Assessment of catch composition, production and fishing effort of small-scale fisheries: The case study of Corsica Island (Mediterranean Sea)

Small-scale fishery represents 83% of the Mediterranean fleet. Yet, its evaluation is made difficult by a scattered fishing effort, especially on large islands with remote fishing harbours. Corsica is considered as one of the area with the lowest fishing pressure in the Mediterranean and is mainly characterized by a small-scale fishery (SSF). The present study focuses on the characterization of Corsican SSF main metiers in relation to some key aspects of the fishery such as the targeted species, composition of conserved and discarded catches, factors impacting the catch per unit effort (CPUE) and the estimation of annual production. For this purpose, an intensive 2-year-sampling of 23% of the Corsican fleet was carried out. A total of four main metiers (fish net, spiny lobster net, bottom longline and pelagic longline) were identified and 128 species were recorded. Species composition of conserved and discarded catches of each metier revealed significant differences between all metiers, with pelagic longlines differentiating the most compared to other metiers. The analysis of the influence of different variables (technical fishing specifications, environmental and spatio-temporal parameters) revealed an impact of the fishing time on discarded catch for fish nets and spiny lobster nets and a spatial effect throughout Corsica micro-regions for both conserved and discarded catches for these two metiers. This study provides new knowledge on the characteristics of SSF effort and catch in Corsica as a reference area for the Mediterranean. These data can now be implemented in the assessment of its fisheries resources. The complexity of this fishery should be taken into account for any future management policies of artisanal fishing at a local, national and international scale in the Mediterranean.