Catch less, earn more: the reinvention of Mediterranean fishing

Small-scale fishers make up half of all those employed in Europe’s fishing sector. Yet when it comes to policymaking, they often find themselves overlooked in favour of industrial-sized organisations.

But they face the same environmental and economic challenges as everyone else, and in Croatia and Greece small-scale fishers are finding innovative ways to respond.

"My whole life, ever since I was young, I watched fishermen's boats at sea right in front of my house," says scampi fisher Šime Barić. "And I imagined how one day I could become like them. Fishing always fascinated me, and I love being at sea."

Šime catches langoustines in the Velebit Сhannel for Roza Fishing. Also known as scampi, they are Croatia's most iconic and prized seafood. But despite the high value of his catch, he's made the choice to fish less.

The size of Šime's boat and the type of his gear officially make him a "small-scale fisher".

In policy debates, artisans like him are often overshadowed by the big fishing industry.

But they play an important role, both cultural and economic, in small coastal communities like Šime's village, Barić Draga.

"Here, in this area, there really are no other sources of income than fishing," he says.

"It's perhaps the only way you can work all year round and earn money."

Roughly one morning out of two, when the weather's favourable, Šime checks his creels — they're the cages that catch langoustines on the seafloor.

"What's very important is that there's no bottom trawling in this channel," he says. "We don't drag nets along the seafloor. All the scampi from this area have been caught with selective gear - meaning it only captures larger ones that can't pass through the mesh. The seabed stays intact, and the langoustines are