Overfishing and the replacement of demersal finfish by shellfish: An example from the english channel

cg.contribution.worldfishauthorBeare, D.
cg.contributor.affiliationMarine Biology and Ecology Research Centre
cg.contributor.affiliationWorldFish
cg.description.themeFisheriesen_US
cg.description.wfprogramsandthemesResilient Small-Scale Fisheries
cg.identifier.ISIindexedISI indexed
cg.identifier.statusOpen access
cg.identifier.worldfish3761
cg.subject.agrovocecosystems
cg.subject.agrovocmarine fisheries
cg.subject.agrovococeans
cg.subject.agrovocoverfishing
dc.creatorMolfese, C.
dc.creatorBeare, D.
dc.creatorHall-Spencer, J.M.
dc.date.accessioned2018-08-02T13:03:47Z
dc.date.available2018-08-02T13:03:47Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractThe worldwide depletion of major fish stocks through intensive industrial fishing is thought to have profoundly altered the trophic structure of marine ecosystems. Here we assess changes in the trophic structure of the English Channel marine ecosystem using a 90-year time-series (1920-2010) of commercial fishery landings. Our analysis was based on estimates of the mean trophic level (mTL) of annual landings and the Fishing-in-Balance index (FiB). Food webs of the Channel ecosystem have been altered, as shown by a significant decline in the mTL of fishery landings whilst increases in the FiB index suggest increased fishing effort and fishery expansion. Large, high trophic level species (e.g. spurdog, cod, ling) have been increasingly replaced by smaller, low trophic level fish (e.g. small spotted catsharks) and invertebrates (e.g. scallops, crabs and lobster). Declining trophic levels in fisheries catches have occurred worldwide, with fish catches progressively being replaced by invertebrates. We argue that a network of fisheries closures would help rebalance the trophic status of the Channel and allow regeneration of marine ecosystems.
dc.description.versionPeer Review
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifier3761_2014_Molfese_Overfishing.pdf
dc.identifier.citationPLoS ONE 9(7): e101506 [open access]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/496
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science
dc.sourcePLoS One
dc.titleOverfishing and the replacement of demersal finfish by shellfish: An example from the english channel
dc.typeJournal Article
dcterms.bibliographicCitationMolfese, C.; Beare, D.; Hall-Spencer, J.M. (2014). Overfishing and the replacement of demersal finfish by shellfish: An example from the english channel. PLoS ONE 9(7): e101506
worldfish.location.areaEurope

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