Dataset Information

Amid fields of rubble, scars, and lost gear, signs of recovery observed on seamounts on 30- to 40-year time scales.

ABSTRACT: Although the expectation of lack of resilience of seamount vulnerable marine ecosystems has become a paradigm in seamount ecology and a tenet of fisheries management, recovery has not been tested on time scales >10 years. The Northwestern Hawaiian Ridge and Emperor Seamounts have experienced the highest documented fish and invertebrate seamount fisheries takes in the world. Surveys show that, despite visible evidence of substantial historic fishing pressure, a subset of these seamounts that have been protected for >30 years showed multiple signs of recovery including corals regrowing from fragments and higher abundances of benthic megafauna than Still Trawled sites. Contrary to expectations, these results show that, with long-term protection, some recovery of seamount deep-sea coral communities may be possible on 30- to 40-year time scales. The current practice of allowing continued bottom-contact fishing at heavy trawled sites may cause damage to remnant populations, which likely play a critical role in recovery.

SUBMITTER: Baco AR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6685725 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Amid fields of rubble, scars, and lost gear, signs of recovery observed on seamounts on 30- to 40-year time scales.

Baco Amy R AR Roark E Brendan EB Morgan Nicole B NB

Science advances 20190807 8

Although the expectation of lack of resilience of seamount vulnerable marine ecosystems has become a paradigm in seamount ecology and a tenet of fisheries management, recovery has not been tested on time scales >10 years. The Northwestern Hawaiian Ridge and Emperor Seamounts have experienced the highest documented fish and invertebrate seamount fisheries takes in the world. Surveys show that, despite visible evidence of substantial historic fishing pressure, a subset of these seamounts that have ...[more]

PMID: 31457086

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundSeamounts have been identified as aggregating locations for pelagic biodiversity including tuna; however the topography and prevailing oceanography differ between seamounts and not all are important for tuna. Although a relatively common feature in oceanic ecosystems, little information is available that identifies those that are biologically important. Improved knowledge offers opportunities for unique management of these areas, which may advance the sustainable management of oceanic resources. In this study, we evaluate the existence of an association between seamounts and tuna longline fisheries at the ocean basin scale, identify significant seamounts for tuna in the western and central Pacific Ocean, and quantify the seamount contribution to the tuna longline catch.Methodology/principal findingsWe use data collected for the Western and Central Pacific Ocean for bigeye, yellowfin, and albacore tuna at the ocean basin scale. GLMs were applied to a coupled dataset of longline fisheries catch and effort, and seamount location information. The analyses show that seamounts may be associated with an annual longline combined catch of 35 thousand tonnes, with higher catch apparent for yellowfin, bigeye, and albacore tuna on 17%, 14%, and 14% of seamounts respectively. In contrast 14%, 18%, and 20% of seamounts had significantly lower catches for yellowfin, bigeye and albacore tuna respectively. Studying catch data in relation to seamount positions presents several challenges such as bias in location of seamounts, or lack of spatial resolution of fisheries data. Whilst we recognize these limitations the criteria used for detecting significant seamounts were conservative and the error in identification is likely to be low albeit unknown.Conclusions/significanceSeamounts throughout the study area were found to either enhance or reduce tuna catch. This indicates that management of seamounts is important Pacific-wide, but management approaches must take account of local conditions. Management of tuna and biodiversity resources in the region would benefit from considering such effects.

Dataset Information

Amid fields of rubble, scars, and lost gear, signs of recovery observed on seamounts on 30- to 40-year time scales.

Publications

Amid fields of rubble, scars, and lost gear, signs of recovery observed on seamounts on 30- to 40-year time scales.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets