The deep-water fisheries exploited by Spanish fleets in the Northeast Atlantic: a review of the current status

• Published in: Fisheries research 2001-05, Vol.51 (2), p.311-320
• Main Authors: Piñeiro, C.G, Casas, M, Bañón, R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Catch statistics; Deep-water species; Description; Exploitation and management of natural biological resources (hunting, fishing and exploited populations survey, etc.); Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Marine; Northeast Atlantic; Spain
• ISSN: 0165-7836; 1872-6763
• DOI: 10.1016/S0165-7836(01)00254-5

Most of the deep-water fisheries exploited by the Spanish fleet may be considered as a by-catch of mixed fisheries. They operate in different sea areas ICES Sub-areas VI, VII, XII, and Divisions VIIIa,b,c and IXa, using different gears (trawl, longline, gillnet). In recent years, new fisheries targeting deep-water species have been established as a result of the over-exploited state of the traditional stocks. These fisheries are mainly opportunistic and are subject to a great variability depending on the abundance, economic importance, season, and yields of target species. This review describes the deep-water fisheries of the North and Northeast Atlantic exploited by the Spanish fleet, gears, seasonal activity and their target species, as well as landings, by ports, of the most important species. In addition, traditional artisanal fisheries off the Cantabrian Sea coast and the South Atlantic region of Spain are described.