Bio and Anthropogenic Disturbance of Maërl Communities Settled on Subaqueous Dunes on the Mar Menor Continental Shelf (Western Mediterranean)

Demestre, Montserrat; Muntadas, Alba; Sánchez, Pilar; García-de-Vinuesa, Alfredo; Mas, J.; Franco, Ignacio; Durán, Ruth; Guillén, Jorge

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-33940-5_33

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Although maërl is protected in Annex I of the Habitat Directive (EU Dir. 92/43/EEC), fishing pressure is still exerted on maërl habitat, here and in other Mediterranean areas (Demestre et al 2017). In the western Mediterranean, maërl bottoms can reach 90 or 100 m depth (Basso 1996), and in Garotes, rhodoliths were found in the hauls carried out at lower depths, between 54 and 70 m (Table 4), where the fishing effort intensity was very low for five months out of the year (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Maërl beds have been studied for decades, and they are particularly susceptible to physical disturbance (De Juan et al 2013); although they are protected in Annex I of the Habitat Directive (EU Dir. 92/43/EEC), fishing pressure is still exerted on them (Demestre et al 2017). However, crinoid aggregation ecosystems have been less studied (Colloca et al 2004, Reale et al 2005, Mangano et al 2010, and unfortunately have no specific legal protection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Linking trawl fleet dynamics and the spatial distribution of exploited species can help to avoid unwanted catches: the case of the NW Mediterranean fishing grounds

et al. 2018

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With the full implementation of the landing obligation on 1 January 2019, In European waters it will become mandatory for the trawling fleet to land at port all catches of certain species because, according to Article 15 of the new European Common Fisheries Policy, the species subject to the minimum conservation reference size (MCRS) cannot be discarded. Additionally, since 2005, trawlers over 15 m in length are required to carry an onboard vessel monitoring system (VMS), which generates information on fleet dynamics. The objective of this work was to provide a tool for avoiding unwanted catches by integrating the catch study of trawlers operating in the port of Blanes together with VMS data. To achieve this objective, the catches of 40 hauls were monitored, sampled and analysed together with VMS data for the years 2012-2014 integrated in a geographical information system. The results show that specimens below the MCRS were often captured in crinoid aggregation habitats, bottoms with maërl and muddy bottoms that were identified as nursery habitats of commercial species, e.g. Merluccius merluccius, Pagellus spp. and Mullus spp. VMS data showed considerable fishing pressure on areas with maërl and muddy habitats during the recruitment periods of these and other commercially relevant species. Implementing spatial or seasonal closures in habitats where species regulated by the MCRS are subject to catches could be a useful tool for preventing unwanted catches.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking trawl fleet dynamics and the spatial distribution of exploited species can help to avoid unwanted catches: the case of the NW Mediterranean fishing grounds

et al. 2018

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“…These organisms play an important role in ecosystem function by maintaining or enhancing secondary marine production. They are very sensitive to disturbance and easily destroyed by fishing impact, and their decrease could have lasting consequences for benthos-pelagic processes (Lohrer et al 2004, Demestre et al 2017, de Juan et al 2011, because the good status of the habitats in which the fisheries resources live depends to a large extent on these organisms. In order to maintain the good status of the sea bottom, one of the priority actions to be taken is to determine the mortality levels of routinely discarded species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological importance of survival of unwanted invertebrates discarded in different NW Mediterranean trawl fisheries

Demestre¹,

Sartor

García-de-Vinuesa³

et al. 2018

Sci. Mar.

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There is currently very little information on the survival of discards of unwanted and unregulated catches of invertebrates after the stresses caused by capture. A great number of the unregulated invertebrate species form the basis of essential fish habitats for important fisheries resources such as hake, red mullet and cuttlefish. Thus, data on their survival after discarding may help to interpret the role of these species within the benthic ecosystems. Furthermore, descriptor 6 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (EU Directive 2008/56/E) foresees maintaining sea floor integrity at a level that ensures that the structure and functions of the ecosystems are safeguarded, and Article 7(d) of the Common Fisheries Policy (EU Reg. 1380/2013) foresees the implementation of management measures for fishing with low impact on the marine ecosystem and fishery resources. Survival measurements by direct recovery of tagged discarded species are not effective in bottom trawl fisheries, for which alternative studies such as semi-quantitative measures obtained on board prior to discarding can be considered as appropriate for mortality estimation. The present work assessed the survival of unwanted species using a semi-quantitative assessment on the deck of trawlers and at the laboratory for a period of 96 hours in two Mediterranean areas (the Catalan coast and the Ligurian and Northern Tyrrhenian seas). A high number of discarded invertebrates showed a high percentage of survival (>70%) in both assessments. The results can be used to provide information that can help to achieve higher survival levels of discarded specimens and enhance the productivity of fishing grounds by increasing the health of benthic ecosystems.

