Croatian artisanal fisheries and the state of it’s littoral resources on the doorstep of entering the EU: effectiveness of conventional management and perspectives for the future

Abstract

Artisanal fisheries in Croatia and throughout the Mediterranean coastal region have a long tradition. In recent times the booming growth of human populations along Mediterranean coasts has led to harvesting of its marine resources in almost insupportable quantities, thus placing the research of this topic in a complex context. At the same time, fisheries management throughout the Mediterranean region has remained conventional in its nature, implying that it is almost only based on gear specific management provisions. The current Croatian legislative framework and legislative changes of artisanal fisheries regulation in the last 15 years, as well as how these changes have impacted on the state of coastal fish resources, particularly target species condition, are discussed. The conclusion is that if we want to improve further the state of the resources a more comprehensive set of management measures incorporating closed areas and a new approach actively involving fishers in the management process should be adopted. Finally, guidelines for future management in terms of the monitoring and data collection framework (DCF) proposed by the EU are demonstrated.