Click to watch video.GAP2 is a Europe-wide research project investigating how fishermen and scientists can better work together towards more sustainable fisheries. The project, funded by the European Commission, is centred around 13 case studies of working science-fishery partnerships in action.
Now GAP2 has released the short film focused on the case of the regional management plan for the valuable red shrimp fishery. This management plan is the first of its kind in Spain. It was developed by CSIC’s researchers at the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar and fishermen at the Cofradía de Palamós, and endorsed and commended by the regional government. In the film “Bridging the gap” some of the people involved in the red shrimp plan are interviewed. The film shows this success story of collaborative co-management responsibility.
Annually, near 130 tonnes of red shrimp are captured in Palamós. Its economic value surpasses the half of all the Cofradia’s income. In the Palamos harbor there are 20 boats, whose owners make their living mostly on the red shrimp fisheries. But an oversized fishing fleet, the rising fuel prices, an over-fished natural resource and the progressively small size of shrimps caught, alerted the fishermen. Therefore they ask the scientists at the CSIC’s Instituto de Ciencias del Mar to develop a management plan.
The Plan, a result of 20 years work, is a collaboration between fishers, scientists and policy makers and complements the general regulations. “Fisheries are regulated by two main laws which regulate fishing nets and boats”, explain scientists at the CSIC Joan B. Company and Francesc Sardà. “But in some cases, these regulations are not enough to legally prevent the over-fishing. This management plan regulates more strictly some specific aspects of the red shrimp fishery, aiming the sustainability of this resource”.
The red shrimp project in the GAP2 website: http://gap2.eu/case-studies/case-study-10/