Effects of trawling on the benthos and biodiversity: development and delivery of a spatially-explicit management framework for the Northern Prawn Fishery

Natural Resource Management;Conservation and Biodiversity;Ecosystem Function;Environmental Management;Wildlife and Habitat Management;Environmental Monitoring;Environmental Impact Assessment

Bustamante, Rodrigo ; Dichmont, Cathy ; Ellis, Nick ; Rochester, Wayne ; Griffiths, Shane ; Rothlisberg, Peter ; Burford, Michele ; Dell, Quinton ; Tonks, Mark ; Lozano-Montes, Hector ; Deng, Roy ; Revill, Andy ; Van Der Velde, Tonya ; Moeseneder, Chris ; Cheers, Sue ; Donovan, Anthea ; Fry, Gary ; Tickell, Sharon ; Pascual, Ricardo ; Smith, Franz ; more

CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research

DOI  :  10.25919/5d487cb8e434c
RP-ID  :  EP112693

学科分类：地球科学(综合)

澳大利亚|英语

来源: CSIRO Research Publications Repository

【 摘 要 】

This project was setup to develop a multidisciplinary approach to quantitatively evaluate the ecological effects of trawling on the ecosystem, and to deliver analytical tools to evaluate such effects in spatially-explicit contexts under multiple management objectives.The focus of this project was the bentho-pelagic ecosystem of the tiger-endeavour fishing grounds of the Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF), the most valuable prawn species of this fishery.That fisheries ecosystem include mostly the shallow sedimentary shelves and river beds of the south-western Gulf of Carpentaria (GoC).The ultimate goal was to deliver, to managers and the industry in particular, a science-supported spatial management framework and the derived evidence-based advice with regard to the spatial management of trawling impacts.This will allow the evaluation of alternative spatial management options addressing fishing impacts, while considering their trade-offs when achieving simultaneously fisheries economic and stock objectives, as well as other conservation and environmental management goals.The main outcomes will be that (i) managers, industry and stakeholders will be ahead of the upcoming spatial fisheries and conservation management policies expected for the northern Australia’s fisheries and bioregions and (ii) an operational spatial-explicit ecosystem-based fisheries management approach (EBFM) will be available to the NPF.