Fisheries impact on the East China Sea Shelf ecosystem for 1969–2000

An ecosystem model representing the continental shelf of the East China Sea was fitted to a time series of data available from 1969 to 2000 using Ecopath with Ecosim. We used a process-oriented model to explore the extent to which changes in marine resources and the ecosystem were driven by trophic interactions and fishing activities. Fishing effort was used to drive the model, and observed catches were compared with the predicted catches in modeling. A reduction in the sum of the squared deviations of the observed and predicted catches was used as a metric for calibrating and assessing the goodness-of-fit of the model. Trophodynamic indicators were used to explore the ecosystem’s structural and functional changes from 1969 to 2000. The model’s predictions were consistent with observed catches for most functional groups. Trophodynamic indicators suggest a degradation pattern over time: both the mean trophic level of community and a modified version of Kempton’s index of biodiversity decreased over the time, while the total flow to detritus and the loss of production due to fishing increased from 1969 to 2000. Additionally, the ratio of demersal/pelagic abundances decreased as a result of an overall decrease in the abundance of demersal species and increase in pelagic fish in the ecosystem.     

Trophic interactions and community structure in the upwelling system off Central Chile (33-39°S)

Trophic interactions and community structure in the upwelling system off Central Chile (USCCh) (33-39°S) are analyzed using biological and ecological data concerning the main trophic groups and the Ecopath with Ecosim software version 5.0 (EwE). The model encompasses the fisheries, cetaceans, sea lion, marine birds, cephalopods, large-sized pelagic fish (sword fish), medium-sized pelagic fish (horse mackerel, hoki), small-sized pelagic fish (anchovy, common sardine), demersal fish (e.g. Chilean hake, black conger-eel), benthic invertebrates (red squat lobster, yellow squat lobster) and other groups such as zooplankton, phytoplankton and detritus. Input data was gathered from published and unpublished reports and our own estimates. Trophic interactions, system indicators and food web attributes are calculated using network analysis routines included in EwE. Results indicate that trophic groups are aligned around four trophic levels (TL) with phytoplankton and detritus at the TL=1, while large-sized pelagic fish and cetaceans are top predators (TL>4.0). The fishery is located at an intermediate to low trophic level (TL=2.97), removing about 15% of the calculated system primary production. The pelagic realm dominates the system, with medium-sized pelagic fish as the main fish component in biomass, while small-sized pelagic fish dominate total landings. Chilean hake is by far the main demersal fish component in both, biomass and yield. Predators consume the greater part of the production of the most important fishery resources, particularly juvenile stages of Chilean hake. Consequently, mortality by predation is an important component of total mortality. However, fishery also removes a large fraction of common sardine, anchovy, horse mackerel, and Chilean hake. The analysis of direct and indirect trophic impacts reveals that Chilean hake is a highly cannibalistic species. Chilean hake is also an important predator on anchovy, common sardine, benthic invertebrates, and demersal fish. The fisheries heavily impact on Chilean hake, common sardine, anchovy, and horse mackerel. Total system biomass (B=476 t km⁻² year⁻¹) and throughput (T=89454 t km⁻² year⁻¹) estimated in the USCCh model are in accordance with models of comparable systems. Considering system attributes derived from network analysis, the USCCh can be characterized as an immature system, with short trophic chains and low trophic transfer efficiency. Finally, we suggest that trophic interactions should be considered in stock assessment and management programs in USCCh. In addition, future research programs should be carried out in order to understand the ecosystem effects of fishing and trophic control in this highly productive food web.     

