7 research outputs found
STECF Fisheries Dependent Information – FDI (STECF-19-11)
Commission Decision of 25 February 2016 setting up a Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, C(2016) 1084, OJ C 74, 26.2.2016, p. 4–10. The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating to marine and fisheries biology, fishing gear technology, fisheries economics, fisheries governance, ecosystem effects of fisheries, aquaculture or similar disciplines. The STECF reviewed the report of the EWG on Fisheries-dependent Information during its winter 2019 plenary meeting
STECF Fisheries Dependent Information – FDI (STECF-19-11)
Commission Decision of 25 February 2016 setting up a Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, C(2016) 1084, OJ C 74, 26.2.2016, p. 4–10. The Commission may consult the group on any matter relating to marine and fisheries biology, fishing gear technology, fisheries economics, fisheries governance, ecosystem effects of fisheries, aquaculture or similar disciplines. The STECF reviewed the report of the EWG on Fisheries-dependent Information during its winter 2019 plenary meeting
Estimating Trends of Population Decline in Long-Lived Marine Species in the Mediterranean Sea Based on Fishers' Perceptions
We conducted interviews of a representative sample of 106 retired fishers in Italy, Spain and Greece, asking specific questions about the trends they perceived in dolphin and shark abundances between 1940 and 1999 (in three 20 year periods) compared to the present abundance. The large marine fauna studied were not target species of the commercial fleet segment interviewed (trawl fishery). The fishers were asked to rank the perceived abundance in each period into qualitative ordinal classes based on two indicators: frequency of sightings and frequency of catches (incidental or intentional) of each taxonomic group. The statistical analysis of the survey results showed that both incidental catches and the sighting frequency of dolphins have decreased significantly over the 60+ years of the study period (except for in Greece due to the recent population increase). This shows that fishers' perceptions are in agreement with the declining population trends detected by scientists. Shark catches were also perceived to have diminished since the early 1940s for all species. Other long-lived Mediterranean marine fauna (monk seals, whales) were at very low levels in the second half of the 20th century and no quantitative data could be obtained. Our study supports the results obtained in the Mediterranean and other seas that show the rapid disappearance (over a few decades) of marine fauna. We show that appropriately designed questionnaires help provide a picture of animal abundance in the past through the valuable perceptions of fishers. This information can be used to complement scientific sources or in some cases be taken as the only information source for establishing population trends in the abundance of sensitive species
A MSFD complementary approach for the assessment of pressures, knowledge and data gaps in Southern European Seas : the PERSEUS experience
PERSEUS project aims to identify the most relevant pressures exerted on the ecosystems of the Southern
European Seas (SES), highlighting knowledge and data gaps that endanger the achievement of SES Good
Environmental Status (GES) as mandated by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). A complementary
approach has been adopted, by a meta-analysis of existing literature on pressure/impact/knowledge
gaps summarized in tables related to the MSFD descriptors, discriminating open waters from coastal
areas. A comparative assessment of the Initial Assessments (IAs) for five SES countries has been also
independently performed. The comparison between meta-analysis results and IAs shows similarities
for coastal areas only. Major knowledge gaps have been detected for the biodiversity, marine food
web, marine litter and underwater noise descriptors. The meta-analysis also allowed the identification
of additional research themes targeting research topics that are requested to the achievement of GES.
2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.peer-reviewe
Bottom trawl fishing footprints on the world’s continental shelves
Publication history: Accepted - 23 August 2018; Published online - 8 October 2018.Bottom trawlers land around 19 million tons of fish and invertebrates
annually, almost one-quarter of wild marine landings. The extent of
bottom trawling footprint (seabed area trawled at least once in a
specified region and time period) is often contested but poorly
described. We quantify footprints using high-resolution satellite vessel
monitoring system (VMS) and logbook data on 24 continental shelves
and slopes to 1,000-m depth over at least 2 years. Trawling footprint
varied markedly among regions: from <10% of seabed area in Australian
and New Zealand waters, the Aleutian Islands, East Bering Sea,
South Chile, and Gulf of Alaska to >50% in some European seas.
