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Spain Bottom wet fish trawlers black hake fishery - Mauritanian waters
Fishery  Fact Sheet
CECAF Fisheries Reports 2013
Spain Bottom wet fish trawlers black hake fishery - Mauritanian waters
Fact Sheet Citation  
Chalutiers espagnols de pêche fraîche au merlus noir
Owned byFood and Agriculture Organization (FAO) – more>>
Fishery life cycle
The fishing agreement is expired in 2012 but the licences have been extended up to date.

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Overview: The fishery targets black hakes (M. polli and M. senegalensis), constituting both species together the 90% of the catches. Main by-catch species are anglers, dories, elasmobranchians and other fishes, with smaller proportions in the last years. These vessels used to operate in Mauritanian waters throughout all the year and in Senegalese waters between September and April, following the seasonal migration pattern of these species. However, the Senegalese fishing ground has not been visited since 2006 because of the expiry of the EU/Senegal Fishing Agreement in June of that year. Fishing trips have an average duration of 10 days. Catches are classified and landed in four commercial categories, being preserved in ice. Therefore, bigger specimens are eviscerated. The transport of the refrigerated catches is done by merchant vessels or by lorries from the port of Las Palmas (Canary Islands), or from Mauritanian ports to the port of Cádiz, which constitutes the traditional sale ports for black hake. Because of the similarity between the two species of black hakes, they are mixed in landing in the fish markets, recorded in the statistics as Merluccius spp. and evaluated together.

Location of Spain Bottom wet fish trawlers black hake fishery - Mauritanian waters
 

Geographic reference:  Spain
Spatial Scale: National
Reference year: 2013
Approach: Fishing Activity

Fishing Activity
Fishing Gear: Single boat bottom otter trawls
Type of production system: Commercial; Industrial
Fishery Area: Mauritania; Atlantic, East …

Seasonality: All year long

Harvested Resource
Target Species: Senegalese hake; Benguela hake
Associated Species: John dory; Blackbelly rosefish; Sharks, rays, skates, etc. nei …  
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Means of Production
Vessel Type: Stern trawlers wet-fish
Fishery Indicators
Nominal Effort: Number of vessels
Participation: Number of fishermen
Production: Catch total; Catch Merluccius spp.; Catch L. vaillanti; Catch Z. faber; Catch H. dactylopterus

History
 
A fleet based in the Port of Cadiz (Andalucía, South West Spain) has traditionally exploited black hakes in North West African waters since the decade of the 50s. This fleet has specially operated in the Mauritanian fishing ground, first through private agreements and since 1987, into the framework of Agreements between the European Community and Mauritania. At the beginning, the fleet was composed of big and powerful vessels that, since the year 2000 were gradually replaced by smaller and more modern vessels based in Ports of Galicia (North West Spain). This fleet has drastically reduced its number in the last 20 years, from 37 vessels in 1990 to only 8 operating nowadays, based at ports from Galicia and Canary Islands.
Fishing Activity
Type of production system: Commercial; Industrial   

Fishery Area
Climatic zone: Temperate.   Bottom type: Soft bottom clean sand; Soft bottom muddy or muddy-sand.   Depth zone: Shelf (50 m - 200 m); Slope (200 m - 1000 m).   Horizontal distribution: Neritic.   Vertical distribution: Demersal/Benthic.  

Geo References for: Mauritania

The Mauritanian coast is part of one of the four major trade-wind driven continental margin upwelling zones in the world oceans, the northwestern African upwelling system (or the Canary Current System). In the Eastern Central Atlantic, the dynamics of an eastern boundary current interacting with trade wind-driven upwelling control this marine ecosystem with exceptionally high primary and secondary productivity (Cury and Roy, 1989; Binet, 1997; Demarcq and Faure, 2000). The upwelling off Mauritania is being described as a wind driven upwelling system restricted to a narrow strip along the coast. It can be separated into two regimes: south of approximately 20ºN upwelling is most pronounced during winter and spring, whereas upwelling north of 20ºN occurs all year round with a maximum intensity in summer and early fall (Mittelstaedt, 1991). The marked seasonality of upwellings and the latitudinal displacement through the Mauritanian and Senegalese coasts, produce important changes in the structure of the biological communities. In short periods (weeks), the system can alternate from a warm equatorial phase to a cold subtropical phase, this deriving in an alternated dominance between tropical and templates communities (Meiners, 2007). Off Cape Blanc the upwelling occurs throughout the year with periods of stronger intensity, while it lasts nine months off Nouakchott.
Resources Exploited
Senegal hake, Benguela hake - Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia
European flying squid - Northwest Africa
Other resources: Stocks of anglers, John dory, rosefishes, dharks and schedophilus.
Discarded Species (Bycatch)

