No more detectable fishing effect on Northern Gulf of St Lawrence benthic invertebrates

Author:

Moritz C.1,Gravel D.2,Savard L.3,McKindsey C. W.3,Brêthes J.-C.1,Archambault P.1

Affiliation:

1. Institut des Sciences de la Mer, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310, allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, CanadaG5L3A1

2. Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300, allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, CanadaG5L3A1

3. Institut Maurice Lamontagne, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 850 route de la Mer, PO Box 1000, Mont-Joli, QC, CanadaG5H 3Z4

Abstract

Abstract Trawling has been reported worldwide to alter seabed structure, and thus benthic habitats and ecosystems. Usually, a decrease in species richness and biomass is observed, and community structure is modified towards more opportunistic species. The Gulf of St Lawrence (Canada) has been intensely exploited since the 17th century, including net, longline, dredge and trawl fishing activities. Recently, the collapse of groundfish stocks induced a shift in fishing practices toward shrimp trawling, which is currently considered a sustainable fishing activity in the region. However, no long-term study has evaluated the potential effects of trawling disturbances on benthic mega-invertebrates. We investigated whether shrimp trawling had long- (ca. 20 years), mid- (ca. 10 years), and short-term (ca. 4 years) impacts on benthic mega-invertebrate taxa richness, biomass, and community structure. Scientific and fishery trawling data analyses showed that no significant long-, mid-, or short-term effect was detected on taxa richness. Significant but weak effects on biomass and community structure were detected at the mesoscale, i.e. at the scale of fishing grounds. In this long-exploited ecosystem, we suggest that a critical level of disturbance was attained by the first gear passages, which occurred decades ago and had irreversible impacts on the seabed by removing vulnerable taxa and structures that provided three-dimensional habitats. It is likely that benthic communities have subsequently reached a disturbed state of equilibrium on which current trawling disturbance has limited or no further impacts.

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Ecology,Aquatic Science,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics,Oceanography

Reference85 articles.

1. Rapid global expansion of invertebrate fisheries: trends, drivers, and ecosystem effects;Anderson;PLoS ONE,2011

2. Preliminary results from the groundfish and shrimp multidisciplinary survey in August 2011 in the Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence;Archambault,2012

3. Structure of the species–energy relationship;Bonn;Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B,2004

4. All-scale spatial analysis of ecological data by means of principal coordinates of neighbour matrices;Borcard;Ecological Modelling,2002

5. Impacts of flounder trawls on the intertidal habitat and community of the Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy;Brylinsky;DFO Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences,1994

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3