Bottom trawling is the most widespread human activity affecting seabed habitats. Here, we collate all available data for experimental and comparative studies of trawling impacts on whole communities ...of seabed macroinvertebrates on sedimentary habitats and develop widely applicable methods to estimate depletion and recovery rates of biota after trawling. Depletion of biota and trawl penetration into the seabed are highly correlated. Otter trawls caused the least depletion, removing 6% of biota per pass and penetrating the seabed on average down to 2.4 cm, whereas hydraulic dredges caused the most depletion, removing 41% of biota and penetrating the seabed on average 16.1 cm. Median recovery times posttrawling (from 50 to 95% of unimpacted biomass) ranged between 1.9 and 6.4 y. By accounting for the effects of penetration depth, environmental variation, and uncertainty, the models explained much of the variability of depletion and recovery estimates from single studies. Coupled with large-scale, high-resolution maps of trawling frequency and habitat, our estimates of depletion and recovery rates enable the assessment of trawling impacts on unprecedented spatial scales.
Decreasing body size has been proposed as a universal response to increasing temperatures. The physiology behind the response is well established for ectotherms inhabiting aquatic environments: as ...higher temperatures decrease the aerobic capacity, individuals with smaller body sizes have a reduced risk of oxygen deprivation. However, empirical evidence of this response at the scale of communities and ecosystems is lacking for marine fish species. Here, we show that over a 40‐year period six of eight commercial fish species in the North Sea examined underwent concomitant reductions in asymptotic body size with the synchronous component of the total variability coinciding with a 1–2 °C increase in water temperature. Smaller body sizes decreased the yield‐per‐recruit of these stocks by an average of 23%. Although it is not possible to ascribe these phenotypic changes unequivocally to temperature, four aspects support this interpretation: (i) the synchronous trend was detected across species varying in their life history and life style; (ii) the decrease coincided with the period of increasing temperature; (iii) the direction of the phenotypic change is consistent with physiological knowledge; and (iv) no cross‐species synchrony was detected in other species‐specific factors potentially impacting growth. Our findings support a recent model‐derived prediction that fish size will shrink in response to climate‐induced changes in temperature and oxygen. The smaller body sizes being projected for the future are already detectable in the North Sea.
Rijnsdorp, A. D., Peck, M. A., Engelhard, G. H., Möllmann, C., and Pinnegar, J. K. 2009. Resolving the effect of climate change on fish populations. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: ...1570–1583.This paper develops a framework for the study of climate on fish populations based on first principles of physiology, ecology, and available observations. Environmental variables and oceanographic features that are relevant to fish and that are likely to be affected by climate change are reviewed. Working hypotheses are derived from the differences in the expected response of different species groups. A review of published data on Northeast Atlantic fish species representing different biogeographic affinities, habitats, and body size lends support to the hypothesis that global warming results in a shift in abundance and distribution (in patterns of occurrence with latitude and depth) of fish species. Pelagic species exhibit clear changes in seasonal migration patterns related to climate-induced changes in zooplankton productivity. Lusitanian species have increased in recent decades (sprat, anchovy, and horse mackerel), especially at the northern limit of their distribution areas, while Boreal species decreased at the southern limit of their distribution range (cod and plaice), but increased at the northern limit (cod). Although the underlying mechanisms remain uncertain, available evidence suggests climate-related changes in recruitment success to be the key process, stemming from either higher production or survival in the pelagic egg or larval stage, or owing to changes in the quality/quantity of nursery habitats.
The future protection of marine biodiversity through good conservation planning requires both the identification of key habitats with unique ecological characteristics and detailed knowledge of their ...human utilization through fisheries. Demersal fisheries are important disturbers of benthic habitats. They often have a heterogeneous spatial distribution, pressurizing particular habitats with high abundances of target species. For the North Sea, we quantified the commonness/rarity of habitats in relation to the environmental determinants of so-called fishing hotspots, to support better-informed conservation planning of benthic habitats in this intensively used continental shelf.