Commercial fish species as Lophius vaillanti, some species of sharks, rays and Scorpenidae (among other fishes). Crustaceans belonging to the family Lithodidae; and small quantities (in weigth) of cephalopods as the flying squids Todarodes sagittatus and Todaropsis eblanae). The most abundant non commercial species are fishes belonging to the Family Macrouridae (Trachyrincus scabrus, Nezumia spp, Coelorinchus caelorhincus, Malacocephalus laevis, M. occidentales, among others) and crustaceans of the Family Galatheidae (Munida spp).

Juveniles (commercial species) or unspecified (other species)
Vessel Type
Stern trawlers wet-fish
Flag State
Spain

Average characteristics in 2007 were 281 GRT, 478 h.p and 32 m length.
Catch Handling and Processing Equipment
Hakes are classified by commercial categories, depending on their sizes, being the largest eviscerated. Catches are preserved in ice.
Crew
16-18 persons (Spanish, Mauritanian and Senegalese nationality) (2009)
Fleet segment
Bottom otter trawl for demersal fish with 70 mm minimum mesh

At the beginning, the fleet was based in the Port of Cadiz. They were the bigger and most powerful Spanish vessels operating in North West Africa. Since 2000, the fleet was renovated to smaller vessels, these based in ports from Galicia (North-West Spain) and the Canary Islands. They are locally called “bous”.
Fishing Gear
Single boat bottom otter trawls

The gear employed is the classic bottom otter trawl. This gear operates with polyvalent trawl doors. The net is constructed in conventional polyethylene, with thread thickness of 3-4 mm, being very elastic and resistant to abrasion. The net is 80 mm mesh size, excepting the cod-end, which is 70 mm and rhombic-shape.


Seasonality
All year long
Trip Duration
10-12 fishing days
Ports
Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) in the Canary Islands and Marín, Vigo (Pontevedra) and La Coruña in Galicia (NW Iberian Peninsula).
Fishery Indicators
TypeMeasureValueUnitTime period
Nominal EffortNumber of vessels 8vessels2008
ParticipationNumber of fishermen 128-145persons2009
ProductionCatch total5931tonnes2005-2009
Catch Merluccius spp.5480tonnes2005-2009
Catch L. vaillanti102tonnes2005-2009
Catch Z. faber118tonnes2005-2009
Catch H. dactylopterus34tonnes2005-2009
Post Harvest
 
Fish Utilisation
Consumption
Markets
Cádiz (S Spain). The transport of refrigerated catch is done by merchant vessels or by lorries from the port of Las Palmas, or from Mauritanian ports to the port of Cadiz, which is the traditional sale port for black hakes.
Management
Management unit: No

Jurisdictional framework
Management Body/Authority(ies): Ministère des pêches et de l'économie maritime
Mandate: Management.  
Area under national jurisdiction: Mauritania
Maritime Area: Exclusive Economic Zone Areas (EEZ).  
Management Body/Authority(ies): European Union
Mandate: Flag state responsibility for its fishing vessels operating in foreign area under national jurisdiction.  
Area under national jurisdiction: Mauritania
Maritime Area: Exclusive Economic Zone Areas (EEZ).  
Legal definition
Black hake trawlers and bottom longliners
Management Regime
Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (for the period 1 August 2008 to 31 July 2012) (OJ L 203, 31.07.2008, p. 4–59). Management measures of the Spanish bottom trawl black hake fishery are included in the current Fishery Agreement between the European Community and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (OJ L 203, 31.07.2008, p. 4–59) under the fishing category 2: “Black hake trawlers and bottom longliners”.

