The Purse Seine Fishing of Sardine in Portuguese Waters: A Difficult Compromise Between Fish Stock Sustainability and Fishing Effort

Many capture fisheries worldwide have declined sharply in recent decades or have already collapsed from overfishing, and major fishing grounds are concentrated in zones threatened by pollution, habitat, and coastal zone modification. In Portugal, the European pilchard or sardine (Sardina pilchardus), which is mainly captured by purse seiners (∼98%), is among the species most consumed (along with dried and salted cod), and commercially, it is the most important fish landed in national ports. Besides its consumption as fresh, canned sardine stands out among Portuguese seafood major exports. Although sardine has neither total allowable catch (TAC) nor quota, the Portuguese catch limits for sardine are regulated by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) at the request of the European Union (EU). Therefore, in practice, the ICES advice works as a theoretical TAC. The aim of this article is to diagnose the current state of sardine stocks in the areas where the Portuguese seine fishing is exerted and simultaneously assess if the structural changes induced on the purse seining fleet capacity, in response to the management system currently in force for this fishery, are aligned with its sustainable development. Our major findings conclude that sardine stocks are still exploited at levels that jeopardize the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). Once the unavoidable restructuring of the Portuguese purse seine fleet will inevitably increase unemployment among fishers, we also stress the need to reshape the current Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) program, funded under the EU fisheries structural aid, to make it more effective in minimizing the severe social impacts potentially coming out.