捕捞对北部湾海洋生态系统的影响

利用Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) 5.1软件构建了北部湾海洋生态系统1959—1960年的Ecosim模型,包含渔业、海洋哺乳动物、海鸟、中上层鱼类、底层鱼类、底栖无脊椎动物等20个功能组,通过与1997—1999年调查数据对比,分析了捕捞活动对北部湾生态系统的结构和功能的影响.结果表明：近40年来在捕捞强度不断增加的压力下,生态系统的结构和功能发生显著变化,长寿命、高营养级的肉食性鱼类生物量下降明显,系统以短寿命、小型鱼类和无脊椎动物占优势.1999年的大中型鱼类的生物量仅为1960年的6%,而小型鱼类和无脊椎动物则明显上升,尤其是头足类生物量上升了2.7倍,渔获物的营养级则从1960年的3.2降低到1999年的298,体现了“捕捞降低海洋食物网”的特点,目前的开发模式是不可持续的.利用20世纪90年代数据预测了降低捕捞压力后生态系统的变化.本研究证实了可以使用Ecosim模型预测捕捞压力对生态系统的影响.     

Effects of fishing and acidification‐related benthic mortality on the southeast Australian marine ecosystem

Oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) is altering the carbonate chemistry of seawater, with potentially negative consequences for many calcifying marine organisms. At the same time, increasing fisheries exploitation is impacting on marine ecosystems. Here, using increased benthic‐invertebrate mortality as a proxy for effects of ocean acidification, the potential impact of the two stressors of fishing and acidification on the southeast Australian marine ecosystem to year 2050 was explored. The individual and interaction effects of the two stressors on biomass and diversity were examined for the entire ecosystem and for regional assemblages. For 61 functional groups or species, the cumulative effects of moderate ocean acidification and fishing were additive (30%), synergistic (33%), and antagonistic (37%). Strong ocean acidification resulted in additive (22%), synergistic (40%), and antagonistic (38%) effects. The greatest impact was on the demersal food web, with fishing impacting predation and acidification affecting benthic production. Areas that have been subject to intensive fishing were the most susceptible to acidification effect, although fishing also mitigated some of the decline in biodiversity observed with moderate acidification. The model suggested that ocean acidification and long‐term fisheries exploitation could act synergistically with the increasing sensitivity to change from long‐term (decades) fisheries exploitation potentially causing unexpected restructuring of the pelagic and demersal food webs. Major regime shifts occur around year 2040. Greater focus is needed on how differential fisheries exploitation of marine resources may exacerbate or accelerate effects of environmental changes such as ocean acidification.     

The use of ecological,fishing and environmental indicators in support of decision making in southern Benguela fisheries

Indicators have been recognised as a useful tool aiding the implementation of an ecosystem approach to fisheries in marine ecosystems. Studies, such as the IndiSeas project (www.indiseas.org), use a suite of indicators as a method of assessing the state and trends of several of the world's marine ecosystems. While it is well known that both fishing and climatic variability influence marine fisheries in the southern Benguela ecosystem there are currently few studies in support of fisheries management that make use of environmental indicators in order to include climatic impacts on marine fish populations. Trends in ecological, fishing and environmental indicators can be utilised in a way that allows an overall ecosystem trend to be determined, and can therefore be used to aid decision support within southern Benguela fisheries. In this study trends in indicators were determined using linear regressions across three time periods, Period 1: 1978–1993, Period 2: 1994–2003 and Period 3: 2004–2010. These time periods were selected based on the timing of regime shifts within the southern Benguela, including changes in upwelling, wind stress and temperature. Each ecological indicator received a score based on the direction and significance of the observed trend with respect to fishing. To account for the impacts of fishing and environmental drivers on ecological indicators, scores were adjusted by predetermined factors, depending on the extent and direction of trends in these indicators. Weightings were applied to correlated ecological indicators to account for their redundancy, and lessen their impact on overall ecosystem score. Mean weighted scores were then used to establish an overall ecosystem score for each time period. Ecosystem classification was determined as follows: 1–1.49 = improving, 1.5–2.49 = possibly improving, 2.5–3.49 = no improvement or deterioration, 3.5–4.49 = possible deterioration, 4.5–5 = deteriorating. The ecosystem was observed to neither deteriorate nor improve across Period 1 or 2 (mean weighted scores: 2.75 and 2.56 respectively), however, during Period 3 a possible improvement was observed (mean weighted score: 1.99). This study shows that the sequential analysis of suites of ecological, fishing and environmental indicators can be used in order to determine ecosystem trends, accounting for both the impacts of fishing and the environment on ecosystem components.     

