Fleet resilience under variations on fish size and fishing ground location: The Spanish anchovy fishery

Abstract

Small pelagic populations are highly susceptible to climate variability and environmental factors, and the fleets targeting them adapt to these changes with varying degrees of success. After the Bay of Biscay anchovy fishery closure in 2005, this fishery has faced changes in the spatial distribution and a reduction in anchovy body size, which affected the fleets targeting this species. The affection was assessed by analysing fishing ground's location, profitability and energy efficiency. Fishing ground shifts were evaluated via centre of gravity of the catches. The source of the prices were first-sale notes, fuel efficiency was assessed combining catches and fuel consumption (estimated according to fleet travel distances), and margin contribution ratio was estimated to evaluate economic performance. The analysis reveals firstly, a westward shift in fishing grounds; secondly, a decline in the first-sale price of anchovy (53 \% from 2013 to 2020); and thirdly, variations in fuel intensity use (reaching an increase of 150 \%). These variations affected fleet segments of each region differently, and hence, their economic performance (up to a 67 \% drop in margin contribution ratio). In light of these results, and in such a rapidly changing environment, the implementation of Individual Transferable Quotas could be an energy-efficient alternative to the traditional race-for-fish model. The Spanish fishing sector has adopted an intermediate approach-such as allocating quotas through Producer Organizations - to enable a better quota management at the regional level to improve the profitability of the fishery.