Beyond Discards: Exposing Causes and Management Revelation Challenge in the West Algerian Trawl Fisheries

• Sid Ali Belaid ^[1] ; Sidi Mohamed Ghomari ^[1] ; Jose M. Bellido ^[2] ; Zakia Alioua ^[3]
  1. [1] Université de Mostaganem

     Université de Mostaganem

     Argelia

     
  2. [2] Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

     Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

     Madrid, España

     
  3. [3] Fisheries Laboratory, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene (USTHB)

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• Localización: Thalassas: An international journal of marine sciences, ISSN 0212-5919, Vol. 42, Nº. 2, 2026
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Managing Algerian fisheries to ensure the sustainability of marine resources presents a significant challenge. Understanding the reasons behind fish discards is an important step towards improving fisheries management. The purpose of this research was to raise awareness of discards in the bottom trawler fishery and provide the scientific basis necessary to enhance fisheries management in Mostaganem (western Algeria). A total of 71 trawl hauls over 38 trips were observed (from May to December 2017 and from June (Belaid, et al., 2019) to February 2020) aboard professional trawlers. The overall discard rate was 18.9 ± 6.81%, with fish discards accounting for 27.67 ± 10.7%. Among the 74 discarded species identified, Trachurus mediterraneus was the most frequently discarded one. The total length of 3,781 discarded individuals was measured, with 90% of them being ≤ 12 cm. Of these, 3,541 individuals (90.79%) were below the size at first maturity. Species such as Pagellus acarne, Citharus linguatula, and Trigla lyra were represented by 100% of discarded individuals, indicating a potentially high juvenile rate. The main reasons for discarding were attributed to technical and economic factors. Nevertheless, poor fishing gear selectivity in the Mostaganem fishery remains the primary driver of juvenile discards and requires urgent attention. Spatial analysis helped identify areas where discard weights were particularly high, revealing discard hotspots. These results underline the need to protect spawning and nursery areas and suggest that species such as Trachurus mediterraneus should be subject to future spatiotemporal management measures to support the sustainability of fish stocks