Fishing closure in a specific area during the spawning season
To temporarily suspend fishing in a specific area in order to limit bycatch and rebuild exploited fish stocks.
Content
Fishing closure in a specific area during the spawning season
Advantages
Eliminates all or nearly all bycatch in the designated area. May also reduce the environmental impact of fishing and help rebuild exploited fish stocks.
Disadvantages
If the closure period is long and the closed area is large, the profitability of fishermen and seafood processing companies can be significantly impacted. If the area is poorly defined, fishing effort may shift to adjacent areas, thereby failing to reduce bycatch. If dolphins move too quickly, the closure may become ineffective in the medium term
KEY WORDS
1. “All fishing gear should be banned during the spawning season. I just got back from three weeks of diving in the Seychelles, and it’s clear how we can conserve resources through effective zone management.” – Gillnet fishermen in the Bay of Biscay, ages 25–39. 2025 Delmoges Survey
2. "We should close during the spawning season for sole and sea bass, as has already been done, but without mentioning dolphins. That way, we’d have a better image with consumers and we’d have significant catches when we resume fishing. We really shouldn’t have highlighted the dolphins. It’s terrible."Gulf of Biscay gillnet fishermen, ages 25–39. 2025 Delmoges Survey
3- “Personally, I’m reluctantly in favor of the closure, in terms of protecting dolphins. I’m willing to close to help replenish fish stocks. But protecting dolphins—I’m not so sure.” Fishmongers, ages 25–39 / La Rochelle, Delmoges 2025 surveys
Other informations
English 
Fish Stock
Related document(s)
Issues
What do I have to gain or lose with this solution?
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2. “What we’ll discuss depends largely on the specific case, but the initial consensus was that, in order to avoid piecemeal solutions for reducing bycatch, we need to consider all taxonomic groups.”
3. “I think we can understand that; we're talking about high costs and strict enforcement of the law. Monitoring large ships would not be the same as monitoring small ships in terms of law enforcement.”
Issues
Evaluation of the alternative solution
Is this alternative solution applicable?
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Evaluation of the alternative solution
Co-creation
What compromise solution can I propose?
Write here your terms taking into account the maximum number of stakeholders (check the stakeholders who could agree with this compromise)
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Solution assessment
Can this solution be implemented ?
2. “Most of us here work with highly mobile species. It would be a different matter if we were working with non-mobile species. ”
3. “It’s really hard to say what the best time and area would be to close off, you know, to protect species or reduce bycatch.”
Solution assessment