Gillnets are used throughout the year due to the large number of target species (Báez
et al. 2009; FAO 2018). The “bonitera” is a local gillnet used seasonally, from
August to November, during the migration of Sarda sarda.
The collapse of the northern European tuna fisheries at the beginning of the 1980s
and the sharp fall of catches of the tuna fishing traps led to the end of the Consortium
in 1971 (Segundo Ríos 2008; López and Ruiz 2012; Florido 2013; Cort and
Abaunza 2015; Florido del Corral et al. 2018; Cort and Abaunza 2019). Although
with important fluctuations in production, the traps in the Strait of Gibraltar evolved
in the 1980s, thanks to the entry of the Japanese market demanding a high-quality
product to the Spanish tuna fishery. The increased demand of local and national
market; the establishment of quotas and the strong control of the commercialization
implemented by ICCAT, national, and EU fishery administrations; the captures of
bluefin tuna under commercial demand; and the use of new fishing gears, as the
green stick recently implemented in the strait of Gibraltar by a Spanish company,
represent the current reality of the fisheries targeting a very demanded species.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
Landings (t)
Bullet tuna
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
2017
Landings (t)
Plain bonito
Fig. 17.2 (continued)
17 North Atlantic Oscillation Effect on the Biology and Fisheries of Tuna. . .
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