The Potential for Spatial Distribution Indices to Signal Thresholds in Marine Fish Biomass
The frequently observed positive relationship between fish population abundance and spatial distribution suggests that changes in distribution can be indicative of trends in abundance. If contractions in spatial distribution precede declines in spawning stock biomass (SSB), spatial distribution refe...
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ftrepec:oai:RePEc:plo:pone00:0120500 2023-05-15T17:45:39+02:00 The Potential for Spatial Distribution Indices to Signal Thresholds in Marine Fish Biomass Emilie Reuchlin-Hugenholtz Nancy L Shackell Jeffrey A Hutchings https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120500 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120500&type=printable unknown https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120500 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120500&type=printable article ftrepec 2020-12-04T13:35:57Z The frequently observed positive relationship between fish population abundance and spatial distribution suggests that changes in distribution can be indicative of trends in abundance. If contractions in spatial distribution precede declines in spawning stock biomass (SSB), spatial distribution reference points could complement the SSB reference points that are commonly used in marine conservation biology and fisheries management. When relevant spatial distribution information is integrated into fisheries management and recovery plans, risks and uncertainties associated with a plan based solely on the SSB criterion would be reduced. To assess the added value of spatial distribution data, we examine the relationship between SSB and four metrics of spatial distribution intended to reflect changes in population range, concentration, and density for 10 demersal populations (9 species) inhabiting the Scotian Shelf, Northwest Atlantic. Our primary purpose is to assess their potential to serve as indices of SSB, using fisheries independent survey data. We find that metrics of density offer the best correlate of spawner biomass. A decline in the frequency of encountering high density areas is associated with, and in a few cases preceded by, rapid declines in SSB in 6 of 10 populations. Density-based indices have considerable potential to serve both as an indicator of SSB and as spatially based reference points in fisheries management. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northwest Atlantic RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
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RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
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The frequently observed positive relationship between fish population abundance and spatial distribution suggests that changes in distribution can be indicative of trends in abundance. If contractions in spatial distribution precede declines in spawning stock biomass (SSB), spatial distribution reference points could complement the SSB reference points that are commonly used in marine conservation biology and fisheries management. When relevant spatial distribution information is integrated into fisheries management and recovery plans, risks and uncertainties associated with a plan based solely on the SSB criterion would be reduced. To assess the added value of spatial distribution data, we examine the relationship between SSB and four metrics of spatial distribution intended to reflect changes in population range, concentration, and density for 10 demersal populations (9 species) inhabiting the Scotian Shelf, Northwest Atlantic. Our primary purpose is to assess their potential to serve as indices of SSB, using fisheries independent survey data. We find that metrics of density offer the best correlate of spawner biomass. A decline in the frequency of encountering high density areas is associated with, and in a few cases preceded by, rapid declines in SSB in 6 of 10 populations. Density-based indices have considerable potential to serve both as an indicator of SSB and as spatially based reference points in fisheries management. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Emilie Reuchlin-Hugenholtz Nancy L Shackell Jeffrey A Hutchings |
spellingShingle |
Emilie Reuchlin-Hugenholtz Nancy L Shackell Jeffrey A Hutchings The Potential for Spatial Distribution Indices to Signal Thresholds in Marine Fish Biomass |
author_facet |
Emilie Reuchlin-Hugenholtz Nancy L Shackell Jeffrey A Hutchings |
author_sort |
Emilie Reuchlin-Hugenholtz |
title |
The Potential for Spatial Distribution Indices to Signal Thresholds in Marine Fish Biomass |
title_short |
The Potential for Spatial Distribution Indices to Signal Thresholds in Marine Fish Biomass |
title_full |
The Potential for Spatial Distribution Indices to Signal Thresholds in Marine Fish Biomass |
title_fullStr |
The Potential for Spatial Distribution Indices to Signal Thresholds in Marine Fish Biomass |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Potential for Spatial Distribution Indices to Signal Thresholds in Marine Fish Biomass |
title_sort |
potential for spatial distribution indices to signal thresholds in marine fish biomass |
url |
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120500 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120500&type=printable |
genre |
Northwest Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northwest Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120500 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0120500&type=printable |
_version_ |
1766148838296387584 |