Fishing‐Gear Restrictions and Conservation of Benthic Habitat Complexity
Fishing‐Gear Restrictions and Conservation of Benthic Habitat Complexity
复制标题
渔具限制和底栖栖息地复杂性的保护
DOI：
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发表时间：
2000
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Paul J. B. Hart
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
M. Kaiser;F. E. Spence;Paul J. B. Hart
摘要：当两种具有重要商业价值的海洋物种在同一生境共存时，渔业不同部门之间可能会发生冲突。这种情况的一个很好的例子是，渔民使用拖曳式底鱼渔具（扇贝耙、桁拖网和水獭拖网）在部署固定底鱼渔具（捕蟹笼）的同一地区作业。 我们研究了一个受这两个渔业部门之间自愿协议约束的区域，其中一些区域专门由固定渔具渔民使用，一些区域由两个部门季节性共享，另一些区域全年开放给所有捕鱼方法。该协议的制定是为了解决该行业两个部门之间的冲突。该协定可能带来的另一个好处是保护海底不受拖曳式底鱼渔具的影响，拖曳式底鱼渔具是全世界海底生境受到人为干扰的最大来源之一。以往的研究表明，复杂的新兴epifaunal社区大大改变了这样的活动。这种栖息地的改变反过来又影响了密切相关的物种，其中一些可能具有商业重要性。我们对协定所涉区域内的底栖生境和群落进行了比较调查，并比较了受到一系列捕捞干扰制度影响的不同区域。在禁止拖曳渔具捕鱼的地区内发现的社区与长期或季节性开放捕鱼的地区有很大不同。栖息地-生物量曲线表明，封闭区域内的群落以较高的生物量和新兴动物为主，增加了栖息地的复杂性。使用拖曳式渔具捕鱼的区域主要是体型较小的动物和食腐动物。在较稳定的生境中使用的扇贝耙网和桁拖网对环境的影响似乎大于在沉积物较不稳定的浅水中使用的较轻的水獭拖网。从我们的数据中可以看出，以渔具限制措施形式进行的冲突管理具有保护对底层捕捞干扰敏感的生境和底栖动物的额外好处。
Abstract: When two commercially important marine species coexist in the same habitat, conflict may arise between different sectors of the fishing industry. A good example of this situation is when fishers using towed bottom‐fishing gear ( scallop dredges, beam trawls, and otter trawls) operate in the same areas in which fixed‐bottom gear ( crab pots) are deployed. We examined an area subject to a voluntary agreement between these two sectors of the fishing industry such that some areas are used exclusively by fixed‐gear fishers, some are shared seasonally by both sectors, and others are open to all methods of fishing all year. This agreement was enacted to resolve conflict between the two sectors of the industry. An additional possible benefit of this agreement is the protection of the seabed from towed bottom‐fishing gear, which is one of the greatest sources of anthropogenic disturbance of seabed habitats worldwide. Previous studies have demonstrated that complex emergent epifaunal communities are substantially altered by such activities. This habitat alteration in turn influences closely associated species, some of which may be of commercial importance. We undertook comparative surveys of the benthic habitat and communities within the area covered by the agreement and compared different areas subjected to a range of fishing disturbance regimes. Communities found within the areas closed to towed fishing gears were significantly different from those open to fishing either permanently or seasonally. Abundance‐biomass curves demonstrated that the communities within the closed areas were dominated by higher biomass and emergent fauna that increased habitat complexity. Areas fished by towed gear were dominated by smaller‐bodied fauna and scavenging taxa. Scallop dredges and beam trawls used on more stable habitats appear to have greater impacts on the environment than lighter otter trawls used in shallower water with less stable sediments. It would appear from our data that conflict management in the form of gear‐restriction measures has the added benefit of conserving habitats and benthic fauna sensitive to bottom‐fishing disturbance.