Using catch composition data collected on
individual fishing trips between 1990 and 2001, we study fishing tactics and
strategies of the coastal demersal trawlers operating in Senegal. Types of
fishing actions (tactics) are defined through catch composition on fourteen
stocks. Types of fishing units (strategies) are defined according to the
tactics they can use. These two typologies are built using the K Means
method, a non hierarchical classification approach. As results, twelve
tactics and six strategies are primarily identified. Using expert knowledge
some fishing tactics are gathered and eight tactics and five strategies are
finally considered and discussed with a presentation of the articulations
between stocks, tactics and strategies.