Effects of artisanal fisheries on the scorpaenids (Scorpaena spp.) reproduction in the marine protected area of Cap de Creus (NW Mediterranean)

Abstract

9Rockfish species are considered important to the ecology of rocky-reef communities 10 which constitute a key habitat in many coastal marine protected areas (MPAs). These 11 species, which are commercially valuable for artisanal fisheries in the Mediterranean, 12display particular biological traits that could render them vulnerable to fishing. In this 23Although rockfish seem to be favored by the partial protection of the MPA, the allowed 24 artisanal fisheries are probably impacting the reproduction of these species. 2526

Contemporary genetic structure and postglacial demographic history of the black scorpionfish, Scorpaena porcus, in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas

“…), and appears to be a good indicator of the status of marine protected areas (Munoz et al . ). Nevertheless, its genetic diversity and structure have never been assessed.…”

“…Because of its ubiquity, its sedentary nature and its ecological and economic importance, the black scorpionfish, Scorpaena porcus, has been identified as a bioindicator, representative of coastal fishery organisms (Oven et al 2000), and appears to be a good indicator of the status of marine protected areas (Munoz et al 2013). Nevertheless, its genetic diversity and structure have never been assessed.…”

Dominance of Scorpaena maderensis among scorpaenids of littoral rocky reefs in Corsica (NW Mediterranean): Further evidence of Mediterranean Sea warming

“…Scorpaenid fish of littoral rocky reefs of the Mediterranean Sea are mainly represented by the black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758, the small red scorpionfish Scorpaena notata Rafinesque, 1810, the red scorpionfish Scorpaena scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 and the Madeira rockfish Scorpaena maderensis Valenciennes, 1833. Scorpaenidae are species of high economic value for Mediterranean artisanal fisheries (Ferri et al ., 2012; Muñoz et al ., 2013). S. maderensis is a subtropical fish species historically present in the eastern Atlantic from Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands to the coasts of Mauritania, Senegal, the Cape Verde Islands and the south‐east of the Iberian peninsula (Costa, 2007; Hureau & Litvinenko, 1986), and in the southern part of the Mediterranean Sea from Lebanon and Greece in the east (Ahnelt, 1983; Harmelin‐Vivien et al ., 2005; Kaspiris, 1976) to the Adriatic, Malta, Sicily, Tunisia and the south of Spain in the west (Dulçic et al ., 2003; Falzon, 2011; La Mesa et al ., 2004; Rafrafi‐Nouira et al ., 2018).…”

Investigating the Ovarian Microstructure in the Genera Helicolenus and Scorpaena (Teleostei, Sub-Order Scorpaenoidei) with Implications for Ovarian Dynamics and Spawning

“…All of these families represent an important component of commercial and recreational fisheries distributed throughout the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, rockfish, belonging to the genus Scorpaena , are one of the most important and valuable captures for fisheries in coastal areas around the Mediterranean Sea (e.g., [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]), and are mainly represented by the black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758, the small red scorpionfish S. notata Rafinesque, 1810, and the red scorpionfish S. scrofa Linnaeus, 1758. The Sebastidae H. dactylopterus , instead, is a benthic deep-water species caught mainly by bottom trawls [ 29 , 30 ], playing an important ecological role in deep-sea fish communities [ 31 ], and is exploited in deep-sea fisheries targeted at deep-water crustaceans [ 30 ].…”