IMIS

Publications | Institutes | Persons | Datasets | Projects | Maps
[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

Food subsidies from fisheries to continental shelf benthic scavengers
Kaiser, M.J.; Hiddink, J.G. (2007). Food subsidies from fisheries to continental shelf benthic scavengers. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 350: 267-276
In: Marine Ecology Progress Series. Inter-Research: Oldendorf/Luhe. ISSN 0171-8630; e-ISSN 1616-1599, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keywords
    Aquatic organisms > Heterotrophic organisms > Scavengers
    Environments > Aquatic environment > Benthic environment
    Fisheries
    Marine/Coastal

Authors  Top 
  • Kaiser, M.J., more
  • Hiddink, J.G., more

Abstract
    Fisheries generate carrion as a result of material discarded at sea from fishing boats, and as a result of the direct mortality of organisms on the seabed that is caused by the bottom trawling gears. It is unclear whether the increases in the population sizes in scavenging seabirds that have been partially attributed to discarding practices might be mirrored in populations of benthic scavengers. We used a previously published and field-validated, size-based model to calculate the effects of bottom fishing on benthic invertebrate production and production of invertebrate carrion at the seabed in the North Sea. This estimate was combined with previously published estimates of discarded fish carrion that reaches the seabed. Fishing decreases benthic biomass; this means that benthic production is also reduced. In this process, fishing increases production in the short term (2 to 3 d) by generating carrion. However, the production of carrion only compensates for 22% of the reduction in production. Calculations of ash free dry weight of carrion produced per unit area were similar to other previous estimates for the North Sea, which indicated that fisheries-generated carrion was sufficient to sustain benthic carnivores for only approximately 3 d yr-1.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors