IREPA (Istituto Ricerche Economiche Pesca e Acquacoltura) aims to carry out research, and to give advice on agricultural and fisheries economics, both on national and international scales. The activities also include economic aspects of resource and environment management, production of statistics and technical assistance to the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Together with the Instituto de Ciensas del Mar de Barcelona (Spain), the Instituto Espanol de Oceanografia (Spain), Aquatudio (Italy), the University of Bari (Italy), the University of Algarve (Portugal) and COPEMED-FAO, IREPA have recently completed a study of the actual situation of catches, effort, evolution and economic implications of the deep-sea shrimp fisheries (Aristeus antennatus and Aristeomorpha foliacea) in the entire Mediterranean exploitation area (including North Africa). To encompass the overall area of exploitation, the study has been a co-operative project between the EU and FAO, through the COPEMED program.

The report brings together a substantial amount of biological and economic data from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. IREPA elaborated and analysed the economic data for the whole area of study, while the other partners collected and analysed the biological information. The study has incorporated a variety of methodologies including questionnaires, interviews, cluster analysis and the Geographic Information System (GIS). The results highlight the economic importance of the shrimp fishery and the technical and social similarities between ports of different geographical areas.

Databank in Fishery

Complete economic data are essential to conduct correct scientific evaluation. This necessity induced the IREPA Institute to project a computerised database, which collects official and non-official statistics with the aim to render them comparable and homogenous. The sources utilised are: Istat, Eurostat and IREPA. Monthly data have been collected since 1972 to 1998 and refer to single species and to the lowest geographical levels, which for Italy are the boat enrolment offices and the Italian provinces. The variables considered are catches, prices, and fishing effort, which is related to the number of vessels, grt, hp and kW. A paper has been prepared to show the structure of the fishery database, the procedures of integration of data utilised, and some of the time series models applied.

The objective of this research is the development of suitable algorithms for the determination of the vessel propulsion power that will be implemented in a computer code for the simulation of fishing vessels' navigating conditions. The data will be transferred by satellite-based techniques. The aim is to perform monitoring of fishing activity. The most relevant mathematical models available in the literature have been reviewed and discussed by focusing the attention on the non-dimensional models (i.e. non-fluid dynamics) well suited for on-board Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) applications.

This project is carried out in collaboration with the Italian Marine Institute of Hydrography (I.I.M. Istituto di Idrografia Marina). The principal aims of the project are:

• the arrangement of a manual with the economic, geographical, social and political characteristics of the 18 marine parks

• the publication of a series of charts with the indications of the geographical limits for each park

• the production of a CD ROM (in Italian and in English)

• the implementation of a website with all the available information

The target for these products is represented by pleasure craftsmen, people who want to set up tourist activities in the park, operators of fishing-tourism (pesca-turismo), and fishermen. A specific task of the project is to make the fishermen aware of the question of the responsible fishery in the marine parks.

IREPA has managed the project under the EU-funded FAIR Program. The activity has aimed at improving the efficiency of fishery services adopting new legislation and regulations. In particular, IREPA has had the task to identify organisational procedures that will enable the Fisheries Directorate to draft a Fishery Management Plan to indicate the ways for improvement of the Albanian fishery sector.

The project purposes include:

• to start the implementation of new legislation and regulations

• to produce a reliable national fishery statistical plan

• to collaborate for the production of a National Fishery Management Plan to develop the sector after a social and environmental evaluation

• to co-ordinate the aid to the fishery sector

• to contribute in the establishment of a commercially viable fishery sector in respect to the FAO code of conduct for responsible fishery.

For further information on work undertaken by IREPA please mail to irepa@irepa.org. You can also access the IREPA fisheries website on www.irepa.org.

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