P. Sartor, M. Sbrana, B. Reale and P. Belcari

Centro Interuniversitario di Biologia Marina ed Ecologia Applicata, Viale N.Sauro 4, 57128 Livorno, Italy

Source - Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, Volume 31: 275-284
ISSN-0250-6408

P. Sartor, M. Sbrana, B. Reale and P. Belcari. 2003. Impact of the Deep Sea Trawl Fishery on Demersal Communities of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean). J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci., 31: 275-284. https://doi.org/10.2960/J.v31.a21

Abstract 

The composition of the catch of the deep sea trawl fleet of Porto Santo Stefano (northern Tyrrhenian Sea, western Mediterranean) was analysed. In the period 1995-99 observations were carried out on board commercial vessels, collecting data for about 500 trawling hours. Nephrops norvegicus, Parapenaeus longirostris and large specimens of Merluccius merluccius were the targets on the fishing grounds from 300 to 450 m, while Aristaemorpha foliacea, Aristeus antennatus and N. norvegicus were targeted from 450 to 650 m depth. By-catch dominated the biomass caught and it was characterized by a high degree of species richness, as a consequence of the reduced selectivity of the bottom trawl gear. An important fraction of the by-catch was made up of non-target commercial species, these providing an important added value to the landings. There was almost no discarding of target species. Annual average discards were about 20% of the total catch. Discarding of commercial species was mostly due to specimens under commercial size, while discarded non-commercial species included large numbers of small sized species of fishes and crustaceans. The results seem to indicate that this kind of fishery achieves a reasonable compromise between efficiency of resource utilisation and impact on the demersal communities.

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Language - English
Publisher - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Dartmouth, N.S., Canada
Publication Date - 2003
Publication Type - Journal Article
Descriptors - by-catch, deep sea fishery, demersal ichthyofauna, discards, trawling, western Mediterranean

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