Fishing agreement expired in July 2012. The new fishing agreement is in the ratification process by the European Parliament, but this type of licences has been extended up to date.
Management Methods

Conservation and management measures with focus on Effort control (licences system), catch control and fish size limits

  • Aquatic species-related measures
    Minimum fish sizes established by the Fishing Agreement: Hakes (Merluccius spp.): 30 cm. Limitation of by-catches: 25% fish, 0% cephalopods and crustaceans.
  • Gear-related measures
    Gear type (bottom logline and bottom trawl for hake; doubling of the cod-end prohibited and doubling of the twine forming the cod-end prohibited), mesh size (minimum mesh size: 70 mm for the trawl net).
  • Vessel-related measures
    Access control: Vessel type (size-Maximum 3 240 GT/per licence period for both longliners and bottom trawlers).
  • Fishing activity-related measures
    Licences, vessel number (Maximum 3 240 GT/per licence period for both longliners and bottom trawlers), closed area (out of the fishing area established by the Agreement) and closed season (to be determined).
Related Fisheries - Fishing activity(ies) managed under the same management unit or being ruled by the same fishing agreement
Spain Freezer bottom trawl shrimp fishery - Mauritanian waters
Spain Freezing bottom trawlers octopus fishery - Mauritanian waters
Spain Longliners black hake fishery - Mauritanian waters
Status and Trends
 
Licences, vessel number (Maximum 3 240 GT/per licence period for both longliners and bottom trawlers), closed area (out of the fishing area established by the Agreement) and closed season (to be determined).
Source of Information
 
