Catalan Sea (Southern) - Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries

The Mediterranean basin is a complex and fascinating region with high biological diversity and much human activity extending over a long period of time. The landmass surrounding the sea has been inhabited for millennia and it is now heavily populated. As a result of this complex socioeconomic and ecological context, the management of Mediterranean resources is seldom proactive with respect to environmental problems and actions are usually taken only after problems have appeared. Recently, there has been an increase in public awareness, leading to a demand for better management of marine resources in the Mediterranean area (e.g. WWF/IUCN, 2004, UNEP, 2009) and to progress towards the development of an ecosystem-based approach (e.g. Pavasovic 1996; EU, 2001). Several countries around the Mediterranean Sea have signed international treaties and agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) or the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which require the adoption of a more holistic ecosystem approach to the management of resources. New European Union legislation highlights the need to move towards an ecosystem-approach of marine resources in European Seas, including the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, scientific contributions to the implementation of an EAM process have been increasing and are especially abundant in the context of conservation and fisheries (e.g. CIESM, 1999, 2000, 2008, Goñi et al. 2000; Fraschetti et al. 2002; Pinnegar et al. 2003; Tudela 2004; WWF/IUCN, 2004; GFCM, 2007, IUCN, 2007; Cochrane and de Young 2008; Abdulla et al. 2009; Stergiou et al. 2009, Coll and Libralato 2012). The scientific community around the Mediterranean has shown a growing interest in ecosystem-based studies, with an increase in research on ecosystem indicators (e.g. Pinnegar et al. 2003; Tudela et al. 2005) and in the development of ecological models (such as Ecopath with Ecosim models, Coll and Libralato 2012). However, practical implementation measures are still under preliminary development and there is a need to further develop a solid collaboration between the main stakeholders (fishermen, administration and scientists). Knowledge-based and ecosystem-model-based decision support systems are needed (Coll et al. 2013).