Catch Estimates and Species Composition of Recreational Fishing in Israel

Recreational fishing is common around the Mediterranean Sea. The number of recreational fishers is growing, and they are using increasingly efficient fishing techniques. However, fisher activity is heterogeneous, both temporally and spatially, making it very difficult to determine this sector’s fishing pressure and annual yields. Therefore, estimates of annual yields and ecological effects of this fishing sector are limited. In this study, we undertook an extensive survey designed to document and quantify recreational fishing patterns across the Israeli Mediterranean shoreline. We comprehensively quantified recreational fishing using three complementary strategies: (1) ground surveys, including interviews with anglers on the coast, (2) personalized phone interviews, and (3) aerial surveys by helicopter. These methods were used to calculate annual recreational yield and to estimate species and size composition, which were then compared to the commercial fishing catch. We found that a recreational catch makes up between 10%-37% of the total annual fishing yields, which is similar to estimates from other regions of the Mediterranean. We also found that non-indigenous species are among the most common species in recreational catch and have become a significant part of local fishery yields. Recreational angling from the coast targets smaller, reef associated species compared to recreational fishers at sea. We identified 23 species common to both recreational fishing and commercial fishing, over which conflicts between fishing sectors may arise. These results can be used to more accurately manage Israeli fisheries and can provide a baseline against which to compare future changes in a region under the threats of climate change, biological invasions, and growing human pressure

Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness