Choosing best practices for managing impacts of trawl fishing on seabed habitats and biota

Bottom trawling accounts for almost one quarter of global fish landings but may also have significant and unwanted impacts on seabed habitats and biota. Management measures and voluntary industry actions can reduce these impacts, helping to meet sustainability objectives for fisheries, conservation and environmental management. These include changes in gear design and operation of trawls, spatial controls, impact quotas and effort controls. We review nine different measures and actions and use published studies and a simple conceptual model to evaluate and compare their performance. The risks and benefits of these management measures depend on the extent to which the fishery is already achieving management objectives for target stocks and the characteristics of the management system that is already in place. We offer guidance on identifying best practices for trawl-fisheries management and show that best practices and their likelihood of reducing trawling impacts depend on local, national and regional management objectives and priorities, societal values and resources for implementation. There is no universal best practice, and multiple management measures and industry actions are required to meet sustainability objectives and improve trade-offs between food production and environmental protection.

Fil: McConnaughey, Robert A.. National Marine Fisheries Service; Estados Unidos

Fil: Hiddink, Jan G.. Bangor University; Reino Unido

Fil: Jennings, Simon. University of East Anglia; Reino Unido. International Council for the Exploration of the Sea; Dinamarca

Fil: Pitcher, Clifford Roland. Csiro Oceans And Atmosphere; Australia

Fil: Kaiser, Michel J.. Heriot-watt University; Reino Unido

Fil: Suuronen, Petri. Natural Resources Institute Finland ; Finlandia

Fil: Sciberras, Marija. Bangor University; Reino Unido

Fil: Rijnsdorp, Adriaan D.. Wageningen Marine Research; Países Bajos

Fil: Collie, Jeremy S.. University Of Rhode Island ; Estados Unidos

Fil: Mazor, Tessa. University of Queensland; Australia

Fil: Amoroso, Ricardo Oscar. University Of Washington, Seattle; Estados Unidos

Fil: Parma, Ana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentina

Fil: Hilborn, Ray. University Of Washington, Seattle; Estados Unidos