Enquête-cadre concernant la répartition, la composition et l'activité des petits métiers dans le golfe du Lion

A frame work on the small-scale fishing fleet (« petits métiers ») of the gulf of Lion has been carried out from may 1997 to june 1998 to realize an inventory of fishermen communities performing artisanal fishery. In the four maritime districts of the gulf, 45 landing sites have been identified, assembling about 770 active boats and 1200 fishermen: synthetic tables present the activities noticed in each port. A total of 49 gears/target species (« métiers ») targeting 25 different species have been recorded. Bottom set gillnets and trammelnets for sole, striped and red mullets are mainly used. Most of the activity occurs in shallow depths (0-20 m), from spring ta autumn. The largest part of the catches is sold directly. Since the last studies carried out in the midd1e eighties, the number of small scale vessels has tremendously diminished everywhere (50% as a whole) along the French mediterranean coast.