ARTISANAL FISHERIES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE OF BLUEFIN

There has been significant growth in the catches of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and especially in the Mediterranean Sea for the last decade due to the expansion of fattening farms which export their production to Japan. There has been an increase in catches due to strong demand and, consequently, it has produced a degree of exploitation of the stock. According to ICCAT, this could cause the extinction of the resource, and as a result recommendations have been made. For this reason, the European Union has imposed drastic cuts in TACs, which have affected not only the purse-seining fishing fleet which was supplying tuna to farms, but also the artisanal fleet segments which continue ancient fishing activities such as the tuna traps in the South of Spain. In this paper the current situation of this sector is presented in detail. The existing interrelationships between the profitability of firms and catches and, above all, between the profitability of firms and the situation of the bluefin tuna demand in the Japanese market are analysed. This is because this market determines the price obtained by tuna trap firms. This price is established by Japanese wholesalers at the beginning of each fishing season