Different bottom trawl fisheries have a differential impact on the status of the North Sea seafloor habitats

摘要: Fisheries using bottom trawls are the most widespread source of anthropogenic physical disturbance to seafloor habitats. To mitigate such disturbances, development fisheries-, conservation-, and ecosystem-based management strategies requires assessment impact trawling on state benthic biota. We explore a quantitative mechanistic framework assess impact. Pressure indicators that provide continuous pressure–response curve estimated at spatial resolution 1 χ min latitude longitude (~2 km2) three methods: L1 estimates proportion community with life span exceeding time interval between events; L2 decrease in median longevity response trawling; population dynamic (PD) biomass recovery time. Although scores correlated, PD has best performance over broad range intensities. Using ten metiers North Sea shows muddy habitats impacted coarse least. Otter for crustaceans highest impact, followed by otter demersal fish beam flatfish flyshooting. Beam brown shrimps, industrial fish, dredging molluscs have lowest Trawling is highly aggregated core fishing grounds where status low but catch per unit effort (CPUE) high, contrast peripheral grounds, CPUE low.