ABSTRACT
Even if favourable in the long run, standard methods designed to curb overcapacity in the fishing industry have immediate consequences that are either harmful to fishermen or costly to taxpayers. In response to overexploitation, the strategies of individual fishermen can be very different. Some decide to harvest different stocks elsewhere in order to maximise their catches, and so undertake the necessary modifications to their boats and gears. Other fishermen adopt the alternative strategy of controlling their investment and fishing costs by harvesting an inshore zone, like a small bay that is more protected from bad weather. This attempt to minimise their costs requires the adaptation of their gears to the access regulation of the coastal zone. As suggested by the case of agriculture (Disez 1999), an alternative solution could consist of developing pluriactivity in the fishing industry through combining commercial fishing with boat chartering for recreational fishing and/or ecotourism (Le Sann 1997; Cheong 2003). In other words, fishermen try to diversify their activities. Testing the relevance of this idea has been the starting point of the research presented in this paper.
