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When the Trawl Ban Is a Good Option: Opportunities to Restore Fish Biomass and Size Structure in a Mediterranean Fisheries Restricted Area

Author

Listed:
  • Carlo Pipitone

    (CNR-IAS, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 4521, 90149 Palermo, Italy
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Davide Agnetta

    (OGS, Via Beirut 2, 34151 Trieste, Italy
    NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, 90133 Palermo, Italy
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Arturo Zenone

    (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 4521, 90149 Palermo, Italy
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Vincenzo Maximiliano Giacalone

    (CNR-IAS, Via del Mare 3, 91021 Campobello di Mazara, Italy)

  • Fabio Badalamenti

    (CNR-IAS, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 4521, 90149 Palermo, Italy
    NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, 90133 Palermo, Italy)

  • Fabio Fiorentino

    (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 4521, 90149 Palermo, Italy
    CNR-IRBIM, Via Luigi Vaccara 61, 91026 Mazara del Vallo, Italy)

  • Paola Rinelli

    (CNR-IRBIM, Via San Ranieri 86, 98122 Messina, Italy)

  • Mauro Sinopoli

    (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo 4521, 90149 Palermo, Italy)

  • Tomás Vega Fernández

    (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy)

  • Giovanni D’Anna

    (CNR-IAS, Via Giovanni da Verrazzano 17, 91014 Castellammare del Golfo, Italy)

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a 15-year trawl ban imposed in 1990 in the Gulf of Castellammare (GCAST: NW Sicily, central Mediterranean Sea) and its effects on the biomass and size structure of demersal finfish and shellfish and on the proportion of different commercial categories of fish. Data were collected by experimental trawl surveys conducted in the GCAST and in two trawled areas before and after 1990. The biomass of the total assemblage and of a number of selected species was significantly higher in the GCAST after the ban. Highly commercial species had the largest increase in the same gulf after the ban, particularly at the depths used by artisanal fishermen. The results from size-based indicators were not as clear-cut as those from biomass though. Although the length frequency distributions obtained in the GCAST were significantly different from the other gulfs, in several cases, the values of the size indicators were higher in the trawled gulfs. Our results suggest that, at the temporal and spatial scale adopted, trawl bans may drive full biomass recovery but only partial size structure recovery of the fish populations subject to trawl exclusion, at least in the Mediterranean. The trawl ban in the Gulf of Castellammare provides an example of an effective ecosystem-based fisheries management tool that offers the potential for fish stock rebuilding and for the economic sustainability of artisanal, small-scale fisheries.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlo Pipitone & Davide Agnetta & Arturo Zenone & Vincenzo Maximiliano Giacalone & Fabio Badalamenti & Fabio Fiorentino & Paola Rinelli & Mauro Sinopoli & Tomás Vega Fernández & Giovanni D’Anna, 2023. "When the Trawl Ban Is a Good Option: Opportunities to Restore Fish Biomass and Size Structure in a Mediterranean Fisheries Restricted Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2425-:d:1050740
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    References listed on IDEAS

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