Pilot Study of Small Scale Fisheries in SW Samos

The Mediterranean is one of the most overfished seas in the world, with a sad majority of species considered to be overexploited. Overfishing either small plankton-eating fish or large carnivorous fish can upset the balance of all the feeding levels surrounding them.
Damaging fishing methods, such as bottom trawling, can destroy huge areas of life. A number of important Mediterranean species are now endangered due to overfishing or its effects: Dusky grouper numbers are in decline; Slipper lobsters have lost habitat; and all species associated with Seagrass beds are in danger as these important habitats are lost, to name but a few.

Fisheries management has become a controversial issue. Due to their socio-economic significance within a community, small-scale fisheries, such as the one found in the bay of Marathokampos on Samos Island, are a very important component of the Mediterranean fishing sector, therefore all fishing activities cannot be ruled by carefully tailored management schemes. However, it is a difficult sector to manage, mainly due to the diversity of gear types, the spread of fishing activity and target species.





Since the beginning of June, a volunteer researchers from Archipelagos’ marine team, have been monitoring daily catches landing at the harbour of Ormos, and recording the length of all individual fish caught by the artisanal boats. Data is recorded from over 14 vessels, with an average of five providing information on catches each day.








The overall aim of this study is to make an assessment of fisheries productivity within the bay of Marathokampos and the SW Samos overall, on which a suitable management plan for small scale fisheries within the region will be based. In order to make a full analysis, it is necessary for the researchers to not only to identify and measure the legth of each fish caugth, but also describe gear type, length of nets/ long-lines, depth and fishing location. It will also tell us which sites of the region have higher levels of productivity than others, and which gear types and sizes are more selective than others. In parallel with this work, a socio-economic study of small scale fisheries in Samos island, is also being carried out.

Spicara maena, the Blotched Picarel

So far, the majority of the fish caught are within the legal boundaries for minimum catch size. However, they often fall below the sexual maturity length. The most commonly caught species include Spicara maena, Scorpaena sp, Chromis chromis and Mullus surmuletus. The minimum size caught so far for each of these species have been above the both the legal minimum catch size and sexual maturity levels.

We also hope to look at the relationship between catch per unit effort (CPUE), and boat profit and loss. This is one of the major challenges we face, as there isn’t a CPUE equation suitable for the information we have, so we are working on this direction.