Boating Tourism and Fishing Interactions: A Social Network Analysis Using AIS Data

Jorge Ramos (), Benjamin Drakeford, Joana Costa and Francisco Leitão
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Jorge Ramos: Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-Being (CinTurs), University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Benjamin Drakeford: Centre for Blue Governance (CBG), University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2UP, UK
Joana Costa: Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-Being (CinTurs), University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Francisco Leitão: Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMar), University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: Boating tourism in coastal–maritime areas often overlaps spatially and temporally with other economic activities, such as fishing, leading to complex interactions. These interactions can create opportunities for positive cooperation or generate conflicts that pressure natural resources and stakeholders. The aim of this study is to show whether or not there is evidence of interactions between fishing (n f = 43) and tourism/recreation (n t = 65) vessels. This study focuses on the interaction between maritime tourism activities and fishing in southern Portugal, using a social network analysis (SNA) approach based on automatic identification system (AIS) data to evaluate spatial and temporal patterns. The findings reveal that tourism activities dominate zones closer to the coast, with intermediate areas serving as shared spaces where interactions between vessel activities are more likely to occur. There was evidence of occasional interactions between a few recreational and fishing vessels (two passengers and three seiners), but the inferences from the results are insufficient to demonstrate how beneficial they are for both activities.

Keywords: automatic identification system (AIS); common pool resources (CPRs); maritime tourism; social network analysis (SNA) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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