A global dataset of preferential access areas for small-scale fishing

This global Preferential Access Area (PAA) database was built with data for 44 countries identified by the Illuminating Hidden Harvests (IHH) initiative following Basurto et al. (2023) and the FAOLEX database (https://www.fao.org/faolex/en/). The total resulting PAAs identified in this study (n = 63) in 44 countries may be considered a lower bound and not comprehensive, as governments can also establish PAAs via laws or regulations either: (i) not relating to the fisheries sector and categorized elsewhere in the FAOLEX database and hence not searched, or (ii) not reported or captured in it. The most recent review of FAOLEX to identify PAAs was conducted in 2022.

For mapping and spatial analysis of the PAAs, a geodatabase of PAA boundaries was created using definition parameters for each PAA (i.e., distance from shoreline or the baseline, depth, or a given set of coordinates or buffered distances around undersea features). Baselines were extracted from Flanders Marine Institute’s (2023) version 12 global EEZ database, defined by ‘Straight Baseline’ features. The shoreline dataset was ESRI’s 2014 global shoreline, the same shoreline dataset as the Flanders Marine Institute global EEZ database. Depth data was extracted from the GEBCO 2023 global relief dataset.

When possible, we reached out to local experts to review the boundaries for confirmation that our interpretation of FAOLEX and the relevant law or regulation matches what is being used by local fishers.

For more information on PAAs and how they are managed, please see our publication by Basurto et al. (2024) here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-024-00096-0