First assessment of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global marine recreational fisheries

Pita, Pablo, Ainsworth, Gillian B., Alba, Bernardino, Anderson, Antônio B., Antelo, Manel, Alós, Josep, Artetxe, Iñaki, Baudrier, Jérôme, Castro, José J., Chicharro, Belén, Erzini, Karim, Ferter, Keno, Freitas, Mafalda, García-de-la-Fuente, Laura, García-Charton, José A., Giménez-Casalduero, María, Grau, Antoni M., Diogo, Hugo, Gordoa, Ana, Henriques, Filipe, Hyder, Kieran ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1428-5679, Jiménez-Alvarado, David, Karachle, Paraskevi K., Lloret, Josep, Laporta, Martin, Lejk, Adam M., Dedeu, Arnau L., Martín-Sosa, Pablo, Martínez, Lllibori, Mira, Antoni M., Morales-Nin, Beatriz, Mugerza, Estanis, Olesen, Hans J., Papadopoulos, Anastasios, Pontes, João, Pascual-Fernández, José J., Purroy, Ariadna, Ramires, Milena, Rangel, Mafalda, Reis-Filho, José Amorim, Sánchez-Lizaso, Jose L., Sandoval, Virginia, Sbragaglia, Valerio, Silva, Luis, Skov, Christian, Sola, Iván, Strehlow, Harry V., Torres, María A., Ustups, Didzis, van der Hammen, Tessa, Veiga, Pedro, Venerus, Leonardo A., Verleye, Thomas, Villasante, Sebastián, Weltersbach, Marc Simon and Zarauz, Lucía (2021) First assessment of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global marine recreational fisheries. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. ISSN 2296-7745

[thumbnail of fmars-08-735741]
Preview
PDF (fmars-08-735741) - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

This work is the result of an international research effort to determine the main impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on marine recreational fishing. Changes were assessed on (1) access to fishing, derived from lockdowns and other mobility restrictions; (2) ecosystems, because of alterations in fishing intensity and human presence; (3) the blue economy, derived from alterations in the investments and expenses of the fishers; and (4) society, in relation to variations in fishers’ health and well-being. For this, a consultation with experts from 16 countries was carried out, as well as an international online survey aimed at recreational fishers, that included specific questions designed to capture fishers’ heterogeneity in relation to behavior, skills and know-how, and vital involvement. Fishers’ participation in the online survey (5,998 recreational fishers in 15 countries) was promoted through a marketing campaign. The sensitivity of the fishers’ clustering procedure, based on the captured heterogeneity, was evaluated by SIMPER analysis and by generalized linear models. Results from the expert consultation highlighted a worldwide reduction in marine recreational fishing activity. Lower human-driven pressures are expected to generate some benefits for marine ecosystems. However, experts also identified high negative impacts on the blue economy, as well as on fisher health and well-being because of the loss of recreational fishing opportunities. Most (98%) of the fishers who participated in the online survey were identified as advanced, showing a much higher degree of commitment to recreational fishing than basic fishers (2%). Advanced fishers were, in general, more pessimistic about the impacts of COVID-19, reporting higher reductions in physical activity and fish consumption, as well as poorer quality of night rest, foul mood, and raised more concerns about their health status. Controlled and safe access to marine recreational fisheries during pandemics would provide benefits to the health and well-being of people and reduce negative socioeconomic impacts, especially for vulnerable social groups.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Funding Information: We appreciate the involvement of all experts in recreational fisheries who voluntarily shared their knowledge during this study. This work has been facilitated by the Grupo de Trabajo en Pesca Marítima Recreativa of Spain (GT PMR), and the ICES Working Group on Recreational Fishing Surveys (WGRFS). We also thank MedPAN for helping to disseminate the online survey. Funding Information: This work was funded by the Xunta de Galicia (RECREGES II project under Grant ED481B2018/017, and Grupo de Referencia Competitiva GI-2060 AEMI, under Grant ED431C2019/11). PP acknowledges economic support of the project Grupo de Trabajo Sobre Pesca Marítima Recreativa en España, funded by the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Spanish Ministerio Para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. SV acknowledges the financial support of the EQUALSEA project ERC Consolidator Grant Agreement No. 101002784 funded by the European Research Council, and the CYTED program for the ECOMAR Network. AML, CS, and MW have been co-funded by the European Commission’s Data Collection Framework (DCF). CS acknowledge founding from the Danish Rod and Net Fish License funds (Project No. 39122). The CCMAR affiliated authors acknowledge Portuguese national funds from FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology through project UIDB/04326/2020. MaR acknowledges FCT funding through a post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/116307/2016). AA acknowledges funding of FAPES, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo, Brazil - PROFIX program 10/2018 - T.O.: 348/2018 for AA postdoctoral scholarship. JR-F acknowledges funding of Participatory Fishing Monitoring accomplished by the ICHTUS Soluções em Meio Ambiente Ltda. KF was funded by the tourist fishing project (“Kartlegging av Turistfiske”), which is part of the Coastal Zone Ecosystem Program at the Institute of Marine Research of Norway. JG-C and VS were funded in part by a contract with the Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Service - Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia - Spain (with funds from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund) and the project “MaReFish” financed by the MedPAN network under its “Small Projects – 2018” call. JA was supported by a Ramon y Cajal Grant (Grant No. RYC2018-024488-I) and received Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2021 Pita, Ainsworth, Alba, Anderson, Antelo, Alós, Artetxe, Baudrier, Castro, Chicharro, Erzini, Ferter, Freitas, García-de-la-Fuente, García-Charton, Giménez-Casalduero, Grau, Diogo, Gordoa, Henriques, Hyder, Jiménez-Alvarado, Karachle, Lloret, Laporta, Lejk, Dedeu, Martín-Sosa, Martínez, Mira, Morales-Nin, Mugerza, Olesen, Papadopoulos, Pontes, Pascual-Fernández, Purroy, Ramires, Rangel, Reis-Filho, Sánchez-Lizaso, Sandoval, Sbragaglia, Silva, Skov, Sola, Strehlow, Torres, Ustups, van der Hammen, Veiga, Venerus, Verleye, Villasante, Weltersbach and Zarauz.
Uncontrolled Keywords: expert knowledge,fishers’ profiles,fishery surveys,leisure activities,virus outbreak,oceanography,global and planetary change,aquatic science,water science and technology,environmental science (miscellaneous),ocean engineering,sdg 3 - good health and well-being,sdg 14 - life below water ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1910
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 25 Nov 2023 03:20
Last Modified: 28 Nov 2023 03:00
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/93774
DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.735741

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item