We analyzed the small-scale fishery in the port of Vilanova i la Geltrú (NW
Mediterranean) to assess the fishing practices in this fishery and produce economic
indicators of its status. We defined the fishing tactics (or métiers) of this fishery with
a multivariate analysis approach for evaluating the main fishery resources and fishing
gears employed. Our results show that netters in this fishery practice 7 types of fishing
tactics. Five of these fishing tactics, in terms of target species, gear and seasonality,
are also used in other small-scale Mediterranean fisheries. The main types of fishing gear
(trammel nets, gillnets) and target species (Sepia officinalis,
Solea vulgaris, Mullus surmuletus and
Merluccius merluccius), and a well defined seasonality, are also
observed in other studies of Mediterranean small-scale fisheries. We show that the
seasonal rotation of fishing tactics is determined by the availability of different fish
species rather than market price. Identifying the fishing tactics, which in the
Mediterranean are relatively limited in number, of small-scale fisheries provides
information for developing monitoring and management strategies for these fisheries. We
also assessed the economic performance of the small-scale fishery in Vilanova i la Geltrú
and its conflicts with other uses of the coastal zone. We conclude that small-scale
fisheries are an economically viable activity although seriously threatened by concurrent
uses of the coastal zone (conflict with other extractive activities; competition for space
with tourism and leisure activities; pollution). The integrated management of the uses of
the coastal zone is necessary in order to sustain small-scale fisheries, which have become
less important in economic terms, but which are an important social component of local
coastal communities and are a source of high quality seafood with a low ecological impact.