Overall, 14% of the 7.8 million-km2 study area was trawled, and
86% was not trawled. Trawling activity was aggregated; the most
intensively trawled areas accounting for 90% of activity comprised
77% of footprint on average. Regional swept area ratio (SAR; ratio
of total swept area trawled annually to total area of region, a metric
of trawling intensity) and footprint area were related, providing an
approach to estimate regional trawling footprints when highresolution
spatial data are unavailable. If SAR was ≤0.1, as in 8 of
24 regions, therewas >95% probability that >90%of seabed was not
trawled. If SAR was 7.9, equal to the highest SAR recorded, there
was >95% probability that >70% of seabed was trawled. Footprints
were smaller and SAR was ≤0.25 in regions where fishing rates consistently
met international sustainability benchmarks for fish stocks,
implying collateral environmental benefits from sustainable fishing.Funding for meetings of the study group and salary
support for R.O.A. were provided by the following: David and Lucile Packard
Foundation; the Walton Family Foundation; the Alaska Seafood Cooperative;
American Seafoods Group US; Blumar Seafoods Denmark; Clearwater Seafoods
Inc.; Espersen Group; Glacier Fish Company LLC US; Gortons Seafood; Independent
Fisheries Limited N.Z.; Nippon Suisan (USA), Inc.; Pesca Chile S.A.;
Pacific Andes International Holdings, Ltd.; San Arawa, S.A.; Sanford Ltd. N.Z.;
Sealord Group Ltd. N.Z.; South African Trawling Association; Trident Seafoods;
and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Additional
funding to individual authors was provided by European Union Project
BENTHIS EU-FP7 312088 (to A.D.R., O.R.E., F.B., N.T.H., L.B.-M., R.C., H.O.F.,
H.G., J.G.H., P.J., S.K., M.L., G.G.-M., N.P., P.E.P., T.R., A.S., B.V., and M.J.K.); the
Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Portugal (C.S.); the International
Council for the Exploration of the Sea Science Fund (R.O.A. and K.M.H.); the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (C.R.P. and
T.M.); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (R.A.M.); New
Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries Projects BEN2012/01 and DAE2010/
04D (to S.J.B. and R.F.); the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University
of Tasmania and the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and
Environment, Tasmania, Australia (J.M.S.); and UK Department of Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs Project MF1225 (to S.J.)
Large-scale distribution of deep-sea megafauna community along Mediterranean trawlable grounds
The large-scale distribution pattern of megafauna communities along the Mediterranean middle slope was explored. The study was conducted between 500 and 800 m depth where deep-water fishery occurs. Although community
studies carried out deeper than 500 m are partly available for some geographic areas, few large-scale comparative studies
have been carried out. Within the framework of the MEDITS survey programme, we compared the megafauna community
structure in ten geographical sub-areas (GSAs) along the Mediterranean coasts. Additionally, the spatial distribution of fishing was analysed using vessel monitoring by satellite information. Overall, the community showed a significant difference
between sub-areas, with a decreasing eastward pattern in abundance and biomass. Longitude was the main factor explaining
variation among sub-areas (by generalized additive models). However, we found a region which did not follow the general
pattern. GSA 6 (northern Spain) showed significantly lower abundance and a different composition structure to the adjacent
areas. The decrease in community descriptors (i.e. abundance and biomass) in this area is probably a symptom of population changes induced by intense fishery exploitation. Overall, a combination of environmental variables and human-induced
impacts appears to influence the bentho-pelagic communities along the slope areas of the Mediterranea
Size-dependent survival of European hake juveniles in the Mediterranean Sea.
Most studies on European hake focus on the recruitment process and nursery areas, whereas the information is
comparatively limited on the ecology of the juvenile stage (ca. second year of life)—the one most exploited by the Mediterranean trawl fisheries. Using information of the MEDITS programme, we provide a spatial and temporal assessment of
the influence of body size and growth on hake survival from recruits (age 0) to juveniles (age 1), along with the impact of
surface temperature and chlorophyll variability. At a biogeographic scale, size-dependent survival is supported, with areas
with higher mean length of recruits and juveniles yielding higher survival. A similar pattern was observed at interannual level in some western Mediterranean areas, also mediated by a density-dependent effect on growth. However, the most recurrent
inter-annual pattern was a negative effect of size on survival, which could be attributed to potential ontogenetic changes in
catchability and underrepresentation of intra-annual recruitment pulses that are seasonally inaccessible to the MEDITS sur- vey. Results also evidence that survival in the Alboran and Adriatic seas is dependent on the primary production variability,
and that Corsica and Sardinia could be potential feeding grounds receiving juveniles from neighbouring areas. The present
study reveals the importance of size- and growth-dependent survival in the juvenile stage of European hake in the Mediter- ranean Sea