Santiago de Compostela, 3 June 2021. The Institute of Marine Research (IIM), through the Fisheries Ecology group and with the support of Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, will conclude on 8 June, after more than one year of research, the project “Assessment and improvement of discard survival in the Galician small-scale fleet using acoustic telemetry” (DESTAC).
The research, carried out within Fundación Biodiversidad’s Pleamar Programme, included the collaboration of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia Maritime-Terrestrial National Park (PNMTIAG) and was led by Alexandre Alonso, with the participation of staff from the Department of Marine Ecology and Resources and the IIM Marine Environment Sampling and Imaging Unit.
Its main objective was to estimate the survival of discards from the small-scale fleet in the surroundings of a marine protected area, in this case the PNMTIAG, focusing on coastal elasmobranchs and identifying improvements to minimise the impact of discarding. Acoustic telemetry techniques were used to record fish movements after release.
“The European Union has adopted a zero-discard policy that implies the obligation to land all catches of certain species, except when a high survival rate of discards has been demonstrated. Successfully implementing this regulation requires knowing what happens to discards. The project was developed in this context,” explains Alonso, who highlights that “we have carried out experimental fishing on board small-scale vessels to tag specimens of different coastal elasmobranch species (rays and sharks) with acoustic transmitters, with the aim of estimating discard survival rates for these species. Once the tagged specimens were released, their behavioural patterns were recorded to determine whether they remained alive in the natural environment. The estimated survival rates indicate high survival for these species under certain conditions.”
The project’s specific objectives were: 1) to assess the survival rate of target species of the small-scale fleet subject to quota and therefore affected by European regulations, and of species not subject to quota but with a legal minimum size and/or temporary closures that require discarding; 2) to identify factors related to the fishing and handling process that affect discard recovery and survival; and 3) to propose good practices that may increase discard survival in small-scale fishing.
The results presentation event
On Friday, 4 June, an online event will be held to present the results. To attend, prior registration through this link is required. It will begin at 09:45 and will include the following talks:
