217 Coastal Management, 34:217–232, 2006 Copyright  Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0892-0753 print / 1521-0421 online DOI: 10.1080/08920750500531389 The Decline of the Artisanal Fisheries in Mediterranean Coastal Areas: The Case of Cap de Creus (Cape Creus) SÍLVIA GÓMEZ Université de Montpellier I Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France JOSEP LLORET MONTSERRAT DEMESTRE Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC) Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain VICTÒRIA RIERA Autonomous Government of Catalonia Department of Environment Natural Park of Cap de Creus El Port de la Selva, Catalonia, Spain This article examines the sociocultural, economic, and environmental causes of the decline of the artisanal fisheries in the rocky coast of Cape Creus (NW Mediterra- nean) over the past decades. The changes that have occurred over time have fa- vored trawlers, purse-seiners, shellfish fisheries, and tourism activities, to the detri- ment of artisanal fisheries. This article shows that the establishment of a marine reserve in 1998 could not reverse the observed decline in the artisanal fisheries. This raises the necessity of implementing a fishery management plan integrated into a coastal management plan, which should accompany the habitat protection. These plans could assist in the maintenance and the sustainable development of the artisanal fishing sector in Cape Creus as well as in other Mediterranean coastal areas where artisanal fisheries are also declining. Keywords artisanal fisheries, Cape Creus, marine reserves, Mediterranean Received 30 September 2005; accepted 13 November 2005. We thank all artisanal fishermen from Llançà, Port de la Selva, Cadaqués and Roses who contributed to this study and to Nuria Zaragoza for her assistance during the interviews. We also thank two anonymous referees who revised and improved the article. Address correspondence to Dr. Josep Lloret, Intitut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Pg. Marítim 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. E-mail: lloret@icm.csic.es