We first distinguished 9 main seascapes in the study area based on seabed morphology. Secondly, we determined average fishing intensity and fishing hotspots using VMS-data for the three dominant Dutch fisheries from 2008 to 2015: beam-trawlers targeting sole Solea solea (Beam-Sole), beam-trawlers targeting plaice Pleuronectes platessa (Beam-Plaice), and otter-trawlers targeting Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus and demersal fish (Otter-Mix). Within the seascapes subjected to >80% of the fishing activity, nineteen environmental factors (summarized by PCA) were used to ecologically characterize fishing hotspot locations using MaxEnt response modelling.
We found that all three fisheries target highly specific, uncommon habitats. Beam-Sole fishers targeted warmer, shallow, dynamic, nearshore habitats, and within these specifically the depressions between sand ridges. Beam-Plaice fishers mainly targeted the exposed, non-muddy flanks of the Dogger Bank and similar large-scale elevations (50-75 km) where especially the ridges of smaller sand banks are used. Otter-Mix fisheries concentrated in areas with low bed shear stress, located in muddy, relatively deeper areas.
This study is the first to provide insight in benthic habitat types that are frequently targeted by fishers in the North Sea. We demonstrated unequal exploitation pressure between seabed habitats, with the majority of hotspots in the less common habitats. Our results hence contribute to a more effective, ecologically informed planning for the protection and monitoring of all seabed habitats and biodiversity of the North Sea.
Bottom trawling in shelf seas can occur more than 10 times per year for a
given location. This affects the benthic metabolism, through a mortality of
the macrofauna, resuspension of organic matter ...from the sediment, and
alterations of the physical sediment structure. However, the trawling
impacts on organic carbon mineralization and associated processes are not
well known. Using a modelling approach, the effects of increasing trawling
frequencies on early diagenesis were studied in five different sedimentary
environments, simulating the effects of a deeper-penetrating gear (e.g. a
tickler chain beam trawl) versus a shallower, more variable penetrating gear
(e.g. an electric pulse trawl). Trawling events strongly increased oxygen
and nitrate concentrations in surface sediment layers and led to
significantly lower amounts of ammonium (43 %–99 % reduction) and
organic carbon in the top 10 cm of the sediment (62 %–96 % reduction).
As a result, total mineralization rates in the sediment were decreased by up
to 28 %. The effect on different mineralization processes differed both
between sediment types and between trawling frequencies. The shallow-penetrating gear had a slightly smaller effect on benthic denitrification
than the deeper-penetrating gear, but there were no statistically different
results between gear types for all other parameters. Denitrification was
reduced by 69 % in a fine sandy sediment, whereas nitrogen removal nearly
doubled in a highly eutrophic mud. This suggests that even relatively low
penetration depths from bottom fishing gears generate significant
biogeochemical alterations. Physical organic carbon removal through
trawl-induced resuspension of sediments, exacerbated by a removal of
bioturbating macrofauna, was identified as the main cause of the changes in
the mineralization process.
Dover sole (Solea solea) is an obligate ectotherm with a natural thermal habitat ranging from approximately 5 to 27°C. Thermal optima for growth lie in the range of 20 to 25°C. More precise ...information on thermal optima for growth is needed for cost-effective Dover sole aquaculture. The main objective of this study was to determine the optimal growth temperature of juvenile Dover sole (Solea solea) and in addition to test the hypothesis that the final preferendum equals the optimal growth temperature. Temperature preference was measured in a circular preference chamber for Dover sole acclimated to 18, 22 and 28°C. Optimal growth temperature was measured by rearing Dover sole at 19, 22, 25 and 28°C. The optimal growth temperature resulting from this growth experiment was 22.7°C for Dover sole with a size between 30 to 50 g. The temperature preferred by juvenile Dover sole increases with acclimation temperature and exceeds the optimal temperature for growth. A final preferendum could not be detected. Although a confounding effect of behavioural fever on temperature preference could not be entirely excluded, thermal preference and thermal optima for physiological processes seem to be unrelated in Dover sole.