Environmental perturbation and the structure and functioning of a tropical aquatic ecosystem

In Tissawewa, a shallow, eutrophic reservoir in southeastern Sri Lanka, the effect of a major drought on the ecosystem was studied by monitoring the size-structured fish community and its resource base. Primary production was determined as well as the production and diets of ten taxa belonging to four trophic guilds (i.e. herbivorous/detritivorous, benthivorous, zooplanktivorous/insectivorous, piscivorous) that made up more than 98% of the total fish biomass. Two extreme states of the ecosystem were distinguished. Before the drought most primary production was generated byphytoplankton, suspended fine particulate detritus was an important food source and total fish density was high. After the drought the ecosystem was characterised by high macrophyte density, low concentration of suspended detritus and low total fish density. The availability and origin of detritus appeared to be the major factor influencing fish production in Tissawewa. The small pelagic herbivore/detritivore A. melettinus contributed the most biomass and production to the fish community before the drought. After the drought, however, biomass and production dropped considerably. In contrast, the production of the most important species in terms of fisheries yield, the exotic herbivorous/detritivorous tilapias, was hardly affected. Although the composition of their food, benthic detritus, had markedly changed. In Sri Lankan reservoirs a subsidiary fishery for pelagic minor cyprinids was suggested to increase the current yield which is based almost entirely on the exotic tilapia species. The perturbation observed in this study, however, showed that the production of pelagic species was affected particularly by the environmental changes. Exploitation of these species can, therefore, only be considered in combination with hydrological and other management measures that control the environmental conditions of the reservoirs. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Using an Ecosystem Modeling Approach to Explore Possible Ecosystem Impacts of Fishing in the Beibu Gulf,Northern South China Sea

Using the Ecopath with Ecosim software, a trophic structure model of the Beibu Gulf was constructed to explore the energy flows and provide a snapshot of the ecosystem operations. Input data were mainly from the trawl survey data collected from October 1998 to September 1999 and related literatures. The impacts of various fishing pressure on the biomass were examined by simulation at different fishing mortality rates. The model consists of 20 functional groups (boxes), each representing organisms with a similar role in the food web, and only covers the major trophic flows in the Beibu Gulf ecosystem. It was found that the food web of the Beibu Gulf was dominated by the primary producers path, and phytoplankton was the primary producer mostly used as a food source. The fractional trophic levels ranged from 1.0 to 4.02, and the marine mammals occupied the highest trophic level. Using network analysis, the ecosystem network was mapped into a linear food chain, and six discrete trophic levels were found with a mean transfer efficiency of 11.2%. The Finn cycling index was 9.73%. The path length was 1.821. The omnivory index was 0.197. The ecosystem had some degree of instability due to exploitation and other human activities, according to Odum’s theory of ecosystem development. A 10-year simulation was performed for each fishery scenario. The fishing mortality rate was found to have a strong impact on the biomass. By keeping the fishing mortality rate at the current level for all fishing sectors, scenario 1 had a drastic decrease in the large fish groups. The biomass of the small and medium pelagic fish would increase to some extent. The biomass of the small and low trophic level species, jellyfish, prawns and benthic crustaceans would be stable. The total biomass of the fishery resources would have a 10% decrease from the current biomass after 10 years. In contrast, the reduced fishing mortality rate induced the recovery of biomass (scenarios 2–4). In scenario 2, the biomass of the large demersal fish and the large pelagic fish would increase to over 16 times and 10 times, respectively, of their current level. In scenario 4, the biomass of the large pelagic fish would increase to over 3 times of its current level. The total biomass of the fish groups, especially the high trophic level groups, would become significantly higher after 10 years, which illustrates the contribution on biomass recovery by relaxing the fishing pressure. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Author contributions: Xiaoping Jia designed research; Zuozhi Chen and Yongsong Qiu performed research; Zuozhi Chen, Yongsong Qiu, and Shannan Xu analyzed data; and Zuozhi Chen and Shannan Xu wrote the article.     

