ABSTRACT
The artisanal fisheries in the Canary Islands are surrounded by different economic activities that have an important effect on the fishery-dependent populations. Two of these are of special relevance: tourism and aquaculture. Tourism and related economic activities have been the economic motor of the archipelago since the 1970s. The coast of the islands has been colonised by apartments, hotels, tourist resorts, and harbours. This process first began in the north of islands like Gran Canaria and Tenerife, for example places like Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, and later concentrated in the south of the islands Gran Canaria and Tenerife. The construction of harbours was justified in some cases as a refuge for the artisanal fleet, but the harbour infrastructure has been increasingly monopolised by activities related to tourism. There has also been an expansion of aquaculture activities in the littoral zone of the islands, again particularly in the south west of Tenerife and on Gran Canaria. From a few farms some years ago, this sector has undergone a recent boom. Many applications for new enterprises were under consideration in 2002, and the impact on marine ecology, the tourist industry, and fishing has progressively increased. In this paper we analyse the role of fishing-dependent populations in the expansion of aquaculture in the archipelago, their problems of access to this economic activity, and the impact of tourism on both realms.
