Sustainable and Responsible Leisure: Recreational Maritime Fishing in Spain

Recreational sea fishing is an important activity, both from a socio-economic and environmental point of view, as it is a source of wealth but also a threat to natural resources. For this reason, each autonomous community has developed a specific regulatory framework for its regulation, focusing on sustainability and the protection of marine resources. These regulations include restrictions on the volume of catches, the species permitted, and the prohibition of the commercialization of catches. The aim of this article is to provide an extensive comparison of some of them, showing their similarities and also their regulatory differences, as well as possible gaps and inconsistencies.