Climate change is currently one of the main driving forces behind changes in species distributions, and understanding the mechanisms that underpin macroecological patterns is necessary for a more ...predictive science. Warming sea water temperatures are expected to drive changes in ectothermic marine species ranges due to their thermal tolerance levels. Here, we develop a mechanistic tool to predict size‐ and season‐specific distributions based on the physiology of the species and the temperature and food conditions in the sea. The effects of climate conditions on physiological‐based habitat utilization was then examined for different size‐classes of two commercially important fish species in the North Sea, plaice, Pleuronectes platessa, and sole, Solea solea. The two species provide an attractive comparison as they differ in their physiology (e.g. preferred temperature range). Combining dynamic energy budget (DEB) models with the temperature and food conditions estimated by an ecosystem model (ERSEM), allowed spatial differences in potential growth (as a proxy for habitat quality) to be estimated for 2 years with contrasting temperature and food conditions. The resulting habitat quality maps were in broad agreement with observed ontogenetic and seasonal changes in distribution as well as with the recent changes in distribution which could be attributed to an increase in coastal temperatures. Our physiological‐based model provides a powerful tool to explore the effect of climate change on the spatio‐temporal fish dynamics, predict effects of local or broad‐scale environmental changes and provide a physiological basis for observed changes in species distributions.
Bottom trawl fishing has widespread impacts on benthic habitats and communities. The benthic response to trawling seems to be smaller or absent in areas exposed to high natural disturbance, leading ...to the hypothesis that natural and trawl disturbance affect benthic communities in a similar way. However, systematic tests of this hypothesis at large spatial scales and with data from sites spanning a large range of natural disturbance do not exist. Here, we examine the effects of trawl and natural (tidal-bed shear stress) disturbance on benthic communities over gradients of commercial bottom trawling effort in 8 areas in the North and Irish Seas. Using a trait-based approach, that classified species by life-history strategies or by characteristics that provide a proxy for their role in community function, we found support for the hypothesis that trawl and natural disturbance affect benthic communities in similar ways. Both sources of disturbance caused declines in long-living, hard-bodied (exoskeleton) and suspension-feeding organisms. Given these similar impacts, there was no detectable trawling effect on communities exposed to high natural disturbance. Conversely, in 3 out of 5 areas with low bed shear stress, responses to trawling were detected and resulted in community compositions comparable with those in areas subject to high natural disturbance, with communities being composed of either small-sized, deposit-feeding animals or mobile scavengers and predators. The findings highlight that knowledge of the interacting effects of trawl and natural disturbance will help to identify areas that are more or less resilient to trawling and support the development of management plans that account for the environmental effects of fishing.
Networks play a key role in the functioning of socioecological fishery systems. Most network studies among fish harvesters examining fishing success utilize interviews and questionnaires. Though ...insightful, such studies are resource and time-intensive and thus unlikely to be replicated frequently through time. Alternatively, commercial landings records and vessel monitoring systems (VMS) provide continuous sources of information that can be used to examine variation in vessel networks through time. We used VMS data to define association networks among vessels. Relationships were found between common network metrics and annual performance based on landings data. Associations between vessels were more closely examined as a function of annual activity, performance, favoured species, and landing port using temporal exponential random graph models. We examined network dynamics across 4 consecutive years. Changes in vessel associations were clearly related to performance, landing port, and species targeted. Network structure could affect the relationship between catch and nominal effort, influencing stock assessments and responses to management actions. Our methodology provides a means to follow network change, identifying situations where more detailed study is warranted.
While fishery closures during the spawning season are commonplace, direct evidence for their benefit is mainly restricted to species forming large spawning aggregations. This paper analyses the ...conditions under which spawning closures could contribute to sustainable fisheries management by reviewing how fishing during spawning may affect the physiology, behaviour and ecology of individuals and how this may influence the dynamics and the genetics of the population. We distinguish between the effects of fishing activities in relation to mortality, disturbance of spawning activity, and impact on spawning habitat. Spawning closures may be of benefit it they: (1) reduce the fishing mortality of the large and older spawners; (2) avoid negative effects on spawning habitats; (3) reduce the risk of over-exploitation in species which form large spawning aggregations; (4) reduce the evolutionary effects on maturation and reproductive investment; and (5) reduce the risk of over-exploitation of specific spawning components. The contribution of spawning closures to sustainable fisheries will differ among species and depends on the complexity of the spawning system, the level of aggregation during spawning and the vulnerability of the spawning habitat. The importance of these closures depends on the degree of population depletion but does not cease when populations are ‘healthy’ (i.e. no sign that recruitment is impaired).
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