Integrating benthic ecological status and spatial planning to guide sustainable botom-contacting fisheries in the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

To inform ecosystem-based fisheries management in line with the EU legisla􀆟on objec􀆟ves for marine fisheries, we evaluated the ecological outcomes of alterna􀆟ve spa􀆟al management scenarios to fisheries that consider the ecological impact of botom trawling on the benthic ecosystem in the Eastern Ionian Sea. Trawling intensity in terms of swept area ra􀆟o (SAR) and benthic community sensi􀆟vity were combined to es􀆟mate the rela􀆟ve benthic status (RBS). Then, five management scenarios were tested. The scenarios include four sta􀆟c closure scenarios (below 800 m, below 600 m, the least-trawled 10 % of fishing grounds, and areas shallower than 150 m), where trawling is completely excluded without fishing effort redistribu􀆟on, and one with a trawl ban in all marine protected areas, where fishing effort displacement is modelled dynamically. Baseline RBS was high (>0.9 on a scale of 0 to 1 where 1 is unaffected benthic community) in all habitats, reflec􀆟ng rela􀆟vely low benthic degrada􀆟on due to botom trawling. Excluding botom trawling from areas shallower than 150 m in depth produced the greatest improvements, while thresholds at 600 or 800 m depth, and the closure of the 10% least-trawled grounds, had no significant effects on benthic ecological status. Closure of trawling in the marine protected areas produced mixed outcomes, with improvements in some habitats but localized declines due to displaced effort in others. Our study demonstrates the value of including benthic indicators in spa􀆟al management strategies to guide adap􀆟ve, evidence-based fisheries governance, balancing conserva􀆟on objec􀆟ves with socio-economic sustainability.