Optimisation of essential habitat in sustainable fishery management

该项目研究生境、捕鱼活动和管理之间的三方关系，旨在提供理解和工具，使管理者能够优化通过渔业生产力提供的生态系统服务的价值和可持续性。该项目将这一方法应用于近海渔业，在奥克尼、多诺克湾和北贝里克郡(圣阿布斯省)使用甲壳类和海螺的克里尔渔业作为案例研究样本。该项目的首要原则是，健康的生态系统通过维持生产力(生态系统结构和功能)并为具有重要商业价值的物种的不同生命阶段(特别是补充)提供必要的栖息地，为渔业带来好处。这导致了下列关键的研究问题：近海捕捞对生态系统生产力和海底生境结构有什么影响？如何在生态系统方法中管理这些影响？以及，在不断变化的环境中，这些影响可能会如何改变？这项研究的目标是：在整体层面上描述和模拟近海渔业系统及其生态系统背景，重点放在甲壳类和海螺的克里尔渔业；并使这些系统能够针对未来环境(气候变化)和管理的情景进行预测。这些目标将通过下列研究活动来实现：1.在奥克尼和圣阿伯斯进行渔业观察员旅行，记录关于渔获物和副渔获物的数量、组成和命运的空间上的明确信息。结合OSF有限公司在奥克尼提供的关于捕捞活动分布的信息，这项研究活动的数据将被用来量化和描述克里尔渔业中目标和非目标物种的清除和丢弃，将这些信息与地点和海底生境类型联系起来。这项活动将在Orkney(OSF有限公司)和St Abbs(由蓝色海洋基金会赞助)现有监测活动的基础上开展。通过科学潜水和下拉录像进行水下观测，包括部署装有诱饵的远程水下录像系统，将GoPro摄像机安装在底盘上，以及对捕获的图像进行摄影测量。在圣阿布斯完成的现有海底测绘将提供高分辨率的摄影测量数据。这项活动的数据将用于描述海底环境，包括大型底栖物种、物理和生物结构栖息地的大小。生态建模侧重于低到中等复杂性的方法，使用实地数据和公布的信息来描述与影响和清除有关的能量和物质流动。将使用生态系统建模来描述当前渔业-生态系统的结构和功能，并为未来的环境和管理情景进行预测。

The project examines the three-way relationships between habitat, fishing activities and management, aiming to provide understanding and tools to allow managers to optimise the value and sustainability of ecosystem services provided through fishery productivity. The project applies this approach to inshore fisheries, using creel fisheries for crustaceans and whelks as case study exemplars in Orkney, Dornoch Firth and North Berwickshire (St Abbs). The overarching principle underlying the project is that healthy ecosystems deliver benefits for fisheries by sustaining productivity (ecosystem structure and function) and providing essential habitat for different life stages (especially recruitment) of commercially important species. This leads to the following key research questions: What are the impacts of inshore fishing on ecosystem productivity and the structure of seabed habitats? How can these impacts be managed within an ecosystem approach? And, how might these impacts be modified in a changing environment? The objectives of the research are: to describe and model the inshore fishery systems and their ecosystem context at a holistic level, focusing on creel fisheries for crustaceans and whelks; and to allow these systems to be projected for scenarios of future environment (climate change) and management. These objectives will be addressed by the following research activities:1. Fishery observer trips in Orkney and St Abbs, recording spatially-explicit information on quantities, composition and fate of catch and by-catch. Coupled with information on distribution of fishing activities provided by OSF Ltd in Orkney, data from this research activity will be used to quantify and characterise removals and discards of target and non-target species in the creel fisheries, linking this information to location and seabed habitat types. This activity will build on existing monitoring activities in Orkney (OSF Ltd) and St Abbs (sponsored by Blue Marine Foundation).2. Underwater observations by scientific diving and drop-down video, including the deployment of simple baited remote underwater video systems involving GoPro cameras attached to creels, and photogrammetry of captured images. Existing seabed mapping completed at St Abbs will contribute high resolution photogrammetry data. Data from this activity will be used to characterise the seabed environment, including large benthic species, physical and biogenic structural habitat dimensions.3. Ecological modelling focusing on low- to medium-complexity approaches, using field data and published information to describe flows of energy and material in relation to impacts and removals. Ecosystem modelling will be used both to characterise the current fishery-ecosystem structure and function and to project this for future environmental and management scenarios.