the SMR. This overview focuses on a long historical series of landings, the characteristics of the fleet, differential characteristics of this type of fishery by port, the
fishery effort during the last decade, acoustic assessment, and the economic aspects
of the fishery.
16.2 Geographical Situation and Data Employed
The Alboran Sea covers the marine area running from the Strait of Gibraltar to Cabo
de Gata. The latter is connected by an invisible line to Cape Figalo (Algeria), which
forms the border on the eastern edge of the area. Over time, fishery studies have
slightly modified the way in which fishery statistics are grouped due to special
interests concerning management, stock assessment, and logistics.
The oldest historical series of sardine and anchovy landings are grouped into the
SMR, which corresponds to the old 37.1.5 division of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean of the Food and Agriculture Organization (GFCM/
FAO). This grouping covers ports from Cabo de Gata to the Strait of Gibraltar and
also includes the ports of Spanish cities Ceuta and Melilla in northern Africa
(Fig. 16.1).
Currently, the aggregated data for the CGPM working groups is obtained from
the Geographical Subarea 01 (GSA01, Fig. 16.1), which groups together the SMR
and the Gulf of Vera (between Cabo de Gata and Cabo de Palos). However, this
study uses the SMR for purposes of comparison with the old series.
The ports of Ceuta and Melilla used to be important landing points. However,
Melilla no longer has a purse seine fleet, and in 2005 the number of landings in the
port of Ceuta (last updated info) represented only 1% of the landings from the total
area of the SMR.
Data on the historical series of catches (from 1945 to 2017) were obtained from
the official statistics of the General Fisheries Secretariat (SGPM), Fisheries Regulatory and Market Fund (FROM), and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO).
Data on the historical fleet were obtained from the statistics of the SGPM. This
series is smaller than the landings for the following reasons: until 1964, only the
number of fishing gears was counted; between 1965 and 1971, purse seine fishing
was not counted separately; after this period, only ships of more than 20 GT (gross
tonnage) were counted; and from 1973, the statistics included the technical characteristics of the ships.
16 Small Pelagic Resources: A Historic Perspective and Current State of the. . .
561
fishery effort during the last decade, acoustic assessment, and the economic aspects
of the fishery.
16.2 Geographical Situation and Data Employed
The Alboran Sea covers the marine area running from the Strait of Gibraltar to Cabo
de Gata. The latter is connected by an invisible line to Cape Figalo (Algeria), which
forms the border on the eastern edge of the area. Over time, fishery studies have
slightly modified the way in which fishery statistics are grouped due to special
interests concerning management, stock assessment, and logistics.
The oldest historical series of sardine and anchovy landings are grouped into the
SMR, which corresponds to the old 37.1.5 division of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean of the Food and Agriculture Organization (GFCM/
FAO). This grouping covers ports from Cabo de Gata to the Strait of Gibraltar and
also includes the ports of Spanish cities Ceuta and Melilla in northern Africa
(Fig. 16.1).
Currently, the aggregated data for the CGPM working groups is obtained from
the Geographical Subarea 01 (GSA01, Fig. 16.1), which groups together the SMR
and the Gulf of Vera (between Cabo de Gata and Cabo de Palos). However, this
study uses the SMR for purposes of comparison with the old series.
The ports of Ceuta and Melilla used to be important landing points. However,
Melilla no longer has a purse seine fleet, and in 2005 the number of landings in the
port of Ceuta (last updated info) represented only 1% of the landings from the total
area of the SMR.
Data on the historical series of catches (from 1945 to 2017) were obtained from
the official statistics of the General Fisheries Secretariat (SGPM), Fisheries Regulatory and Market Fund (FROM), and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO).
Data on the historical fleet were obtained from the statistics of the SGPM. This
series is smaller than the landings for the following reasons: until 1964, only the
number of fishing gears was counted; between 1965 and 1971, purse seine fishing
was not counted separately; after this period, only ships of more than 20 GT (gross
tonnage) were counted; and from 1973, the statistics included the technical characteristics of the ships.
16 Small Pelagic Resources: A Historic Perspective and Current State of the. . .
561