Spanish fishers embracing fisheries management app

Gulf of Cádiz action groups help fishers responsibly manage their fisheries and ensure their livelihoods with ProPesca

Fishers in the Gulf of Cádiz, Spain, are teaming up with three fisheries local action groups (LAGs) to sustainably manage their fisheries and ensure their livelihoods using ProPesca – a mobile phone app for fisheries management.

Three groups – the Noroeste de Cádiz fisheries LAG, Cádiz Estrecho fisheries LAG and Huelva fisheries LAG – joined forces to draw up a strategic plan promoting sustainability and ways to help fishers.

The LAGs teamed up in an EU-funded cooperation project that increases the fishers’ participation in the local governance of the area and ensures the economic, social and environmental sustainability of their sector.

An overarching strategic plan was then developed for all three areas in cooperation with local scientific authorities. The three LAGs learned from local fishers that after long days at sea, they then have to work a “second job” of administration.

The ProPesca app aims to help the fishers focus on fishing instead of wading through paperwork, said José Carlos Macías, Fishers’ Association technician.

“A large amount of information was previously delivered on paper and in a disorganized manner,” said Macías. ProPesca is available on Google Play and on the App Store.

The app, while still in its pilot phase, gives users updated information on important issues like area closures, minimum sizes, the value of their catches and how much of their quota remains. The app also provides access to important general information such as the scientific names of species, allowable sizes, prohibited species and closed seasons.

“For skippers and ship owners, ProPesca is very interesting because we can keep track of our fishing quotas and we can see what we sell at the fish market every day,” said Antonio Romero, Patrón Mayor (Fisher’s Association President).

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