Shipping produces a potential impact on biodiversity through the transport of
invasive species or contamination due to oil and fuel spills; however, it is not the
most relevant impact in the area despite intensive maritime traffic.
This chapter aims to analyze the socioeconomics of Alboran Sea fisheries as one
of the main pressures over fish stocks and insight on fisheries management of the
area in the context of an ecosystem-based management approach accounting for
marine environment conditions (climate variability and global warming) that influence Alboran Sea ecosystem and, consequently, fisheries. The chapter finishes
providing recommendations to improve fisheries management of this area.
The chapter begins describing Alboran Sea fisheries management in Sect. 22.2.
Section 22.3 goes through the consideration of the main driving forces that impact
Alboran Sea fisheries socioeconomics focusing on Northern Alboran Sea where
there is more data availability. Section 22.4 researches on the relation of marine
environment variability and Alboran Sea ecosystem. Finally, Section 22.5 provides
sound advice to policy-makers to improve the management system of the area.
22.2 Alboran Sea Fisheries Management
Fisheries management is the integrated process of information gathering, analysis,
planning, consultation, decision-making, allocation of resources and formulation
and implementation, with enforcement as necessary, of regulations or rules which
govern fisheries activities in order to ensure the continued productivity of the
resources and accomplishment of other fisheries objectives (FAO 1997: 7).
Fisheries management involves multiple tasks devoted to accomplish fisheries
objectives that must be necessarily set assuming the adoption of an ecosystem
approach to fisheries, for succeeding to achieve the sustainability of natural resource
use (FAO 2008; Cochrane and García 2009; Long et al. 2015) in the framework
defined by the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (FAO 1995).
Institution plays a relevant role in fisheries. Institutions are the system of
established and prevalent social rules that structure social interactions (Hodgson
2006). The institutions thus lead fishermen’s behavior. The combination of fisheries
management and institutions arrangements of fisheries set user’s incentives for
sustainability (Charles 1992; Yandle 2003).
The evolution and current design of the fisheries management system of Alboran
Sea are in the root of this regional sea ecosystem evolution given that its failure can
result in the arising of the well-known fisheries problems: overexploitation of the
fisheries resources and the dissipation of fishing rent, this is, the biological and
socioeconomic unsustainability of fisheries.
This section is aimed at describing and analyzing Alboran Sea fisheries management systems in an attempt to explain its current state. It not only mainly focuses on
socioeconomic and technical variables but also accounts for its biological status,
related to fisheries as one of the most important goods and services provided by this
ecosystem (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2003; Beaumont et al. 2007).
22 Fisheries Economics and Management Under the Impact of Human and Varying. . .
751
invasive species or contamination due to oil and fuel spills; however, it is not the
most relevant impact in the area despite intensive maritime traffic.
This chapter aims to analyze the socioeconomics of Alboran Sea fisheries as one
of the main pressures over fish stocks and insight on fisheries management of the
area in the context of an ecosystem-based management approach accounting for
marine environment conditions (climate variability and global warming) that influence Alboran Sea ecosystem and, consequently, fisheries. The chapter finishes
providing recommendations to improve fisheries management of this area.
The chapter begins describing Alboran Sea fisheries management in Sect. 22.2.
Section 22.3 goes through the consideration of the main driving forces that impact
Alboran Sea fisheries socioeconomics focusing on Northern Alboran Sea where
there is more data availability. Section 22.4 researches on the relation of marine
environment variability and Alboran Sea ecosystem. Finally, Section 22.5 provides
sound advice to policy-makers to improve the management system of the area.
22.2 Alboran Sea Fisheries Management
Fisheries management is the integrated process of information gathering, analysis,
planning, consultation, decision-making, allocation of resources and formulation
and implementation, with enforcement as necessary, of regulations or rules which
govern fisheries activities in order to ensure the continued productivity of the
resources and accomplishment of other fisheries objectives (FAO 1997: 7).
Fisheries management involves multiple tasks devoted to accomplish fisheries
objectives that must be necessarily set assuming the adoption of an ecosystem
approach to fisheries, for succeeding to achieve the sustainability of natural resource
use (FAO 2008; Cochrane and García 2009; Long et al. 2015) in the framework
defined by the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (FAO 1995).
Institution plays a relevant role in fisheries. Institutions are the system of
established and prevalent social rules that structure social interactions (Hodgson
2006). The institutions thus lead fishermen’s behavior. The combination of fisheries
management and institutions arrangements of fisheries set user’s incentives for
sustainability (Charles 1992; Yandle 2003).
The evolution and current design of the fisheries management system of Alboran
Sea are in the root of this regional sea ecosystem evolution given that its failure can
result in the arising of the well-known fisheries problems: overexploitation of the
fisheries resources and the dissipation of fishing rent, this is, the biological and
socioeconomic unsustainability of fisheries.
This section is aimed at describing and analyzing Alboran Sea fisheries management systems in an attempt to explain its current state. It not only mainly focuses on
socioeconomic and technical variables but also accounts for its biological status,
related to fisheries as one of the most important goods and services provided by this
ecosystem (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2003; Beaumont et al. 2007).
22 Fisheries Economics and Management Under the Impact of Human and Varying. . .
751