The Institute will bring together scientists and fishermen to improve the current situation of these species, which have experienced an important decline in recent decades.
A new project of the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) of Barcelona supported by the international non-profit organization Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) will evaluate the impact of seine fishing on sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) populations in the western Mediterranean, specifically in Castellón de la Plana (Valencia).
Both species have experienced a substantial decline during the last decades, which has been reflected in the landings. This, together with the drop in price of both sardines and anchovies, is jeopardizing their fisheries, which are culturally and economically highly important for the local communities.
Faced with this scenario born the "SEINE-ETP" project, an initiative that will put scientists and fishermen in contact with the aim of improving the current situation:
"The collaboration between scientists and fishermen will allow us to better understand the interactions between this fishery and non-target species, apart from moving towards the levels of sustainability established by the MSC Fisheries Standard", explains Julio Agujetas, Mediterranean Fisheries Manager for MSC Spain.
According to the promoters of the initiative, with the financial support of the MSC Ocean Stewardship Fund (OSF) and the MAVA Foundation, the sustainability of this and any other fishery can only be achieved through the commitment of all stakeholders. This certified sustainability brings value to fisheries, increasing their profitability and keeping catches at sustainable levels.
Bycatch consequences
Although seine fisheries for small pelagics –those include sardines and anchovies- have been described as highly selective with a low discard rate and interaction with non-target species, there is a lack of objective data to support this. Therefore, a good understanding of the interactions between target and non-target species, and the impact that bycatch of certain species may have on the food web and ecosystem functioning, is needed.
"Small pelagic fish play key socioeconomic and ecological roles in marine ecosystems, so it is necessary to advance in the understanding of their dynamics if we want to obtain an integrated assessment of the ecosystem", says the ICM-CSIC researcher Marta Coll, who celebrates the fact that SEINE-ETP can contribute to progress in this direction.
For his part, Valerio Sbragaglia, also an ICM-CSIC researcher, stresses that "fishermen have key information related to the ecology and behavior of the species they fish, and thanks to this we can decipher, for example, the role they play within the ecosystem, which brings to the table the benefits of research closely linked to society".
At the end of the project, the experts will present an integrative analysis that should help to advance in reducing the knowledge gaps highlighted during the pre-assessment of the anchovy and sardine purse seine fishery of Castellón de la Plana in 2019. That pre-assessment, conducted based on the MSC Fisheries Standard under the Medfish Project, identified certain gaps in the status, information and management of endangered, threatened or protected species.