Response of benthic fauna to experimental bottom fishing: A global meta-analysis

SUURONEN, PETRI; PITCHER, C. ROLAND; PARMA, ANA M; MCCONNAUGHEY, ROBERT A; COLLIE, JEREMY S; CLARKE, LEO J; RIJNSDORP, ADRIAAN D; SZOSTEK, CLAIRE L; KNEAFSEY, BRIAN; SCIBERRAS, MARIJA; JENNINGS, SIMON; KAISER, MICHEL J; AMOROSO, RICARDO O; HILBORN, RAY; ELLIS, NICK; HUGHES, KATHRYN M; HIDDINK, JAN GEERT

FISH AND FISHERIES

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2018

1467-2960

Bottom‐contact fishing gears are globally the mostwidespread anthropogenic sources of direct disturbance to the seabed andassociated biota. Managing these fishing disturbances requires quantificationof gear impacts on biota and the rate of recovery following disturbance. Weundertook a systematic review and meta‐analysis of 122 experiments on theeffects‐of‐bottom fishing to quantify the removal of benthos in the path of thefishing gear and to estimate rates of recovery following disturbance. A gearpass reduced benthic invertebrate abundance by 26% and species richness by 19%.The effect was strongly gear‐specific, with gears that penetrate deeper intothe sediment having a significantly larger impact than those that penetrateless. Sediment composition (% mud and presence of biogenic habitat) and thehistory of fishing disturbance prior to an experimental fishing event were alsoimportant predictors of depletion, with communities in areas that were notpreviously fished, predominantly muddy or biogenic habitats being more stronglyaffected by fishing. Sessile and low mobility biota with longer life‐spans suchas sponges, soft corals and bivalves took much longer to recover after fishing(>3 year) than mobile biota with shorter life‐spans such as polychaetesand malacostracans (<1 year). This meta‐analysis provides insights intothe dynamics of recovery. Our estimates of depletion along with estimates ofrecovery rates and large‐scale, high‐resolution maps of fishing frequency andhabitat will support more rigorous assessment of the environmental impacts ofbottom‐contact gears, thus supporting better informed choices in trade‐offsbetween environmental impacts and fish production.