基于营养通道模型的渤海生态系统结构十年变化比较

根据1982年和1992年渤海渔业资源和生态环境调查数据,应用EwE建模软件,构建了两个时期的营养通道模型,并比较分析了10a间渤海生态系统结构以及渔业资源的变化.模型包含鳀、黄鲫、蓝点马鲛、其它中上层鱼类、小黄鱼、花鲈、其它底层鱼类、底栖鱼类、浮游动物、浮游植物、碎屑等17个功能群, 基本覆盖了渤海生态系统能量流动的途径.分析结果表明,1992年渤海生态系统的总生物量比1982年有所下降;小型中上层鱼类成为渔业资源的主要成分,其生物量较1982年明显增加;由于低营养级层次渔获物数量的增加,渔获物平均营养级有所下降.从系统规模看1982年大于1992年.1982年到1992年的十年间, 引起渤海生态系统结构变化的主要原因是初级生产力的变化以及捕捞因素.1982年与1992年渤海生态系统均处于不成熟的发育期,仍有较高的剩余生产量有待利用,因此渔业资源恢复的物质基础是有保证的.     

Ecological indicators to capture the effects of fishing on biodiversity and conservation status of marine ecosystems

IndiSeas (“Indicators for the Seas”) is a collaborative international working group that was established in 2005 to evaluate the status of exploited marine ecosystems using a suite of indicators in a comparative framework. An initial shortlist of seven ecological indicators was selected to quantify the effects of fishing on the broader ecosystem using several criteria (i.e., ecological meaning, sensitivity to fishing, data availability, management objectives and public awareness). The suite comprised: (i) the inverse coefficient of variation of total biomass of surveyed species, (ii) mean fish length in the surveyed community, (iii) mean maximum life span of surveyed fish species, (iv) proportion of predatory fish in the surveyed community, (v) proportion of under and moderately exploited stocks, (vi) total biomass of surveyed species, and (vii) mean trophic level of the landed catch. In line with the Nagoya Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2011–2020), we extended this suite to emphasize the broader biodiversity and conservation risks in exploited marine ecosystems. We selected a subset of indicators from a list of empirically based candidate biodiversity indicators initially established based on ecological significance to complement the original IndiSeas indicators. The additional selected indicators were: (viii) mean intrinsic vulnerability index of the fish landed catch, (ix) proportion of non-declining exploited species in the surveyed community, (x) catch-based marine trophic index, and (xi) mean trophic level of the surveyed community. Despite the lack of data in some ecosystems, we also selected (xii) mean trophic level of the modelled community, and (xiii) proportion of discards in the fishery as extra indicators. These additional indicators were examined, along with the initial set of IndiSeas ecological indicators, to evaluate whether adding new biodiversity indicators provided useful additional information to refine our understanding of the status evaluation of 29 exploited marine ecosystems. We used state and trend analyses, and we performed correlation, redundancy and multivariate tests. Existing developments in ecosystem-based fisheries management have largely focused on exploited species. Our study, using mostly fisheries independent survey-based indicators, highlights that biodiversity and conservation-based indicators are complementary to ecological indicators of fishing pressure. Thus, they should be used to provide additional information to evaluate the overall impact of fishing on exploited marine ecosystems.     

