Box 2.
Roles and duties of the BFAs
| State of the S-fisheries |
| *E&MP draw up and daily implementation |
| *Monthly reports on fisheries indicators (effort, catches, CPUEs, fishing areas, sales, etc.) |
| *Direct and in situ stock assessment every 6 months |
| *Frequently in situ samples on population size structure |
| Monthly/weekly samples on legal sizes at first-sale market |
| *Reports on fisheries status |
| Surveys for new shellfish beds and new resources |
| Organization of the surveillance data gathering at checking point |
| Biology and ecology works (reproduction, growth, recruitment, etc.) |
| Stock enhancement actions |
| *Apply for clams seeding projects |
| Coordinate fitting works (predators and algal removal, sediment conditioning, restocking, etc. |
| Sanitary monitoring of shellfish beds |
| *Collect samples for microbiology and biotoxin monitoring to INTECMAR |
| Report of dumping points |
| Special works (Prestige oil spill crisis, etc.) |
| Paperwork |
| E&MP daily management requests |
| Sampling, seeding and restocking requests |
| Organize fisher’s training courses (harvesting, diving, safety, etc.) |
| Draw up of surveillance plans |
| Advice to the cofradías and shellfishers groups |
| *General advice to the cofradías and shellfishers groups for sustainable management |
| Organize meetings (state of the fishery, E&MP, surveillance, conflicts, etc.) |
| Projects development for improving fisheries (in collaboration with research institutions) |
| Stock assessment and state of the fishery analysis |
| Hatcheries and mariculture |
| Marketing strategies and shellfish processing |
| Quality, origin and sustainable fisheries certifications |
| Sanitary and quality certifications of the first-sale market |
| Environmental issues (pollution, energy saving, renewable energies, etc.) |
| Other first-sale market works |
| Collaboration with surveillance in checkpoints |
| Auction responsibilities, sales tickets, loading, etc. |
| *Any other administration requirement concerning fisheries management |
Not all BFAs do all duties listed (* indicates compulsory duty to be reported to the administration, INTECMAR stands for Instituto Tecnolóxico do Mar, E&MP stands for Exploitation and Management Plan, CPUE stands for captures per unit effort) (source: own production based on TAs pers. comm. and authors experience)