In this section you can find links to documentation that may be useful to achieve a more sustainable and more effective underwater activities practice and defense.  International institutions recommendations, scientific papers, other organizations experiences... all these issues can be found here.

This section expects to be dynamic, so check it regularly in order to see whether or not new documentation has been added to the list. If you know any document that should also be here do not hesitate and communicate with us through the Contact section of this site.

DOCUMENTS:

• Which is the future of spearfishing? What challenges should be faced? During the APS 70th anniversary celebration events, spearfishers, scientists, commercial fishers, administration and environmental NGOs discussed: The Barcelona agreement: Towards the spearfishing of the future. This document aims to be the starting point that helps to face the problems linked with this activity in a constructive manner.
  
• Did you ever suspect that some managing decissions were applied without a proper impact assessment process? The European Commission Impact Assessment Guidelines may be useful to know how social, economic and environmental impact assessments should be carried away.
  
• The FAO published Technical Guidelines for Responsible Recreational (2012) are, in our opinion, the best existing document when talking about sustainable recreational fisheries management. We suggest you to read, study and adopt them in your region.
• The French organization Grouper Study Group (GEM in France) made up by scientists, marine protected areas managers, divers, freedivers and spearfishers publishes every year their report Marginatus. This little magazine will help you to understand current situation and evolution of this characteristic species and other associated in Western Mediterranean. Following this link you can download all Marginatus reports.
  
• The report State of the Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Environment for 2012 has been recently published by United Nations’ Mediterranean Action Plan.
  
  This document is targeted basically to politicians and expects to be a tool that helps to determine whether progress is being made when meeting the objectives established by Barcelona Convention and to identify where better performance is needed.
  
  The document shows trends about endangered and invasive species, aquaculture, destructive fishing, surface productivity, surface temperature increase, concentration of metals, spills and other variables that affect the state of the Mediterranean.
  
  You can download it in English or French.
  
• United Nations, through the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department published in 2011, within the collection Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries, a hole number dedicated to fisheries management within Marine Protected Areas (MPA).
  
  This document reviews and gives detailed guidance on such important issues as fisheries planning and ecosystem approach, biological and ecological effects of MPA implementation in a fisheries context, social and economical impacts of MPA and  planning and implementation issues.
  
  You can download the full document following this link.
  

• Norwegian Institute of Marine Research has coordinated a multidisciplinary project funded by European Commission that has studied different interactions and conflicts between coastal zones stakeholders.
  
  COEXIST Project has focused its efforts mainly in fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, wind parks and nature conservation (MPA). The aim is to offer guidelines that help to reach a better integration of all coastal zone activities. It should be remarked that both, diving and recreational fishing, have been taken into account in the study.
  
  You can download the document following this link.
  
• European Agency for the Environment just published a report in which the most important challenges that must be faced to reach sustainability in EU coastal zones and waters are presented.
  
  Key issues are to apply an integrated management, solid base knowledge and exchange of information between different stakeholders.
  
  You can download the hole document following this link.
  
• Some years ago a scientific study was published about the impact of spearfishing in Cap de Creus (Catalonia). The assumption of its biased content made spearfishing community hackles rise (Zaragoza et Al., 2007, La pesca submarina en el Parque Natural de Cap de Creus: aspectos biológicos y socioeconómicos).
  
  Conscious that it’s one of the few studies that exist about spearfishing impact, Environmental Commission from Federation Chasse Sousmarine Passion (FCSMP) has presented a counter study where the weak points are analyzed and commented.
  
  You can download the full FCSMP document following this link.
  
• In 1995 FAO published the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. This code, adopted by more than 170 countries in the world, presents some principles, goals and elements of action that can be voluntarily adopted to reach sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
  
  FAO has no political power to enforce the code and its role is limited only to give technical advice.
        
  On the other hand, this enforcement responsibility is in the countries that adopted the code and the policies they develop.
  
  You can download the code and plenty of related documentation in this link.
  
• Although the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) focuses The OECD handbook for fisheries managers on helping mainly politicians and fisheries managers, it also will be really useful to NGOs and other stakeholders that have to do with fisheries issues, due to it is a very useful guide to the principles and processes that may be used to reach an efficient fisheries politic. 
  
  You can download it here.
  
• If human pressure keeps at the same level, it’s estimated that by mid XXI century species mostly fished will be disappeared. Fishery resources that in the past were considered eternal have been extinguished and fishing occurs further, deeper and smaller. Changes in the marine trophic chain have brought a worrying hole ecosystem destabilization. Impact of fishing on fish and on marine ecosystem is, thus, a recognized problem, and fishery resources collapse is more than an imaginative hypothesis.
  
  An ocean without fish (Une mer sans poissons), masterful written by scientist Philippe Cury and by journalist Yves Miserey, provides with elements of reflection over this issue, on a basis of an historic approach and an analysis of marine ecosystems functioning, as well as a basis of anthropological comprehension of exploitation.
  
  We insistently recommend you this book, which now is only available in French and Catalan. Following this link you’ll be able to now something more about it and about its author.