I DECAPODI BERSAGLIO DELLA FLOTTA ARTIGIANALE TRA CAPO GRANITOLA E CAPO SAN MARCO (COSTA SUD OCCIDENTALE SICILIANA)

Abstract

From 1998 until 2009 a catch-effort survey was carried out on the artisanal fishing fleet of Marinella di Selinunte. The fleet fishes with trammel net and/or gill net along the southwestern Sicilian coast in the wide gulf reaching from Capo San Marco to the east, to Capo Granitola to the west. In 2004, a restocking experiment with Melicerctus kerathurus post-larvae raised in an acquaculture facility from wild indigenous breeders was carried out in this area. Cpue analysis of the stock assessment shows that Melicerctus kerathurus is in overfishing except in 2005, the year after the restocking. Palinurus elephas and Homarus gammarus are also highly overfished. Active restocking as a management strategy may be desirable for rebuilding Melicerctus kerathurus stock and increasing its catch.