Ecological effects of longline fishing and climate change on the pelagic ecosystem off eastern Australia

Pelagic longline fisheries target (or catch incidently) large apex predators in the open ocean (e.g. tunas, billfish and sharks) and have the potential to disrupt the ecosystem functionality if these predators exert strong top–down control. In contrast, warming of oceans from climate change may increase bottom–up effects from increases in primary productivity. An ecosystem model of a large pelagic ecosystem off eastern Australia was constructed to explore the potential ecological effects of climate change and longlining by Australia’s Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery. The model reproduced historic biomass and fishery catch trends from 1952 to 2006 for seven functional groups. Simulated changes in fishing effort and fishing mortality rate on individual target species from 2008 to 2018 resulted in only modest (<20%) changes in the biomass of target species and their direct predators or competitors. A simulated increase in phytoplankton biomass due to climate change resulted in only small increases (<11%) in the biomass of all groups. However, climate-related changes to the biomass of micronekton fish (−20%) and cephalopods (+50%) resulted in trophic cascades. Our results suggest there may be ecological redundancy among high trophic level predators since they share a diverse suite of prey and collectively only represent <1% of the total system biomass. In contrast, micronekton fishes and cephalopods have high biomasses and high production and consumption rates and are important as both prey and predators. They appear to exert ‘wasp–waist’ control of the ecosystem rather than top–down or bottom–up processes reported to drive other pelagic systems.     

Ecological role and historical trends of large pelagic predators in a subtropical marine ecosystem of the South Atlantic

Large pelagic predators occupy high positions in food webs and could control lower trophic level species by direct and indirect ecological interactions. In this study we aimed to test the hypotheses: (1) pelagic predators are keystone species, and their removals could trigger impacts on the food chain; (2) higher landings of pelagic predators could trigger fishing impacts with time leading to a drop in the mean trophic level of catches; and (3) recovery in the pelagic predators populations, especially for sharks, could be achieved with fishing effort reduction. We performed a food web approach using an Ecopath with Ecosim model to represent the Southeastern and Southern Brazil, a subtropical marine ecosystem, in 2001. We then calibrated the baseline model using catch and fishing effort time series from 2001 to 2012. Afterwards, we simulated the impact of fishing effort changes on species and assessed the ecological impacts on the pelagic community from 2012 to 2025. Results showed that the model was well fitted to landing data for the majority of groups. The pelagic predators species were classified as keystone species impacting mainly on pelagic community. The ecosystem was resilient and fisheries seem sustainable at that time. However, the temporal simulation, from 2001 to 2012, revealed declines in the biomass of three sharks, tuna and billfish groups. It was possible observe declines in the mean trophic level of the catch and in the mean total length of landings. Longline fisheries particularly affected the sharks, billfish and swordfish, while hammerhead sharks were mostly impacted by gillnet fishery. Model simulations showed that large sharks’ biomasses could be recovered or maintained only after strong fishing effort reduction.     

Fishing degrades size structure of coral reef fish communities

Fishing pressure on coral reef ecosystems has been frequently linked to reductions of large fishes and reef fish biomass. Associated impacts on overall community structure are, however, less clear. In size‐structured aquatic ecosystems, fishing impacts are commonly quantified using size spectra, which describe the distribution of individual body sizes within a community. We examined the size spectra and biomass of coral reef fish communities at 38 US‐affiliated Pacific islands that ranged in human presence from near pristine to human population centers. Size spectra ‘steepened’ steadily with increasing human population and proximity to market due to a reduction in the relative biomass of large fishes and an increase in the dominance of small fishes. Reef fish biomass was substantially lower on inhabited islands than uninhabited ones, even at inhabited islands with the lowest levels of human presence. We found that on populated islands size spectra exponents decreased (analogous to size spectra steepening) linearly with declining biomass, whereas on uninhabited islands there was no relationship. Size spectra were steeper in regions of low sea surface temperature but were insensitive to variation in other environmental and geomorphic covariates. In contrast, reef fish biomass was highly sensitive to oceanographic conditions, being influenced by both oceanic productivity and sea surface temperature. Our results suggest that community size structure may be a more robust indicator than fish biomass to increasing human presence and that size spectra are reliable indicators of exploitation impacts across regions of different fish community compositions, environmental drivers, and fisheries types. Size‐based approaches that link directly to functional properties of fish communities, and are relatively insensitive to abiotic variation across biogeographic regions, offer great potential for developing our understanding of fishing impacts in coral reef ecosystems.     

