The global economy is increasingly focusing on the Oceans to meet its needs, for which maritime spatial planning is being fostered to promote this is done sustainably. Thus, assessing the current state and future development trends of the maritime sectors is key to evaluating the performance of the planning process. This is the aim of this study, in which the main maritime sectors related to the blue economy present in the archipelagos of the European Macaronesia Sea Basin, i.e. the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain), were identified and studied. The following maritime sectors were analysed: fisheries, marine aquaculture, marine biotechnology, coastal and maritime tourism, maritime transport, ship repair and maintenance, extraction of aggregates, deep-sea mining, offshore oil and gas, renewable ocean energies, and desalination. As part of the PLASMAR project, partners undertook in 2017–19 a literature review gathering scientific papers, official statistics and reports, which were complemented by interviews with experts from the economic sectors and public administration departments. Results show that while some maritime sectors are well established, others are emerging sectors with varying long-term growth potential. Besides, development patterns vary across the archipelagos. This study represents the first effort in the Macaronesia Sea Basin to set the basis of the current and future development conditions of the blue economy in applicability to maritime spatial planning processes at a regional level. The future post-pandemic context will provide a unique opportunity to promote the blue economy sectors and activities through the support provided by the EU Green Deal and Recovery and Resilience Plans, as well as with the actions envisioned under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030). The European Macaronesia example –given its wide maritime territory, commitment, and capacities in terms of expertise and networking– presents a great potential to act as a good practice to extrapolate the new approach for a sustainable blue economy to other similar geographical settings such as island regions/states.

Introduction Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) is a human food poisoning caused by the consumption of fish that have toxins, commonly known as ciguatoxins. The precursors of these toxins are naturally present in the marine environment inside certain microscopic algae (dinoflagellates) and are transferred to the fish through the food chain. These toxins are not eliminated by any preservation or cooking technique. The only way to know if a fish is a carrier is through laboratory analysis (few days). According to Friedman et al. (2017) the CFP is the main disease caused by marine toxins worldwide. It is estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000 people suffer CFP annually (Marcus, 2018) although it is believed that there are many more because it is difficult to diagnose due to the variety of symptoms that presents (gastrointestinal, neurological and cardiovascular symptoms). The treatment is symptomatic and the patient improves in days or weeks, sometimes persists months or even years, death is rare. In Europe until 2004 the CFP was only related to imported cases (travelers or fish from other latitudes). From 2004 to 2018 one hundred and twenty-two CFP have been reported in the Canary Islands (CI) (Spain). Madeira and the Selvagens Islands (Portugal) have also reported human cases (Vale, 2011). In the CI the CFP is considered an emergent notifiable disease although the risk is small due the low annual sick rate (Nuñez et al., 2012). In the CI since 2009 the catches of professional fishermen are being monitored for certain species and weights while in Madeira and Selvagens Islands some fishing restrictions have been implemented. Also since 2009 in the CI several projects and initiatives are being developed. These try to provide knowledge on CFP human epidemiology, ecology of microalgae, potentially affected fish, toxin detection methods, etc. According to Sanchez-Henao et al. (2019) the CI is already an area of endemic expansion of the CFP. Educating society is a critical component in the prevention of CFP, as it improves the ability to diagnose cases in humans (Friedman et al., 2017) and allows consumers to make informed decisions about food choices (FAO/WHO, 2016). The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and perceptions of the CI population about CFP. Methodology The universe was the CI population. A not proportional allocation sample to the population size of each island was selected to reduce the level of error in the non-capital islands and to guarantee the reliability of the data in the estimates at the island level. Telephone surveys (n 1825) were conducted in 2018 (July, August and September) by sex, age and municipality quotas (error 2.3%, confidence level 95.5%). Results 87.2% of the population consumes fish on a regular basis. Fresh fish (multi-response) is the most consumed (81.2%), then frozen fish (53.6%). Fish caught by non-professional fishermen is consumed by 14.1% (some islands 40% is reached), of these, 79.4% do not consider the consumption of fish from this source as a health risk. To the question 'do you know what ciguatera is?' 89.6% of the population (n 1825) points out 'does not know or has not heard' of the ciguatera, the 3.8% 'do not know, but have heard' and 6.6% say 'yes'. From the interviewees who report knowing or having heard about, that is 10.4% of the total: 65.8% state that they have no information on human cases, 56.5% state that CFP have relevance in public health, 44.6% indicate that the cause is because the fish consume toxic algae while the rest declare not knowing or give wrong answers, 11.5% declare that the ciguatera can be eliminated (open answer) being freezing the main choice (55.2%), 12.9% notes that exist regulation to comply. 82% of the total (n 1825) wishes to receive more information about the ciguatera. According to the Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 about food law and safety the ‘risk analysis’ means a process consisting of three interconnected components - risk assessment, risk management and risk communication - and it applies to global food security manner. Among others, the objective of ‘risk communication’ is to improve the effectiveness of the risk analysis process among all interested parties. The monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of the communication of risks in food security is essential to knowing if the audience receives, understands and responds adequately. One of the methods of monitoring established by FAO/WHO (2016) is through targeted surveys. Therefore, this work can be an instrument to know the impact on public opinion of the communication actions that several entities develop in the CI. Conclusion After 10 years of starting various projects and initiatives related to CFP only 4.7% of the population shows some valid knowledge of how ciguatera is produced, 3.6% declare to have knowledge about human cases and 1.3% declares that there are regulations to apply. Therefore, in the framework of risk communication it is necessary to design a program to achieve a successful implementation based on risk analysis considering the main stakeholders (of course including consumers). It is necessary that the different institutions work together (EFSA, 2017).

According to the data collection framework (DFC, Regulation (EU) 2017/1004) for marine recreational fisheries (MRF), the compilation of biological, environmental, technical and socioeconomic data is essential. However, the MRF in the Canary Islands does not have official catch statistics even though there are around 90,000 recreational fishers unequally distributed among the eight islands along 1500 km of coastline. Nevertheless, this has not been an obstacle for the research groups that have made notable efforts to infer the role of MRF in Canary Island fishery. We found 54 research references (2000–2021) in this regard. The studies were classified according to Pita et al. (2020). Most of the references (22) corresponded to peer-reviewed articles. The key results were mainly related to catch and effort estimates (26) and there were few publications referring to dissemination (3) and legislation (1). The data collection techniques included: face to face interviews, on-site data gathering and telephonic and online surveys. Is noteworthy that the catch/effort data is directly taken from fishers in only three publications (peer-reviewed). On a regional basis, only one work considers all modalities (coast, boat and spearfishing) and the other two are about spearfishing with significant differences regarding total catch estimates. As many authors have pointed out, most or all these methodologies are based on non-probabilistic samples or are specific to one island. Consequently, inferences must be taken with caution. The research carried out so far has been opportunistic (research groups) and with a short-term vision (administrations) to respond to specific needs. However, as in any fishery assessment, a long-term vision is necessary. Since January 2021 an MRF working group was created to contribute to the development of DFC at the national level. It would be a big step if the research groups could detail a roadmap with unified methodologies. In this way, the management of public resources would be more efficient. This effort should be led by the two fishing administrations (national and regional) of the Canary Islands. This work was developed within the framework of the PLASMAR+ Project (MAC2/1.1a/347), co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (EDRF) and INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal MAC 2014-2020.