Cury, P. and C. Roy, 1989. Optimal environmental window and pelagic fish recruitment success in upwelling areas. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46, 670–680.
Binet, D., 1997. Climate and pelagic fisheries in the Canary and Guinea currents 1964–1993: the role of trade winds and the southern oscillation. Ocean. Acta 20, 177–190.
Cervantes, A. y R. Goñi, 1986a. Datos de base de la pesquería española de merluza negra senegalesa en las divisiones 34.1.1, 34.1.3 y 34.3.1 de CECAF. En: Rapport du premier groupe de travail spécial sur les pêcheries de merlus et de crevettes profondes dans la zone nord du COPACE. COPACE/PACE Sér., 86/33, 180-186. FAO, Roma, Italia.
Cervantes, A. y R. Goñi, 1986b. Composición por tallas de la captura española de merluza senegalesa (Merluccius senegalensis Cadenat 1950) y merluza negra (Merluccius cadenati Doutre, 1960) en el área de CECAF, año 1982. En: Rapport du premier groupe de travail spécial sur les pêcheries de merlus et de crevettes profondes dans la zone nord du COPACE. COPACE/PACE Sér., 86/33, 232-239. FAO, Roma, Italia.
Cervantes, A., I. Sobrino, A. Ramos and L. Fernández, 1992. Descripción y análisis de los datos de las pesquerías de merluza y gamba de la flota española que faenó al fresco en África Noroccidental durante el período 1983-1988. Informe Técnico Instituto Español de Oceanografía 111, 85 pp. Madrid, España.
Demarcq, H. and V. Faure, 2000. Coastal upwelling and associated retention indices derived from satellite SST. Application to Octopus vulgaris recruitment. Ocean. Acta 23, 391–408.
Diop, M., I. Sobrino, L. Fernández, T. García et A. Ramos. 2004. Evolution des prises accesoires des pêcheries spécialisées crevettière et merluttière dans les eaux mauritaniennes de 1950 à nos tours. Chavance P., M. Bâ, D. Gascuel, J. M. Vakily & D. Pauly (eds.) Rapports de recherche halieutique ACP-UE Fisheries, 139-152. Bruselas.
FAO, 2006a. Report of the FAO/CECAF Working Group on the Assessment of Demersal resources. Conakry, 19-29 September 2003. CECAF/ECAF Series 06/67. FAO. Rome: 357 pp.
FAO, 2006b. Report of the FAO/CECAF Working Group on the Assessment of Demersal resources. Subgroup North. Saly, Senegal, 14-23 September 2004. CECAF/ECAF Series 06/68. FAO. Rome: 219 pp.
FAO, 2007. Report of the FAO/CECAF Working Group on the Assessment of Demersal resources. Subgroup North. Banjul, The Gambia. CECAF/ECAF Series. FAO. Roma (in press).
Fernández, L., Salmerón, F. and Ramos, A. 2004. Changes in elasmobranches and other incidental species in the Spanish deep-water black hake trawl fishery off Mauritania (1992-2001). J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci., Vol. 35: 1-7.
Fernández, L., B. Meissa, D. Thiao et A. Ramos, 2007. Rapport de la rencontre IMROP/CRODT/IEO pour la validation des statistiques de merlus noirs dans la zone COPACE. Série CECAF/ECAF, in press. Anexo, 25 pp.
Fernández, L., F. Salmerón, M.J. Gómez., R. García and D. Macías, 2010. Preliminary data on the ovarian histological structures observed in black hakes (M. polli and M. senegalensis) off Mauritania, 4 pp. (Electronic publication doi: http://www.fresh-cost.org, in press).
Fernández, L., F. Salmerón, J. Rey and M.A. Puerto, 2010. Biología reproductiva de las merluzas negras (Merluccius polli y M. senegalensis) en aguas de Mauritania. Ciencias Marinas, México (submitted).
Meiners, C. 2007. Importancia de la variabilidad climática en las pesquerías y biología de la merluza europea Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758) de la costa Noroccidental Africana. Tesis Doctoral, 187 pp. IEO-Univ. Politécnica de Cataluña.
Meiners, C, L. Fernández, A. Faraj and R. García-Cancela, 2010. Length-weight relationships of 12 deep-sea teleost fish species from the NW African slope. Journal of Applied Ichthyology. In press.
Meiners, C., L. Fernández, F. Salmerón and C. Hernández, 2010. Some biological parameters of deep-sea shark species from NW Africa. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria. In press.
Meiners, C., L. Fernández, F. Salmerón and A. Ramos, 2010. Climate variability and fisheries of black hakes (M. polli and M. senegalensis) in NW Africa: a first approach. Monográfico de Elsevier-Journal of Marine System, 80: 243-247.
Mittelstaedt, E., 1991. The ocean boundary along the northwest African coast. Circulation and oceanographic properties at the sea surface. Progress in Oceanography 26, 307–355.
Official Journal of the European Union, 2008. Protocol setting out the fishing opportunities and financial contribution provided for in the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania for the period 1 August 2008 to 31 July 2012. OJ L 203, 31.07.2008, p. 4–59.
Ramos, A. y L. Fernández. 1992. La pesquería española de arrastre de merluzas negras en aguas mauritanas: Análisis de la serie histórica de datos. Inf. Téc. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr., 118: 67 pp.
Ramos, A. y L. Fernández. 1994. Las pesquerías de merluzas en los caladeros de África Noroccidental: Datos de base del año 1991. Inf. Téc. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr., 153: 132 pp. Madrid, España.
Ramos, A. and L. Fernández. 1995. Biology and fisheries of North-west African hakes (M. merluccius, M. senegalensis and M. polli). In: J. Alheit and T. Pitcher (eds.). Hake: Biology, fisheries and markets Series 15: 89-124. Chapman & Hall, London, UK.
Ramos, A., L. Fernández and R. González. 1998. The black hake fishery in the Mauritanian EEZ: Analysis of the possible application of a 30 cm minimum. Inf. Téc. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr., 173, 40 pp. Madrid, España.
Sobrino, I. y Cervantes, A., 1989. Obtención de los parámetros de la ecuación de crecimiento de la merluza senegalesa (Merluccius senegalensis Cadenat, 1980) a partir de las distribuciones de tallas de la captura en aguas mauritanas durante 1983. Documento Interno IEO (Mimeo).
Sobrino, I., A. Cervantes y A. Ramos. 1990. Contribución al conocimiento de los parámetros biológicos de la merluza senegalesa (Merluccius senegalensis Cadenat, 1950) del área COPACO. En: Rapport du groupe de travail sur les merlus et les crevettes d'eaux profondes dans la zone nord du COPACE. COPACE/PACE Sér., 90/51: 139-154. FAO, Roma, Italia.
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