Role of artificial reef for fish and fisheries: application to artifical reefs of Leucate - Le Barcarès (Gulf of Lion, Mediterranean Sea)

• Main Author: Koeck, Barbara
• Other Authors: Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD), École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Ecole Pratique des Hautes Études - EPHE Paris, Prof. Philippe Lenfant
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: seascape alteration; habitat complexity; community structure; functional diversity; ecological connectivity; movement pattern; white seabream Diplodus sargus; individual specialization; Golf of Lion; Mediterranean; modification des paysages; complexité de l’habitat; structure des communautés; diversité fonctionnelle; connectivité écologique; patrons de déplacements; sar commun Diplodus sargus; spécialisation individuelle; Golfe du Lion; Méditerranée; [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDV.SA.STP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Sciences and technics of fishery; [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology; White Sea
• Online Access: https://theses.hal.science/tel-03790455; https://theses.hal.science/tel-03790455/document; https://theses.hal.science/tel-03790455/file/Koeck_2012_RV_original.pdf

Awareness of natural resource limitation was raised since the first fish stock collapse, promoting the need of efficient management tools for sustainable exploitation of resources. In contrast with other, more widely used management tools, artificial reefs (AR) try to keep the equilibrium of sustainable exploitation trough the physical alteration of natural habitats in order to enhance local fish production. The alteration of natural seascapes by AR implantations impacts reef fish populations and communities. We investigated some of the potential effects of the AR from Leucate – Le Barcarès (LB; NW Mediterranean) using underwater visual counts, landing surveys and acoustic tagging on white sea bream (Diplodus sargus). The ARs of LB were used as essential habitat by white sea breams, particularly for refuge and foraging. Furthermore, functional diversity on these ARs was higher than on a natural reef location, which could convey an increased carrying capacity and fish production on the French Catalan sandy coast. These effects are nevertheless not directly visible on fish landings and production, due to lower fish catchability on ARs. Moreover, habitat alteration by ARs arises new movement patterns of the white sea bream suggesting individual specialization within the realized niche of white sea breams from the French Catalan sandy coast. Individual specialization can have implications on functioning of food webs and ecosystem resilience, but also more long term consequences as speciation by mating isolation. These potential effects of ARs on coastal fish communities and populations should be taken into account for future AR projects. Depuis les premiers effondrements de stocks de poissons, l’Homme a pris conscience que les ressources naturelles étaient limitées et que pour les exploiter de manière durable, il était important de trouver des outils de gestion. Contrairement aux autres outils de gestion des ressources halieutique existants, les RA sont les seuls dont l’objectif est de maintenir l’équilibre de ...