Abstract
Small-scale fisheries in Europe have historically rarely received the attention they deserve. Fishery scholars and policy makers worldwide have until recently paid scant attention to the diversity of the fisheries sector, or to the existence of small-scale fleets and their fishing communities. For far too long, small-scale fishing activity has been obscured by a focus on medium or large-scale fleets, idealised as being more modern, technologically advanced and more profitable. However, resource crises in some fisheries and increasing concerns about unsustainable practices and subsidies have put small-scale fisheries in Europe, and beyond, centre stage once again. This chapter introduces 25 country studies about small-scale fisheries in Europe, written by authors from different academic fields as well as by practitioners. Here, we provide insights into the backgrounds of small-scale fisheries in Europe, linking them to prevailing policy approaches, such as the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). We argue that small-scale fisheries in Europe are diverse, complex and dynamic, and show various levels of resilience. The evidence collected in this book will help people to understand the range of challenges small-scale fisheries face and how these might be overcome.
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Notes
- 1.
Its most recent update (REGULATION (EU) No 1380/2013) took effect on 1st January 2014, with the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2014-2020 (EMFF, REGULATION (EU) No 508/2014) integrating the various regulations for funding.
- 2.
Searches performed in Web of Science, August 22 2019, 09:30:00 CET. It is relevant to note that small-scale fisheries have alternatively been named inshore fisheries (Symes and Phillipson 2001) or artisanal fisheries (García-Flórez et al. 2014). We have combined these terms in the TOPIC search (to find hits in titles, abstracts, authors’ keywords, and more) using the following syntaxis (all databases, all years): (“small-scale fish∗”) OR (“artisanal fish∗”) OR (“inshore fish∗”) OR (“small-scale coastal fish∗”) OR (“coastal fish∗”) OR (“local fish∗”). More sophisticated searches are possible in this and other databases (Google Scholar with a similar search strategy provides 18,100 hits), but the tendency looks to be very similar.
- 3.
As stated in Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 of the European Fisheries Fund: “1. For the purpose of this Article, ‘small-scale coastal fishing’ means fishing carried out by fishing vessels of an overall length of less than 12 metres and not using towed gear as listed in Table 3 in Annex I of Commission Regulation (EC) No 26/2004 of 30 December 2003 regarding the fishing vessels register of the Community”, https://goo.gl/FuX2iQ. In Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, the same definition and table are cited.
- 4.
- 5.
Some of these caveats about the EU definition of small-scale fisheries may be solved in the near future, as the discussions in the European Parliament of the draft report of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 2021–2027 includes shell-fishers on foot in the definition.
- 6.
https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/sites/fisheries/files/docs/publications/2016-small-scale-coastal-fleet_en.pdf. Accessed August 22th 2019.
- 7.
REGULATION (EU) No 1380/2013, Article 17. “Criteria for the allocation of fishing opportunities by Member States . When allocating the fishing opportunities available to them, as referred to in Article 16, Member States shall use transparent and objective criteria including those of an environmental, social and economic nature. The criteria to be used may include, inter alia, the impact of fishing on the environment, the history of compliance , the contribution to the local economy and historic catch levels. Within the fishing opportunities allocated to them, Member States shall endeavour to provide incentives to fishing vessels deploying selective fishing gear or using fishing techniques with reduced environmental impact, such as reduced energy consumption or habitat damage.”
- 8.
For instance, recital num. 19 of the CFP states that: “(…) Member States should endeavour to give preferential access for small-scale, artisanal or coastal fishermen” (Regulation (EU) num. 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11th December, 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, initial considerations). Objectives 5f and 5i (Article 2) also aim to preserve and encourage coastal fisheries, bearing in mind socio-economic aspects.
- 9.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank “Too Big To Ignore: Global Partnership for Small-Scale Fisheries Research” funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (grant number 895-2011-1011) and the project “Governance challenges for sustainable small-scale fisheries: creating synergies with marine conservation and tourism” (GOBAMP II, CSO2013-45773-R, financed by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain). Authors would also like to thank the COST Action CA15217 - Ocean Governance for Sustainability - challenges, options and the role of science, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). J. Pascual would also like to acknowledge Macarofood project (Valorización de productos marinos de la Macaronesia: turismo, gastronomía y capacitación profesional, Interreg-MAC/2.3d/015), with the support of European Regional Development Fund. C. Pita would also like to acknowledge FCT/MCTES national funds for its financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020).
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Pascual-Fernández, J.J., Pita, C., Bavinck, M. (2020). Small-Scale Fisheries Take Centre-Stage in Europe (Once Again). In: Pascual-Fernández, J., Pita, C., Bavinck, M. (eds) Small-Scale Fisheries in Europe: Status, Resilience and Governance. MARE Publication Series, vol 23. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37371-9_1
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