Review the genetic effects of exploitation on deep-sea fishes

• Main Authors: HELYAR Sarah, CARLSSON Jens, MARTINSOHN Jann
• Language: English
• Published: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) 2010
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC61064; http://www.ices.dk/reports/SSGHIE/2010/WGAGFM10.pdf

The aim of this ToR is to summarize the available information about basic population genetics of deep-sea fish (such as population structure, effective population sizes and connectivity), suggest potential sources of present and future threats to these species, and identify research priorities and needs in relation to recent and future trends in deep sea fisheries. The over-exploitation of traditional coastal stocks, the rising demand for seafood and technological advances in fisheries, have all combined to result in the shift of com-mercial fishing towards less-known, deep-sea species in many parts of the world (the term deep sea, or deep water, is defined as the waters below the continental shelves. That is all the water deeper than about 200 meters. ICES defines the term deep sea fisheries as those fisheries that occur in depths greater than 400 m. The deep water in the ICES area covers the deep parts of ICES Subareas I, II, III, V-X, XII, and XIV. This review is based upon the ICES definition). By 2000, 40% of the world's trawling grounds were classed as deep sea (Roberts 2002), and in the North Atlantic, the mean fishing depth has increased steadily since 1990 at a rate of 32.1 m per decade (Morato et al., 2006). JRC.DG.G.4 - Maritime affairs