Digitalising recreational fisheries for more sustainable management

The challenge

Marine recreational fishing is an activity with growing importance in coastal areas, both for its social and economic value. However, its biological and socio-economic impacts are still poorly understood, making sustainable fisheries management more difficult.

The challenge was to improve the collection and analysis of data on this activity in the Basque Country, incorporating digital tools that enable real-time monitoring and contribute to the digitalisation of the fisheries sector.

The solution

AZTI developed LAKET, a pioneering digital application for the collection of recreational fisheries data.

The tool allows both scientific staff (during on-site sampling) and recreational fishers to easily record information about their activity from any device.

Data—such as species caught, fishing effort, fishing areas, fisher profiles, and motivations—are transmitted directly to AZTI’s servers, where they are analysed to generate scientific knowledge that supports the sustainable management of this fishery.

The results

• Digital data collection across the three recreational fishing modalities: shore-based, boat-based, and spearfishing.
• Identification of species, fishing areas, and effort patterns, improving understanding of the activity.
• Progress in the digitalisation of the fisheries sector by integrating science, technology, and citizen participation.
• A solid foundation for data-driven and sustainable management of recreational fisheries in the Basque Country.