engleski

Changes in the abundance of artisanal fisheries species as perceived by the local ecological knowledge in the eastern Adriatic Sea

Local ecological knowledge on the changes in the abundance of artisanal fisheries species was recorded and it was investigated whether the fishermen perceptions vary with the level of fishing experience (low=10-20y ; medium=21- 30y ; high>30y) and fishing region (North, Middle and South Adriatic). Overall, 76 artisanal fisheries species experienced changes in their abundance, out of which 37 increased and 48 decreased. Bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, had the most citations as the increasing species, while squid, Loligo vulgaris, and octopus, Octopus vulgaris, were the mostly cited under species with a decreasing trend. Fishers' perceptions on the number and composition of species going through changes were uniform according to their experience, while specificity was shown depending on the region where they fished. Regional differences in the Adriatic for the species identified as experiencing abundance increases are mostly due to expansion of termophilic species and the occurrence of non- indigenous species. In contrast, species showing declines in abundance are consistently commercially valuable species, irrespective of the specific regional dynamic. Keywords: small- scale fishing, fishers' knowledge, termophilic species

small-scale fishing, fishers' knowledge, termophilic species

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