Mesoscale productivity fronts and local fishing opportunities in the European Seas

• Published in: Fish and Fisheries
• Main Authors: Druon, Jean-Noel, Gascuel, Didier, Gibin, Maurizio, Zanzi, Antonella, Fromentin, Jean-marc, Colloca, Francesco, Helaouet, Pierre, Coll, Marta, Mannini, Alessandro, Bluemel, Joanna K., Piroddi, Chiara, Bastardie, Francois, Macias-Moy, Diego, Vasilakopoulos, Paraskevas, Winker, Henning, Serpetti, Natalia, Guillen, Jordi, Palialexis, Andreas, Gras, Michael, Hekim, Zeynep, Dubroca, Laurent, Pinto, Cecilia, Steenbeek, Jeroen, Martinsohn, Jann
• Other Authors: European Commission - Joint Research Centre Ispra (JRC), Écologie et santé des écosystèmes (ESE), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), MARine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (UMR MARBEC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (SZN), Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (MBA), DTU Aqua, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark Lyngby (DTU), Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), Institute of Marine Sciences / Institut de Ciències del Mar Barcelona (ICM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid (CSIC), European Commission - Joint Research Centre Geel (JRC), Laboratoire Ressources Halieutiques Port-en-Bessin, Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: fisheries; management; habitat; ecology; migration; mediterranean sea; bluefin tuna; food; atlantic cod; catches per unit of effort; chlorophyll-a gradient; integration; landings per unit of effort; local-scale; Plankton-to-fish estimate; spatial fisheries management; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-03413512; https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12585

WOS:000669390400001 International audience This study evaluates the relationship between both commercial and scientific spatial fisheries data and a new satellite-based estimate of potential fish production (Ocean Productivity available to Fish, OPFish) in the European Seas. To construct OPFish, we used productivity frontal features derived from chlorophyll-a horizontal gradients, which characterize 10%-20% of the global phytoplankton production that effectively fuels higher trophic levels. OPFish is relatively consistent with the spatial distribution of both pelagic and demersal fish landings and catches per unit of effort (LPUEs and CPUEs, respectively). An index of harvest relative to ocean productivity (H-P index) is calculated by dividing these LPUEs or CPUEs with OPFish. The H-P index reflects the intensity of fishing by gear type with regard to local fish production. Low H-P levels indicate lower LPUEs or CPUEs than expected from oceanic production, suggesting over-exploitation, while high H-P levels imply more sustainable fishing. H-P allows comparing the production-dependent suitability of local fishing intensities. Our results from bottom trawl data highlight that over-exploitation of demersal species from the shelves is twice as high in the Mediterranean Sea than in the North-East Atlantic. The estimate of H-P index by dominant pelagic and demersal gears suggests that midwater and bottom otter trawls are associated with the lowest and highest overfishing, respectively. The contrasts of fishing intensity at local scales captured by the H-P index suggest that accounting for the local potential fish production can promote fisheries sustainability in the context of ecosystem-based fisheries management as required by international marine policies.