Artificial Anti-trawling Reefs off Alicante, South- Eastern Iberian Peninsula: Evolution of Reef Block and Set Designs

Abstract

Many authors and organizations believe that to achieve effective regulation and management of the Mediterranean coastal zone, not only do physical and biological factors have to be considered but also the socio-economic circumstances of the different communities in the area. Doumenge (1981) pointed out that one of the main objectives of such regulation is to preserve fish stocks and so ensure that long-established coastal fishing communities are able to enjoy a sustainable level of catches:‘…it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain natural fish stocks at a sufficiently high level to ensure a stable base for their future exploitation… these living resources are now in danger of being over- exploited because of an uncontrolled increase in catching-performance as a result of the increase in the number of boats being used, many of which have enormous catch-capacities’. He also pointed out that some effective measures to ensure a future sustainable development of the coastal zone are: ‘…statutory and physical controls to protect the coastal seabed from illegal bottom-trawling which is an environmentally destructive activity comparable to deforestation on land’.