Prioritization of knowledge‐needs to achieve best practices for bottom trawling in relation to seabed habitats

Abstract

Management and technical approaches that achieve a sustainable level of fish production while at the same time minimizing or limiting the wider ecological effects caused through fishing gear contact with the seabed might be considered to be 'best practice'. To identify future knowledge-needs that would help to support a transition towards the adoption of best practices for trawling, a prioritization exercise was undertaken with a group of 39 practitioners from the seafood industry and management, and 13 research scientists who have an active research interest in bottom-trawl and dredge fisheries. A list of 108 knowledge-needs related to trawl and dredge fisheries was developed in conjunction with an 'expert task force'. The long list was further refined through a three stage process of voting and scoring, including discussions of each knowledge-need. The top 25 knowledge-needs are presented, as scored separately by practitioners and scientists. There was considerable consistency in the priorities identified by these two groups. The top priority knowledge-need to improve current understanding on the distribution and extent of different habitat types also reinforced the concomitant need for the provision and access to data on the spatial and temporal distribution of all forms of towed bottom-fishing activities. Many of the other top 25 knowledge-needs concerned the evaluation of different management approaches or implementation of different fishing practices, particularly those that explore trade-offs between effects of bottom trawling on biodiversity and ecosystem services and the benefits of fish production as food.

Choosing best practices for managing impacts of trawl fishing on seabed habitats and biota

“…Brief examples and performance‐based analyses are used to develop guidance on best practices for a wide range of fisheries and associated management systems. Building on previous analyses of the impacts and management of trawling activities (Collie et al, ; Hiddink et al, , ; Pitcher et al, ; Sciberras et al, ), we address multiple knowledge gaps identified in a prioritization exercise concerned with reducing the environmental impacts of trawling (Kaiser et al, ). The resulting guidance on best practices is intended to help managers and the industry minimize environmental impacts of trawling per unit weight or value of landed fish, while achieving a sustainable level of fish production.…”

Deep‐water fisheries along the British Isles continental slopes: status, ecosystem effects and future perspectives

“…Generally, bottom trawls are relatively unselective fishing gears (Cashion et al , ), for this reason the wider cost‐benefit of deep‐water fisheries should be considered when reviewing fisheries regulations (Mangi et al , ). Collecting further data on the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of deep‐sea communities is important to consolidate knowledge and assess state and trends and to provide scientific‐based information towards conservation and sustainable exploitation of marine resources (Ehler & Douvere, ; Kaiser et al , ).…”

Comparative fishing to evaluate the viability of an aligned footgear designed to reduce seabed contact in northern shrimp bottom trawl fisheries

“…In truth, there is a trade-off to be balanced. Identifying knowledge needs and transitioning toward "best practices" has been suggested as a pathway toward balancing the trade-off between the effects of mobile fishing on the seabed and the benefits of fish production for food security (Kaiser et al 2015). In that study, the authors developed and prioritized 108 knowledge gaps associated with bottom trawling.…”

“…In the top ten was the need to determine "what gear configurations exist to mitigate habitat impacts and how can these benefits be quantified?" (Kaiser et al 2015). Indeed, the development of gear modifications to reduce the seabed impact of bottom trawls is not a new field of investigation.…”