RESEARCH ARTICLE
Recreational fisheries economics between
illusion and reality: The case of Algeria
Nadhe ´ra Babali
1,2
*, Mohamed Kacher
2,3
, Dyhia Belhabib
4
, Ferial Louanchi
2
, Daniel Pauly
4
1 National Research Center for the Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture (CNRDPA), Boulevard front
de Mer, Bou Ismail, Tipaza, Algeria, 2 National School of Marine Science and Coastal Management
(ENSSMAL), Campus Universitaire Dely Ibrahim, Bois des Cars, Algiers, Algeria, 3 Ministry of Agriculture,
Rural Development and Fisheries (MADRP), Algiers, Algeria, 4 Sea Around Us, University of British
Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
* nadherababali@gmail.com
Abstract
Recreational fishing is often perceived as harmless when it comes to fisheries management,
and its impact often estimated to surpass the economic outcomes of e.g. large-scale fisheries. Recreational fisheries are often an indication of political stability and sound ecosystem
management. However, despite a high economic impact, the economic costs on traditional
and small-scale commercial fishers is yet to be known. This paper answers the question of
how unregulated recreational fisheries could rather generate a loss to an economy, and
cause unfair competition with existing commercial sectors using the example of Algeria.
This paper assesses catches and economic value of recreational fisheries in Algeria, and
finds that over 6,000 tonnes reach commercial markets annually, competing directly with the
small-scale artisanal sector, while selling recreationally caught fish is still illegal. The paper
further finds that the public is thereby deprived—through lost tax, licence income and landed
value of $45 million US annually.
Introduction
Fishing is one of the oldest activities on earth [1]. With fisheries industrialization, fish stocks
are increasingly subject to over-exploitation and are declining at an alarming rate [2, 3]. This
over-exploitation is further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, which drive fish
migrations and local depletions in some of the poorest areas of the world [4]. In addition, illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing by industrial fleets, often associated with over-exploitation of fish stocks, and other environmental crimes, is considered one of the major threats to
fisheries, today [5]. However, other sectors whose impact is often unknown also contribute to
this trend. Indeed, beyond the fact that recreational catches are often under-reported, the sector remains mainly unregulated in many countries of the world [6]. Catch reconstructions
revealed that data reported to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
do not reflect this reality [7]. Thus, in The Bahamas for example, previously unaccounted recreational catches by tourists were estimated at around 662,000 t per year (75% of the total
annual commercial catch) [8].
PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201602 August 2, 2018
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OPEN ACCESS
Citation: Babali N, Kacher M, Belhabib D, Louanchi
F, Pauly D (2018) Recreational fisheries economics
between illusion and reality: The case of Algeria.
PLoS ONE 13(8): e0201602. https://doi.org/
10.1371/journal.pone.0201602
Editor: Athanassios C. Tsikliras, Aristotle University
of Thessaloniki, GREECE
Received: December 13, 2017
Accepted: July 18, 2018
Published: August 2, 2018
Copyright: © 2018 Babali et al. This is an open
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited.
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are
within the paper.
Funding: The authors received no specific funding
for this work.
Competing interests: The authors have declared
that no competing interests exist.
Recreational fisheries economics between
illusion and reality: The case of Algeria
Nadhe ´ra Babali
1,2
*, Mohamed Kacher
2,3
, Dyhia Belhabib
4
, Ferial Louanchi
2
, Daniel Pauly
4
1 National Research Center for the Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture (CNRDPA), Boulevard front
de Mer, Bou Ismail, Tipaza, Algeria, 2 National School of Marine Science and Coastal Management
(ENSSMAL), Campus Universitaire Dely Ibrahim, Bois des Cars, Algiers, Algeria, 3 Ministry of Agriculture,
Rural Development and Fisheries (MADRP), Algiers, Algeria, 4 Sea Around Us, University of British
Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
* nadherababali@gmail.com
Abstract
Recreational fishing is often perceived as harmless when it comes to fisheries management,
and its impact often estimated to surpass the economic outcomes of e.g. large-scale fisheries. Recreational fisheries are often an indication of political stability and sound ecosystem
management. However, despite a high economic impact, the economic costs on traditional
and small-scale commercial fishers is yet to be known. This paper answers the question of
how unregulated recreational fisheries could rather generate a loss to an economy, and
cause unfair competition with existing commercial sectors using the example of Algeria.
This paper assesses catches and economic value of recreational fisheries in Algeria, and
finds that over 6,000 tonnes reach commercial markets annually, competing directly with the
small-scale artisanal sector, while selling recreationally caught fish is still illegal. The paper
further finds that the public is thereby deprived—through lost tax, licence income and landed
value of $45 million US annually.
Introduction
Fishing is one of the oldest activities on earth [1]. With fisheries industrialization, fish stocks
are increasingly subject to over-exploitation and are declining at an alarming rate [2, 3]. This
over-exploitation is further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, which drive fish
migrations and local depletions in some of the poorest areas of the world [4]. In addition, illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing by industrial fleets, often associated with over-exploitation of fish stocks, and other environmental crimes, is considered one of the major threats to
fisheries, today [5]. However, other sectors whose impact is often unknown also contribute to
this trend. Indeed, beyond the fact that recreational catches are often under-reported, the sector remains mainly unregulated in many countries of the world [6]. Catch reconstructions
revealed that data reported to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
do not reflect this reality [7]. Thus, in The Bahamas for example, previously unaccounted recreational catches by tourists were estimated at around 662,000 t per year (75% of the total
annual commercial catch) [8].
PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201602 August 2, 2018
1 / 11
a1111111111
a1111111111
a1111111111
a1111111111
a1111111111
OPEN ACCESS
Citation: Babali N, Kacher M, Belhabib D, Louanchi
F, Pauly D (2018) Recreational fisheries economics
between illusion and reality: The case of Algeria.
PLoS ONE 13(8): e0201602. https://doi.org/
10.1371/journal.pone.0201602
Editor: Athanassios C. Tsikliras, Aristotle University
of Thessaloniki, GREECE
Received: December 13, 2017
Accepted: July 18, 2018
Published: August 2, 2018
Copyright: © 2018 Babali et al. This is an open
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited.
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are
within the paper.
Funding: The authors received no specific funding
for this work.
Competing interests: The authors have declared
that no competing interests exist.