets in the Bay of Biscay, 2000-2006. Aquatic Living Resources, 22(4), 535-547. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1051/alr/2009031 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/11172/