A policy-based framework for the determination of management options to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems under the EU deep-sea access regulations
Vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are particularly susceptible to bottom-fishing activity as they are easily disturbed and slow to recover. A data-driven approach was developed to provide management options for the protection of VMEs under the European Union “deep-sea access regulations.” A total...
Published in: | ICES Journal of Marine Science |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Centro Oceanográfico de Gijón
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10508/16419 https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab237 |
Summary: | Vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are particularly susceptible to bottom-fishing activity as they are easily disturbed and slow to recover. A data-driven approach was developed to provide management options for the protection of VMEs under the European Union “deep-sea access regulations.” A total of two options within two scenarios were developed. The first scenario defined VME closure areas without consideration of fishing activity. Option 1 proposed closures for the protection of VME habitats and likely habitat, while Option 2 also included areas where four types of VME geophysical elements were present. The second scenario additionally considered fishing. This scenario used VME biomass—fishing intensity relationships to identify a threshold where effort of mobile bottom-contact gears was low and unlikely to have caused significant adverse impacts. Achieving a high level of VME protection requires the creation of many closures (> 100), made up of many small (∼50 km2) and fewer larger closures (> 1000 km2). The greatest protection of VMEs will affect approximately 9% of the mobile fleet fishing effort, while closure scenarios that avoid highly fished areas reduce this to around 4–6%. The framework allows managers to choose the level of risk-aversion they wish to apply in protecting VMEs by comparing alternative strategies. |
---|