The project ‘Vadapes II’ identifies challenges and solutions for artisan fishing in the Mediterranea

The Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC) and the fishing field have designed adaptive measures to cushion the impacts of climate change, from a project carried out in Mallorca and Asturias.

According to the IEO-CSIC in a press release this Tuesday, 22nd of July, through the project “Vadapes II”, scientists and the fishing community have identified the main challenges that artisan fishing in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic faces.

Concretely, through participative workshops with fishmongers and scientists of both areas evaluated 69 key challenges related with ecological changes, generational relay, normative and consuming habits, and concrete actions to empower the resilience of the field were prioritized. 

After identifying the principal risks and challenges in these regions, they have explained, the project suggests concrete actions such as adaptive bans, support to direct ban, the improvement of work conditions, the environmental labelling, the impulse toward congestion and the collaboration between the field and the science to reinforce the resilience. 

According to the IEO, these actions aim to reinforce ecological diversity, sectorial cooperation and the normative and economic flexibility.

The postdoctoral investigator of the program, Daniel Carasso, Fellowship at the Oceanography Centre of the Balearic Islands of the IEO-CSIC, and coordinator of the project in the Mediterranean area, Marta Albo, have pointed out that “avoiding the maladaptation is key”.

“In ‘Vadapes II’ we have worked to prevent it, combining ecological, social-economical and governance aspects, and integrating local and scientific knowledge”, has highlighted.

In this sense, the coordinator of the project in the Cantabric and investigator of Santander’s Oceanography center of the IEO-CSIC, Lucía López, has pointed out that the capacity of adaptation and response of the system of governance has been a common “weak spot” in both regions. This way, she has pointed out the importance of reinforcing it to guarantee the sustainability of the field.

In addition, the project has allowed the creation of tools to evaluate the cost-benefit of fishing descarbonization measures.

Using indicators such as captures, economic benefits, carbon emissions and habitats diversity, the team has identified, in a preliminary way, priority areas to apply politics without compromising the neither biodiversity or the economical sustainability.

These tools, they have pointed out, will allow more adapted decision-making, looking for a better balance between environmental protection and social well-being, by integrating key information about different ecological and socioeconomic elements. 

This way, according to the IEO investigator Ulla Fernández de Arcaya, consistent solutions application that could be harmful to certain territories will be avoided.