Global significance of seagrass fishery activity

Abstract

Seagrass meadows support fisheries through provision of nursery areas and trophic subsidies to adjacent habitats. As shallow coastal habitats, they also provide key fishing grounds; however, the nature and extent of such exploitation are poorly understood.These productive meadows are being degraded globally at rapid rates. For degradation to cease, there needs to be better appreciation for the value of these habitats in supporting global fisheries. Here, we provide the first global scale study demonstrating the extent, importance and nature of fisheries exploitation of seagrass meadows. Due to a paucity of available data, the study used a global expert survey to demonstrate the widespread significance of seagrass-based fishing activity. Our study finds that seagrass-based fisheries are globally important and present virtually wherever seagrass exists, supporting subsistence, commercial and recreational activity. A wide range of fishing methods and gear is used reflecting the spatial distribution patterns of seagrass meadows, and their depth ranges from intertidal (accessible by foot) to relatively deep water (where commercial trawls can operate). Seagrass meadows are multispecies fishing grounds targeted by fishers for any fish or invertebrate species that can be eaten, sold or used as bait. In the coastal communities of developing countries, the importance of the nearshore seagrass fishery for livelihoods and well-being is irrefutable. In developed countries, the seagrass fishery is often recreational and/or more target species specific. Regardless of location, this study is the first to highlight collectively the indiscriminate nature and global scale of seagrass fisheries and the diversity of exploitative methods employed to extract seagrass-associated resources. Evidence presented emphasizes the need for targeted management to support continued viability of seagrass meadows as a global ecosystem service provider. K E Y W O R D Sfishing gear, fishing vessel, gleaning, recreational fishing, small-scale fisheries, subsistence fisheries | INTRODUCTIONFisheries are vital for the maintenance of global food security (Pauly, Watson, & Alder, 2005;Rice & Garcia, 2011). The ecosystems that support fisheries productivity are therefore essential for maintaining global food supply. Available information on small-scale artisanal and recreational fisheries is, however, scarce compared to industrial fisheries, which is because catches are poorly reported, harder to track, andThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. | NORDLUND et aL.the available data less accessible and more difficult to interpret (Worm et al., 2009). Here, small-scale artisanal fisheries are defined as traditional fisheries involving fishing households, using relatively small gear size and vessels and low-level technology. They can be subsistence or commercial fisheries (Cochrane & Garcia, ...

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