Aim

We want to expand the Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries (TURF) model and are working with the Federación Galega de Cofradías de Pescadores to do so. We will collect fishers’ Traditional Ecological Knowledge and conduct a vessel monitoring program to integrate geographic information about habitats, species and seasonal fishing activity.

Summary

To read a quick one page summary of the case study, its aims and achievements please click here.

Images


Our Progress so far

To find out about our progress so far, click on updates below:

36 months on: Progress update from the Galician case study

The GAP2 case study in Galicia provides an update on its progress over the last twelve months.

Mar 2014
Galicia Case Study Update: New horizons in the co-management of the octopus fishery

GAP2 scientist Pablo Pita Orduna, from La Coruna University in Galicia, Northern Spain, offers an update on the findings of the GAP2 octopus fishery case study.

Jan 2014
24 Months On: Progress Update from Galician Case Study

24 months on, an update of the progress of the Galician case study: exploring territorial use rights of fishers...

Apr 2013
Our Progress on Ecosystem Mapping & Communication

We have collaboratively produced a map of the study area's habitats and ecosystems, and have worked hard to improve communication between GAP2 scientists and fishers.

Oct 2012
Progress Update 14 Months into GAP2

An update on the Galicia case study exploring territorial use rights in coastal Galicia's fisheries, 14 months into the GAP2 project.

Jun 2012
Data Collection Begins

Pablo Pita Orduna, scientist at Universidade de A Coruña, gives the latest update on the Galicia Habitat Mapping GAP2 case study.

Mar 2012
Update – 20th December 2011

The UDC Group for Marine Resources & Fisheries report on the Galicia case study's progress so far.

Dec 2011
GAP2 work begins in Confraría de Pescadores de Aguiño

GAP2 and the Federación Galega de Confrarías de Pescadores set project timetable and begin data collection.

Oct 2011

Next Steps

October 2012. Over the next few months we will continue to collect information from fishermen as we complete our Fisheries Monitoring Phase (more information here). We hope to increase the number of fishers involved (currently 23 vessels) when some metiers begin their seasonal activity.

We will also establish definitive protocols so that catch information provided by fishermen is properly referenced to the geographical routes contained in the data loggers.

Finally, we have agreed to join the Federación Galega de Confrarías de Pescadores as they meet with the South Western Waters Regional Advisory Council, to share information about the GAP2 project.

People Involved

Dr Ramon Muiño Boedo

Case Study Leader

  • Dr Ramon Muiño Boedo has a PhD in Biology and is an Associate Professor at the University of A Coruña (Spain).
  • Ramon specialized in ecology, and coastal and fisheries management, in particular in relation to Marine Protected Areas
  • Email: rmuino@udc.es 

Dr Pablo Pita Orduna

Researcher on case study

  • As a researcher at the University of Coruña (Spain), Pablo’s work focuses upon marine aquaculture, marine ecology, the management of coastal fisheries and the integration of traditional knowledge of the fishermen in the management of their fisheries. He is responsible for the ‘scientific side’ of the case study.
  • Pablo is also a professional diver, diving instructor FEDAS-CMAS and underwater photographer.
  • You can find out more about Pablo at http://fismare.com/verdeprofundo.
  • Email: ppita@udc.es

Inmaculada Álvarez-Fernández

Researcher on case study.

  • Inmaculada is a researcher and project manager at the University of Coruña with an MSc in Oceanography, she is responsible for the financial side of the case study.
  • Her research interests include crustaceans of commercial interest, fisheries’ resources assessment and marine protected areas.
  • Email: ialvarez@udc.es

Duarte Fernández-Vidal

Researcher on case study.

  • Duarte is a PhD student at the University of Coruña.
  • Duarte is currently researching socio-economic issues arising from the management, organization and marketing of the fisheries sector, inlcuding how to integrate fishermen’s knowledge, and how to inovlve them more directly within management systems.

 

Stakeholder Participants

Background

During the first phase of the GAP project, GAP1 “Mapping habitats and fishing grounds in coastal ecosystems. Development of a spatial management strategy”, the fisher’s organization of Confraría de Aguiño was chosen as an operational partner. This is an organisation comprising  300 fishers and shellfishers in a small fishing community located in the southern shore of the Ría de Arousa (A Coruña, Spain). The organization has a diversified coastal fleet including

  • purse seiners (targeting sardine)
  • boats operating tangle and gillnets (for spider crab, cuttlefish and a large number of fish species)
  • traps (for octopus, velvet swimming crabs and prawns)
  • intertidal harvesters of goose barnacle
  • divers (for razor clams and sea urchins)
  • bivalve harvesters (clams and cockles) both intertidal and on board.

Most of the members take part in various fisheries along the year in a seasonal cycle, although goose barnacle is the most valuable fishery for most of the fishers.


Most sedentary marine resources exploited by the members of the Confraría de Aguiño (banded carpet shell, pullet carpet shell, grooved carpet shell, razor clam, goose barnacle and sea urchin) are regulated through specific management plans (for shellfish and specific resources) based on Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries (TURFs) and co-management model by the administration and the producers. However, the rest of fisheries in this area are regulated by traditional centralized top-down norms and regulations, common to the whole of the Galician fleet.

The success of the co-management models for specific resources opens the door for the application of similar models to the rest of fisheries in the area.

Taking the geographical activity range of the fleet from Aguiño as a reference, a study area was defined, with an extension of 18.4 Km2, comprising the Sagres, Vionta and Sálvora islands, belonging to the Atlantic Islands National Park.

A representative work committee was constituted and legitimised by the General Board of the Cofraría de Aguño, with the purpose of giving expression to the interests of the fishermen in a consensual way. A series of weekly meetings were held with the working group, using an ethnographic method based in semi-open interviews, where the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) on the study area was gathered.

Thus, based on a detailed cartography of the area, interviews were held with different members of the committee. Within these interviews, resources, habitats and fishing grounds were located on maps. All the information obtained was digitalized and introduced into a Geographic Information System, generating a series of detailed maps of the main fishing grounds for each fishery resource. Given the importance the goose barnacle, a detailed study was made for this species, classifying the extraction zones according to their productivity and quality of the resource.

GAP1, the scope of the research was focused on the fleet covered by the Confraría de Aguiño, and managed by TURFs for some coastal sedentary invertebrate resources. However, the rest of fishing resources and fleets is managed using a top-down non-spatial approach. Due to the absence of territorial rights, vessels from neighbouring confrarías also exploit fishing grounds belonging to the territory of the Cofraría de Aguño.

For this reason, the study area in GAP2 has been expanded to include the whole fleet carrying permanent, regular and occasional activity in the area, including vessels from other confrarías that also exploit this area. This inclusion will improve the characterization of habitats and fishing resources, the definition of the areas subjected to high fishing effort, the identification of fishing areas in relation to their quality and productivity and the assignation of economic value to each fishing ground.

Resources

Meeting with Federación Galega de Confrarías de Pescadores (in spanish)
“Mapping Habitats and Fishing Grounds in Coastal Ecosystems of Galicia”
Presentacion Cofradias 2
Presentacion Cofradias 3

  • Case Studies MAP

    Browse different locations for case studies

    View Map