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“…Nowadays, like most coastal biocenoses, CDB are facing the impact of human activities and climate change. They are threatened by numerous pressures (Dutertre et al, 2015;Demestre et al, 2017) such as trawling (Bordehore et al, 2000;Bordehore et al, 2003;Fragkopoulou et al, 2021), artisanal or recreational fishing (Rendina et al, 2020), dredging (De Grave and Whitaker, 1999;Bermejo et al, 2018;Bernard et al, 2019), terrigenous input, dumping of sediment and waste (Aliani et al, 1994;Cocito et al, 1994), fish farming (Sanz-Laźaro et al, 2011;Aguado-Gimeńez and Ruiz-Fernańdez, 2012), consequences of coastal development, sea water warming, the spread of non-indigenous species (Klein and Verlaque, 2009;Katsanevakis et al, 2014;Martin and Hall-Spencer, 2017;Hall-Spencer and Harvey, 2019) and potentially acidification (Noisette et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem-based assessment of a widespread Mediterranean marine habitat: The Coastal Detrital Bottoms, with a special focus on epibenthic assemblages

et al. 2023

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IntroductionCoastal detrital bottoms (CDB) are one of the most extensive habitats of the continental shelf worldwide, in the upper levels of the circalittoral zone. Hosting a diverse community structured by sediment grain size, trophic interactions and calcified organisms, CDB exhibit important ecological functions. In the Mediterranean Sea, CDB are constituted by recent elements partly provided by adjacent infralittoral and circalittoral ecosystems. Since the 2010s, the offshore extension of many Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) has resulted in the incorporation of vast areas of CDB, raising the issue of their management. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) has embraced the concept of an ecosystem-based approach involving taking into account the functioning of marine habitats and their related ecosystem services. The purpose of this paper is to propose an ecosystem-based quality index (EBQI) tested on CDB from the north-western Mediterranean Sea, focusing mainly on epibenthic assemblages.MethodsThe first step has been to define a conceptual model of the CDB functioning, including the main trophic compartments and their relative weighting, then to identify appropriate assessment methods and potential descriptors. Twenty-nine sites were sampled along the coast of Provence and French Riviera (Southern France). Study sites were chosen with a view to encompassing a wide range of hydrological conditions and human pressures.ResultsVery well-preserved sites were found in Provence in areas without trawling and terrigenous inputs, while impacted and low-ES sites were located in the vicinity of urbanized areas. The cover of rhodoliths characterizes the seascape and might be an indicator of the good ES of CDB and reduced human pressure. However, the absence of rhodoliths may also be induced by natural phenomena.DiscussionThe EBQI designed for CDB proved representative and useful for a functional assessment based on epibenthic assemblages. However, some descriptors have shown their limitations and should be further explored. We highlight here the priority of establishing an index corresponding to a societal demand (e.g., European Directives, Barcelona convention) as a basis for a broad and large-scale assessment, for practical reasons. We stress the need to better apprehend the role of the macro-infauna and to extend this index over a wider geographical scale.

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Bio and Anthropogenic Disturbance of Maërl Communities Settled on Subaqueous Dunes on the Mar Menor Continental Shelf (Western Mediterranean)

Cited by 7 publications

References 13 publications

Linking trawl fleet dynamics and the spatial distribution of exploited species can help to avoid unwanted catches: the case of the NW Mediterranean fishing grounds

Linking trawl fleet dynamics and the spatial distribution of exploited species can help to avoid unwanted catches: the case of the NW Mediterranean fishing grounds

Ecological importance of survival of unwanted invertebrates discarded in different NW Mediterranean trawl fisheries

Ecosystem-based assessment of a widespread Mediterranean marine habitat: The Coastal Detrital Bottoms, with a special focus on epibenthic assemblages

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