the definition varies between countries, from example from gleaning or a one-man
canoe in poor developing countries to more than 20m trawlers, seiners or long-liners
in developed ones (e.g. in Europe).” General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) glossary mentions that “small scale fisheries can be broadly
characterized as a dynamic and evolving sector employing labor intensive
harvesting, processing and distribution technologies to exploit marine and inland
water fishery resources. The activities of this sub-sector, conducted full-time or parttime, or just seasonally, are often targeted on supplying fish and fishery products to
local and domestic markets, and for subsistence consumption.” From a practical
point of view in this chapter, we are going to use both concepts in an indistinct way
defining small-scale or artisanal fishery by exclusion of what is not included in them.
In fact, we consider artisanal or small-scale fisheries as all the fisheries in the
Alboran Sea, excluding those implemented using trawl nets, purse seine, tuna
rods, trolling lines, and pelagic longlines fisheries.
In the Alboran Sea, artisanal fisheries have traditionally played an important role
both in social and in economic aspects, they have been the origin of all kinds of
exploitation of marine resources, with the current fisheries inheriting the long
artisanal tradition that has been transformed by adapting to technological
innovations.
14.2 Description of Artisanal Fisheries in Northern
Alboran Sea
The Alboran Sea represents a transitional ecoregion between the Atlantic Ocean and
the Mediterranean Sea, connecting both oceanic domains through the Strait of
Gibraltar (Spalding et al. 2007) with particular oceanographic characteristics such
as the Atlantic influence or the upwelling zones (Parrilla and Kinder 1987; Sarhan
et al. 2000) and physiographic features as the very narrow continental shelf
(Hernández-Molina et al. 1994; Lobo et al. 2006, 2014). Artisanal fishery in the
northern Alboran Sea contains many common elements with those of other areas of
the Spanish coast or other countries of the Mediterranean environment, so the types
of vessels, the fishing gears, and the exploited species are similar to those of
neighboring areas. However, the specificities of the oceanographic and physiographic characteristics give the fishery components that differentiate it from those
of other areas (Camiñas 1990).
Despite the peculiarities of the area, it does not seem that it has contributed
throughout the history to innovations in fishing. In fact and with some exceptions,
the majority of fishing gear and boats traditionally used on our coasts came from
other areas and were only modified to adapt them to their own needs. Given the
environmental heterogeneity of the seabed, in the last decades more than 40 different
fishing gears have been developed, exploiting in a very selective way the different
existing ecosystems. An important issue is the great adaptability of fishing gears over
522
J. Baro Domínguez et al.
canoe in poor developing countries to more than 20m trawlers, seiners or long-liners
in developed ones (e.g. in Europe).” General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) glossary mentions that “small scale fisheries can be broadly
characterized as a dynamic and evolving sector employing labor intensive
harvesting, processing and distribution technologies to exploit marine and inland
water fishery resources. The activities of this sub-sector, conducted full-time or parttime, or just seasonally, are often targeted on supplying fish and fishery products to
local and domestic markets, and for subsistence consumption.” From a practical
point of view in this chapter, we are going to use both concepts in an indistinct way
defining small-scale or artisanal fishery by exclusion of what is not included in them.
In fact, we consider artisanal or small-scale fisheries as all the fisheries in the
Alboran Sea, excluding those implemented using trawl nets, purse seine, tuna
rods, trolling lines, and pelagic longlines fisheries.
In the Alboran Sea, artisanal fisheries have traditionally played an important role
both in social and in economic aspects, they have been the origin of all kinds of
exploitation of marine resources, with the current fisheries inheriting the long
artisanal tradition that has been transformed by adapting to technological
innovations.
14.2 Description of Artisanal Fisheries in Northern
Alboran Sea
The Alboran Sea represents a transitional ecoregion between the Atlantic Ocean and
the Mediterranean Sea, connecting both oceanic domains through the Strait of
Gibraltar (Spalding et al. 2007) with particular oceanographic characteristics such
as the Atlantic influence or the upwelling zones (Parrilla and Kinder 1987; Sarhan
et al. 2000) and physiographic features as the very narrow continental shelf
(Hernández-Molina et al. 1994; Lobo et al. 2006, 2014). Artisanal fishery in the
northern Alboran Sea contains many common elements with those of other areas of
the Spanish coast or other countries of the Mediterranean environment, so the types
of vessels, the fishing gears, and the exploited species are similar to those of
neighboring areas. However, the specificities of the oceanographic and physiographic characteristics give the fishery components that differentiate it from those
of other areas (Camiñas 1990).
Despite the peculiarities of the area, it does not seem that it has contributed
throughout the history to innovations in fishing. In fact and with some exceptions,
the majority of fishing gear and boats traditionally used on our coasts came from
other areas and were only modified to adapt them to their own needs. Given the
environmental heterogeneity of the seabed, in the last decades more than 40 different
fishing gears have been developed, exploiting in a very selective way the different
existing ecosystems. An important issue is the great adaptability of fishing gears over
522
J. Baro Domínguez et al.