Recreational Fisheries in a Mediterranean Island: Monitoring and Evaluation Constrains and Advances

Coastal marine ecosystems are subject to multiple stressors such as climate change, alteration of habitats, tourism and overexploitation, activities that jointly threaten sustainability and provision of ecosystem services. Recreational fishing, defined as the use of fish resources for personal consumption and/or leisure, is a popular activity in coastal areas. In Mallorca (W Mediterranean) around 10% of the population fish for recreation and an unknown amount of tourists fish during their holidays. While the importance of commercial fishing capture is decreasing, recreation is becoming more important beneficiary of fish stocks. The recreational fishery activity and characteristics has to be studied to determine their magnitude, species captured, and socioeconomic impact for a better management and for the requirements of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. However, the disperse nature of the activity; the multiplicity of modalities and the lack of registers are difficult to overcome. This contribution presents the methods developed and their pros and cons in the framework of an academic study.