Recreational shore angling in the south and southwest coast of mainland Portugal

All fishing-related activities impact exploited ecosystems, which is underestimated by fisheries statistics that rely only on commercial fisheries information. Collection of recreational fishing data is mandatory under the EU Data Collection Framework (DCF, EC 199/2008), and will provide reliable, enabling the integration of catch estimates from commercial and recreational fisheries for stock assessments. Nevertheless, and despite the obligation of data collection on recreational fisheries, there is still the lack of up-to-date scientific information to support management. This studied aimed to characterize shore-based marine recreational fishing (MRF) in the south and southwest coast of Portugal (from Setúbal to V.R.S. António), promoting a systematic collection of data to ensure a solid scientific basis to implement adequate measures adjusted to the reality. Data collection was undertaken trough roving creel surveys using face-to-face questionnaires (in a digital Android system). The methodology implied a comprehensive sampling strategy in which the coastline was divided into 5 km sections considering the two Territorial Units for Statistical Purposes (NUTS II) in the study. A total of 403 shore angers were approached, resulting in 349 valid questionnaires (response rate of 87%). The studied population is constituted mainly by male individuals, of a wide range of age distribution, more common between 41 and 70 years old, with a high experience in the recreational activity. Sportfishing is not very popular among the surveyed anglers. The generically low educational level and the low monthly incomes are common for both regions of study, being most of the angler’s resident in the nearby region where the interview was developed and were fishing either alone or with their families/friends in equal proportion. The activity has his fishing effort peak during the Spring and Summer months, despite most of the surveyed anglers referred fishing during the entire year. The great majority of the anglers referred to know and to be reasonably satisfied with the current legislation and management measures. Nevertheless, a steady decay in the abundance of marine resources has been noticed and pollution and commercial fishing were pointed out as the main causes. A total of 856 individuals were caught, from 33 different species, with a total weight of 274.76 kg. The most important targeted species were the white seabream (Diplodus sargus) both in number and weight (N=365; W=86.07 kg), followed by the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) with 97 individuals caught that weighed72.93 kg and the spotted seabass (Dicentrarchus punctatus) with 106 individuals caught weighing 22.37 kg. The Sparidae family (Diplodus spp.) importance must be emphasized corresponding to 65.62% of the total catch. An annual harvest of 1992.48 tons of fish was estimated for shore-based marine recreational anglers of the Alentejo and the Algarve during 2018. The sargo breams (Diplodus spp.) are the most relevant catch species/group of species with 463.81tons, followed by the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) with an estimated annual total catch of 116.40 tons, and the spotted seabass (Dicentrarchus punctatus) with 82.88 tons of fish. The economic revenue of the shore-based activity in the regions of Alentejo and Algarve, only regarding the direct expenses, was estimated to be 1.67 million euros. To ensure adequate management of the aquatic resources, it is crucial that studies like this continue being carried on a periodical basis, providing information that can serve as a baseline to support the current management measures