Management Strategies to Limit the Impact of Bottom Trawling on VMEs in the High Seas of the SW Atlantic

Portela, J.; Acosta, Juan; Cristobo, Javier; Muñoz, Araceli; Parra, Santiago; Ibarrola, Teodoro P.; Río, José Luis del; Vilela, Raúl; Ríos, Pilar; Blanco, Raimundo; Almón, Bruno; Tel, E.; Besada, V.; Viñas, L.; Polonio, Virginia; Barba, María; Marín, Pedro

doi:10.5772/34610

Cited by 17 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Sediment data obtained in the study area showed that fine sands were generally predominant throughout the area, with low contents of organic matter and sediment sorting varying from poor to moderately good (Portela et al 2012). …”

Section: Lithologymentioning

confidence: 91%

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Sediment drifts and cold-water coral reefs in the Patagonian upper and middle continental slope

Muñoz

Cristobo

Ríos

et al. 2012

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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The north flowing Falkland / Malvinas Current has generated sediment drifts at a depth of 1200-1600 m in the Patagonian middle continental slope out of early Holocene hemipelagics, late Pleistocene ice rafted clastics, and Neogene fluvial sediments. Possibly there may be two generations of drifts, Pleistocene on the outer middle slope and Holocene on the inner shelf. The ice rafted debris originated in Antarctica, at a distance of 2000 to 4000 km south of Patagonia. Scattered over the upper and middle slopes, at depths ranging from 300 to 1400 m, are cold-water coral reefs of less than a meter to about ten of meters in relief. It is inferred that most of cold-water coral structures flourish as a consequence of the Falkland /Malvinas Current that concentrates the food supply at the reef sites. Growth of cold-water coral reefs, documented by digital submarine photographs on the upper slope, at a depth of 300/400 m, may be promoted by upwelling 2 of nutrient-rich waters and associated plankton blooms created by the intrusion of Falkland /Malvinas Current onto the outer shelf.

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Section: Lithologymentioning

confidence: 91%

“…The drifts of the Patagonian margin are mainly siliciclastic. They consist of mud, muddy sands, sandy muds and pebbly muds (Ewing and Lonardi, 1971;Portela et al 2012, Parra et al, 2010.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment drifts and cold-water coral reefs in the Patagonian upper and middle continental slope

Muñoz

Cristobo

Ríos

et al. 2012

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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“…No potential overlaps were found between VMEs and current fishing strategy (Portela et al, 2012;Portela et al, 2015) or potential distribution for M. hubbsi or Patagonotothen sp. (Portela et al, 2010), and therefore the emerging importance of Patagonotothen sp.…”

Section: Potential Interactions Of Fishing Activities and Vmesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The European Union established regulations for protecting VMEs in the high seas from bottom trawling activities (Council Regulation EC 734/2008), requiring flag States to undertake an impact assessment and develop management plans regarding VMEs (Thomson et al 2017). Following this regulation and based on scientific advice (Portela et al, 2012), the Spanish Government unilaterally closed high seas areas in the region to bottom fishing by Spanish vessels from 1 July 2011 (Thomson et al 2017). However, it is difficult to determine the catches made in these waters or what other countries are currently involved in bottom fishing activities in the area, since FAO fisheries statistics, the main source of information, do not differentiate between catches in national or high seas waters (Bensch et al, 2009).…”

Section: Macrourus Carinatus Micromesistus Australis Macruronus Magmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating fishing spatial patterns and strategies to improve high seas fisheries management

Vilela¹

2018

Preprint

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Fishing activity in waters beyond national jurisdiction generates multiple management issues, such as data poor fisheries, management of straddling fish stocks and lack of impact assessments on deep-sea Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). Fishing strategy is the key to understanding and managing high seas fisheries, targeting highly migratory resources that are widely distributed. An international fleet, including Spanish flag bottom trawlers, operates along the Patagonian shelf in Southwest Atlantic waters, which includes an unregulated strip of continental shelf beyond national jurisdiction. The Spanish fleet's fishing strategy was analyzed, and based on on-board observer data collected from 1989 to 2015, three main fishing seasons were identified: a first season mainly targeting Argentinean squid (Illex argentinus) from January to March, a second season targeting hake (Merluccius hubbsi) from April to August, and a third season from September to December showing an opportunistic and heterogeneous behavior. Findings were framed within current knowledge on resource distribution. A preliminary observation of the inter-annual CPUE rates of target species during their respective fishing seasons highlights the possible existence of species linkages and bioclimatic cycles which may affect species distribution and abundance in the area and might require future research. Even if current fishing activity from the Spanish fleet does not overlap deep-water VMEs, any slight change in the fishing strategy to deeper waters (i.e. the fleet targeting high density I. argentinus areas below 300 m, or a change in the target species) would be critical for the conservation of VMEs in these waters.

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“…The benthic communities mapped between 42°S and 48°S at depths of 200–1500 m in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean have been classified as vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs; Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), ) by Durán Muñoz et al () and Portela et al (, ). Large biomasses of vulnerable and fragile species known as indicator taxa (ITs) and characterized by maturation at relatively old ages, slow growth rates, long life expectancies, and low or unpredictable recruitments (Adjeroud, Kayal, & Penin, ), have been reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benthic communities in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean: Conservation value of animal forests at the Burdwood Bank slope

Schejter

Genzano

Gaitán

et al. 2020

Aquatic Conservation

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The characterization of benthic communities at the Burdwood Bank slope (≥200 m depth) is provided, comprising data from the marine protected area (MPA) Namuncurá II (created in December 2018), as well as from some deep bathyal surrounding areas in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean. This information was acquired during two research cruises with RV Puerto Deseado (Argentina) during 2016 and 2017. Marine animal forests were detected in the study area: coral gardens, mainly composed of alcyonaceans, were detected in the south and west of Burdwood Bank (MPA Namuncurá II) and neighbouring areas, whereas pennatulacean aggregations were detected in the north‐west of the plateau. The three‐dimensional structures of live but also dead corals provide substrate and refuge to many associated species. Benthic communities dominated by sponges were also recorded between 200 and 300 m in depth. Six sites that meet the characteristics of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are reported. Conservation strategies applied to scarcely known austral Argentinean waters led to the establishment of a pioneer MPA (Namuncurá I). Following the management plan that aimed to establish the biodiversity of Namuncurá I and neighbouring areas, the area of protection has now been enlarged to include the southern slope of the bank (currently Namuncurá II), where marine animal forests were detected, at depths below 200 m. The data presented here provide empirical evidence to support the conservation value of the region.

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Management Strategies to Limit the Impact of Bottom Trawling on VMEs in the High Seas of the SW Atlantic

Cited by 17 publications

References 52 publications

Sediment drifts and cold-water coral reefs in the Patagonian upper and middle continental slope

Sediment drifts and cold-water coral reefs in the Patagonian upper and middle continental slope

Integrating fishing spatial patterns and strategies to improve high seas fisheries management

Benthic communities in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean: Conservation value of animal forests at the Burdwood Bank slope

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