Historical spatial baselines in conservation and management of marine resources

Abstract

Increased knowledge on the spatial distribution of marine resources is crucial for the implementation of a true ecosystem approach to management and the conservation of marine organisms. For exploited fish species characterized by aggregation behaviour during spawning time, the identification and tracking of spawning areas is essential for a correct assessment of their productivity and population abundance. To elucidate this concept, we reconstructed the spatio-temporal distribution of adult plaice (Pleuronectes platessa, Pleuronectidae) during spawning time along the 20(th) century. Historical data reveal that not only the abundance but also the former population richness was much higher than previously estimated and has declined because of protracted over-exploitation during the last 30 years. We conclude that forecast of stock recovery to former levels of abundance neglecting spatial reorganizations might be over-optimistic and shaded by a lost memory of the past population richness. These results reinforce the importance of managing exploited marine resources at a greater spatial resolution than has been carried out in the history of fishery management.

Keywords

Conservation; historical data; management; plaice; spatial distribution

Published in

Fish and Fisheries
2011, volume: 12, number: 3, pages: 289–298

SLU Authors

• Cardinale, Massimiliano

  • Swedish Board of Fisheries

• Bartolino, Valerio

  • Swedish Board of Fisheries
  • University of Gothenburg

• Sköld, Mattias

  • Swedish Board of Fisheries

UKÄ Subject classification

Fish and Aquacultural Science

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-2979.2010.00393.x

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/37205