Azores
Abstract:
Data used to produce figures come from the STECF working group on Fisheries Dependent Informations . Please note that time series might be incomplete for some countries/indicators.
You can check 
if data were provide or not for a couple of country/year.
Landings
The Azores is an oceanic archipelago in the mid North Atlantic Ocean, between the continental Europe and North America. It has a vast exclusive economic zone of 1 million km². The seafloor is mostly deep but over 100 seamounts, a fraction of the Mid Atlantic Ridge, and the slopes of the islands compose the shallowest parts.
Less than 1% of the Azores EEZ is below 700m. With the absence of a continental shelf and surrounding great depths,
demersal fishing occurs around the island slopes and the many seamounts
present in the area
(Silva and Pinho 2007; Morato et al. 2008)
Today, the Azorean fishing industry is composed of five main components(Pham et al. 2013; Fauconnet et al. in prep.):
In the DiscardLess project, the Azores case study focuses on discard from the deep-sea fisheries deployed inside the EEZ: the bottom hook-and-line (longline and handline) and the drifting deep-water longline.
Proportion of landings in each rectangle
Landing 2004-2014
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       [STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Landing 2013
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Landings 2014
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Trends in landings by gears
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
The bottom hook-and-line is the most important fishery in the region both in terms of landed value, number of boats and jobs (Carvalho, Edwards-Jones, and Isidro 2011) . It is considered a small scale fishery operating all year round from coastal areas to offshore seamounts. In the last 10 years the total landings of the bottom longline and handline components of the Azores commercial fisheries averaged 4.2 thousand tonnes, contributing in average for 42% of all landed weight in the Azores. The bottom longline and handline fishing is by far the most valuable in terms of landed value with an average annual landed value of 18-29 million Euros, representing about 76% of all landed value in the Azores. Catches from demersal fisheries usually include more than 20 species with economic value. Deep-water sharks are represented by at least ten species and accounted for 8% of the discards in the recent years (2010-2014). Other species with high discard amounts include blackbelly rosefish and alfonsinos, especially in years when the TAC was exceeded and discards reached more than 40% of the reported catch.
The drifting deep-water longline targeting black scabbard fish is still considered a “new” fishery in the Azores. The number of fishing vessels involved in commercial drifting deep-water longline in 2010 was unknown.
However, according to a report prepared by Ramos et al. (2013) there might be about 10 fishing vessels with a mean
length of 14m operating the drifting deep-water longline in the Region. This fishery is still in an experimental phase in the Azores and landings are small but
have peaked at 450t in 2012. Bycatch species of this fishery accounted for about 4.0–7.5% of the total number of fish caught (Machete, Morato, and Menezes 2011). In the Azores as in other regions, deep sea sharks composed the main by-catch, mainly Leafscale gulper shark (Centrophorus squamosus) and Portuguese dogfish (Centroscymnus coelolepis). Other species reported as by-catch of this fishery but with low numbers include Etmopterus sp., Mora moro, Deania cf. calcea, Centroscymnus crepidater, Alepochepalus rostratus, Deania profundorum and Chiasmodon niger. There is a growing concern with the bycatch of some of these species and Machete et al. (2011) suggested that those catches should be closely monitored in the future if the fishery is to be expanded in the Azores.
Average Landings by gears
Years 2004-2014
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Year 2013
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Year 2014
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Trends in landings
By vessel length
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
By countries
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Average Landings by countries
Years 2004-2014
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Year 2013
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Year 2014
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Average Landings by species
Years 2004-2014
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Year 2013
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Year 2014
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Trends in landings by species
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[STECF FDI data (2015)] |
Discards
In total, 500t [160 – 2300 t] of discard was estimated to be generated in average per year in the Azores. It represents 3.7% [1.6 – 11.9%] of the total catch in the region
(Fauconnet et al. in prep.)
The use of selective fishing gears, the small-scale nature of those fisheries, added to the local traditions of maximum utilization of the catch contribute to the overall low discards.
However, discard from the deep-sea fisheries was described of most concern since it includes many deep-water sharks listed in the IUCN red list of endangered species, such as the “critically endangered” blue skate (Dipturus batis), the “near threatened” kitefin shark (Dalatias licha), greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), and Portuguese dogfish (Centroscymnus coelolepis), the “vulnerable” leafscale gulper shark (Centrophorus squamosus) and gulper shark (Centrophorus granulosus), and the “least concern” arrowhead dogfish (Deania profundorum), birdbeak dogfish (Deania calcea), longnose velvet dogfish (Centroscymnus crepidater), and the smooth lanternshark (Etmopterus pusillus). In response to the vulnerability of those species, the EU set their TAC to 0 since 2010 (EC Reg. Nº 1359/2008). With the implementation of the Landing Obligation in European fisheries, the catch of regulated species, and in particular of deep-water sharks, would have to be closely monitored.
Time series of discards have not been provided to STECF.
Please refers to first paragraph to get assessed proportion of discards for Azores fisheries.
En savoir plus
Carvalho, Natacha, Gareth Edwards-Jones, and Eduardo Isidro. 2011.
'Defining Scale in Fisheries: Small versus Large-Scale Fishing Operations in the Azores'. Fisheries Research 109 (2–3): 360–69. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2011.03.006.
Fauconnet, L., C.K. Pham, A. Canha, P. Afonso, H. Diogo, M. Machete, H.M. Silva, F. Vandeperre, and T. Morato. 2019. ‘An Overview of Fisheries Discards in the Azores’. Fisheries Research 209 (January): 230–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2018.10.001
Machete, M., T. Morato, and G. Menezes. 2011. ‘Experimental Fisheries for Black Scabbardfish (Aphanopus Carbo) in the Azores, Northeast Atlantic’. ICES Journal of Marine Science 68 (2): 302–8. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsq087.
Morato, T, M Machete, A Kitchingman, F Tempera, S Lai, G Menezes, Tj Pitcher, and Rs Santos. 2008. ‘Abundance and Distribution of Seamounts in the Azores’. Marine Ecology Progress Series 357 (April): 17–21. doi:10.3354/meps07268.
Pham, C. K., A. Canha, H. Diogo, J. G. Pereira, R. Prieto, and T. Morato. 2013. ‘Total Marine Fishery Catch for the Azores (1950-2010)’. ICES Journal of Marine Science 70 (3): 564–77. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fst024.
Ramos, H., E. Silva, and L. Gonçalves. 2013. ‘Reduction of Deep-Sea Sharks’ by-Catches in the Portuguese Long-Line Black Scabbard Fishery’. Final Report to the European Commission MARE/2011/06 (SI2.60 22 01). Horta: seaExpert, Lda. http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/documentation/studies/deep-sea-sharks-by-catches/doc/report_en.pdf.
Silva, H. M., and Mario R. Pinho. 2007. ‘Exploitation, Management and Conservation: Small-Scale Fishing on Seamounts’. In Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries & Conservation, T.J. Pitcher, T. Morato, J.B. Paul, M.R. Clark, N. Haggan, and R.S. Santos, 333–99. UK: Blackwell Publishing.
Citation :
Fiche Azores, Author(s) : Laurence Fauconnet, Telmo Morato et Pedro Afonso
DiscardLess Atlas [on line]. 2017. Guitton J., Ulrich, C., Vermard Y., Afonso P., Andonegi E., Argyrou I., Calderwood J., Fauconnet L., Quetglas A., Morato T., Prellezo R., Robert M., Savina-Rolland M., Triantaphyllidis G., Vaz S.
http://www.discardless.eu/atlas/
