10.5061/DRYAD.0P2NGF1Z7
Hentati-Sundberg, Jonas
0000-0002-3201-9262
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Modelled spatiotemporally explicit fish densities at different fisheries
management scenarios
Dryad
dataset
2020
FOS: Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries
2020-09-01T00:00:00Z
2020-09-01T00:00:00Z
en
41396 bytes
2
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Conflicts of interest between resource extraction and conservation are
widespread, and negotiating such conflicts or trade-offs is a key issue
for ecosystem managers. One such trade-off is resource competition between
fisheries and marine top predators. Managing this trade-off has so far
been difficult due to a lack of knowledge regarding the amount and
distribution of prey required by top predators. Here, we develop a
framework that can be used to address this gap: a bio-energetic model
linking top predator breeding biology and foraging ecology with forage
fish ecology and fisheries management. We apply the framework to a Baltic
Sea colony of common guillemots Uria aalge and razorbills Alca torda, two
seabird species sensitive to local prey depletion, and show that densities
of forage fish (sprat Sprattus sprattus and herring Clupea harengus)
corresponding to the current fisheries management target
BMSY are sufficient for successful breeding. A previously proposed
fisheries management target for conserving seabirds, 1/3 of historical
maximum prey biomass (B1/3), was also sufficient. However, the results
highlight the importance of maintaining sufficient prey densities in the
vicinity of the colony, suggesting that fine-scale spatial fisheries
management is necessary to maintain high seabird breeding success. Despite
foraging on the same prey, razorbills could breed successfully at lower
prey densities than guillemots but needed higher densities for
self-maintenance, emphasizing the importance of considering
species-specific traits when determining sustainable forage fish densities
for top predators. Synthesis and application. Our bio-energetic modelling
framework provides spatially explicit top predator conservation targets
that can be readily integrated with current fisheries management. The
framework can be combined with existing management approaches such as
Dynamic Ocean Management, Marine Spatial Planning and Management Strategy
Evaluation to inform ecosystem-based management of marine resources.