Importance of recreational shore angling in the archipelago of madeira, Portugal (Northeast Atlantic)

Abstract

In 2017, a total of 4825 licences were issued for shore angling in Madeira. Surveys were conducted on 734 an-glers, some in the government fisheries office during the licence request and others during the fishing activity. Shore angling is practised throughout the year, mostly at weekends and during day time, and with an increase in summer. More than 60% of the anglers are unemployed, have low incomes, and spend on average €254 per person per year on this activity, adding up to a total of €1.16 million per year. Shore angling average number of fishing days per year per fisher was 65.1±62.0 and the average catch per unit of effort was 0.35±0.26 kg/angler/hour. The estimated total annual catch was 520.7 t. Forty-three teleost species, 2 elasmobranchs and 6 invertebrates were identified in the catches. Despite the limitations and inaccuracies inherent to the surveys, they still provided valuable information and gave a general perception of the recreational shore fisheries in Madeira. The possible impact on the most captured species, such as the white seabream, Diplodus sargus (Linnaeus, 1758), and the parrotfish Sparisoma cretense (Linnaeus, 1758), should be analysed because high fishing pressure could affect populations and ecosystems.