Project description
Fishing for the indirect effects of trawling
Bottom trawling can disturb the seabed. How does trawling affect the productivity of demersal fish species? What happens to these groundfish that live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes? The EU-funded MIRROR project will answer these questions. It will investigate the effects of trawling disturbance on the diet and condition of a target species (Mullus barbatus) in the western Mediterranean Sea. Specifically, the project will explore how changes in fish condition can alter life history traits such as growth and reproductive potential. The findings will assist in identifying the indirect effects of trawling disturbance and setting thresholds to minimise impacts. In turn, this will ensure that national and international regulations on productive and healthy fish populations are met.
Objective
The evaluation of trawling impact on the productivity of demersal fish species is a crucial knowledge to maintain the yield from wild-capture fisheries and to cope with the global increasing demand of sea proteins. Under this scenario, the study of patterns of trawling disturbance (TD) at relevant scale to provide realistic management strategies will represent a challenge to next generation scientists. TD generates a multi-faced combination of direct (e.g. displacement of population structure of commercial species targets) and indirect (e.g. food-web alteration) effects contributing to the likelihood of resource limitation and hence stability of the whole marine ecosystem. The indirect effects are still understudied. It remains still largely unknown how the alteration of benthic dynamics due to chronic trawling disturbance can trigger unpredictable cascade effects involving most ecological components impairing the system to cope with the natural environmental variability. MIRROR aims to investigate the TD effects on the diet and condition of a target species (Mullus barbatus) in the Western Mediterranean Sea through the mechanisms of competitor and benthic prey reduction by the fishing activity. MIRROR will explore the effects that changes in fish condition can have on life-history traits (e.g. growth and reproductive potential). Understanding the link between TD, condition and LH traits represents a stepping stone for the inclusion of condition as an indicator for the management of exploited species. MIRROR’s outcomes may allow the identification of TD thresholds to achieve a desired mean optimal condition. The integration of results will be used to inform stakeholders and policy makers suggesting measures to promote a sustainable fishery by minimizing impacts and ensuring productive and healthy fish population, as recommended by national and international directives and required when setting certification standard and ecolabels.
Fields of science
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesfisheries
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivity
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyichthyology
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
07122 Palma De Mallorca
Spain