Learning from the history of red shrimp fisheries in the Mediterranean to improve sustainability of deep-water bottom trawling

Abstract

As deep-water red shrimp (DWRS) trawl fisheries gain importance in the Mediterranean, their impact on fragile deep-sea ecosystems requires careful management. We reviewed the historical development of DWRS fisheries in the Mediterranean to propose a harvest strategy that would enhance fishery sustainability, while preserving habitat and community integrity. We considered two representative typologies of DWRS fisheries: a domestic fleet operating within the Italian territorial waters of the Ligurian Sea, and a distant fleet operating mostly in international waters of the central-eastern Mediterranean and sharing shrimp stocks with non-European countries. Our proposed management approach is based on three main harvesting measures: (i) preventing the uncontrolled growth in number of trawlers, (ii) adopting a catch control regime, and (iii) identifying a network of deep-water areas designated alternately for fishing and conservation purposes. As with fisheries in other regions, new fishing grounds should be explored using “encounter protocols” to avoid areas hosting species indicators of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems. Additionally, empirical indicators such as catch rate thresholds derived from fishers’ experience, could be used to move from one fishing ground to another to avoid local depletion of DWRS abundance and a decrease in fishery profitability.