Fishing effort and enforcement in the Azores Marine Protected Areas: How prevalent is illegal fishing?

Abstract

Fishing is a significant global food source, providing protein for millions of people. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is committed to ensuring access to high-quality food, reducing hunger, and promoting sustainable fisheries to address global population growth and hunger. However, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing poses a significant challenge, threatening marine biodiversity and food security. Portugal has the 10th largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with waters around mainland Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira. This research focuses on the Azores region, known for its traditional multispecific fishery around the island slopes and seamounts. The region's fisheries face data scarcity issues and complicating effective management. By combining Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) records from 2016 to 2022 and Portuguese Navy (PoN) Fiscalization Reports (FISCREP) from 2015 to 2022, it was possible to use appropriate metrics to characterize the fishing effort and analyze the effectiveness of the inspections conducted in the Azores EEZ. The Total Boat-Meter (TBM) metric combines the number and length of boats to quantify the fishing effort better. The analysis shows that the fishing effort in the protected areas is very high, highlighting the pressure on the protected ecosystems. The findings aim to assist regulatory institutions and researchers in assessing fishing pressure and promoting sustainable fisheries management in the Azores to preserve marine ecosystems.