The structure of Mediterranean rocky reef ecosystems across environmental and human gradients, and conservation implications

Historical exploitation of the Mediterranean Sea and the absence of rigorous baselines makes it difficult to evaluate the current health of the marine ecosystems and the efficacy of conservation actions at the ecosystem level. Here we establish the first current baseline and gradient of ecosystem structure of nearshore rocky reefs at the Mediterranean scale. We conducted underwater surveys in 14 marine protected areas and 18 open access sites across the Mediterranean, and across a 31-fold range of fish biomass (from 3.8 to 118 g m(-2)). Our data showed remarkable variation in the structure of rocky reef ecosystems. Multivariate analysis showed three alternative community states: (1) large fish biomass and reefs dominated by non-canopy algae, (2) lower fish biomass but abundant native algal canopies and suspension feeders, and (3) low fish biomass and extensive barrens, with areas covered by turf algae. Our results suggest that the healthiest shallow rocky reef ecosystems in the Mediterranean have both large fish and algal biomass. Protection level and primary production were the only variables significantly correlated to community biomass structure. Fish biomass was significantly larger in well-enforced no-take marine reserves, but there were no significant differences between multi-use marine protected areas (which allow some fishing) and open access areas at the regional scale. The gradients reported here represent a trajectory of degradation that can be used to assess the health of any similar habitat in the Mediterranean, and to evaluate the efficacy of marine protected areas.     

Using a Gulf of Mexico Atlantis model to evaluate ecological indicators for sensitivity to fishing mortality and robustness to observation error

This work provides a formal evaluation of 25 ecological indicators highlighted by the Southeast Fisheries Science Center’s IEA program as useful for tracking ecosystem components in the Gulf of Mexico. Using an Atlantis ecosystem model as an operating model, we select indicators that are quantifiable using simulation outputs and evaluate their sensitivity to changes in fishing mortality. Indicator behavior was examined using a multivariate ordination. The ordination is used to tell how well each indicator describes variation in ecosystem structure (termed ‘importance’) under different levels of fishing mortality and to reveal redundancies in the information conveyed by indicators. We determine importance using sample data from the operating model, with and without observation error added. Indicators whose importance is diminished least by error are considered robust to observational error. We then quantify the interannual noise of each indicator, where annual variability relates to the required sampling frequency in a management application. Red snapper biomass, King mackerel biomass and Reef fish catch ranked in the top 5 most important without error scenarios, and King mackerel biomass and Species richness were in the top 5 most important even after error was added. Red snapper biomass was consistently found to be the most important and most robust among fishing mortality scenarios tested, and all 4 of these indicators were found to have low levels of interannual noise suggesting that they need to be sampled infrequently. Our results provide insight into the usefulness of these indicators for fisheries managers interested in the impacts of fishing on the ecosystem.     

Climate change alters stability and species potential interactions in a large marine ecosystem

We have little empirical evidence of how large‐scale overlaps between large numbers of marine species may have altered in response to human impacts. Here, we synthesized all available distribution data (>1 million records) since 1992 for 61 species of the East Australian marine ecosystem, a global hot spot of ocean warming and continuing fisheries exploitation. Using a novel approach, we constructed networks of the annual changes in geographical overlaps between species. Using indices of changes in species overlap, we quantified changes in the ecosystem stability, species robustness, species sensitivity and structural keystone species. We then compared the species overlap indices with environmental and fisheries data to identify potential factors leading to the changes in distributional overlaps between species. We found that the structure of the ecosystem has changed with a decrease in asymmetrical geographical overlaps between species. This suggests that the ecosystem has become less stable and potentially more susceptible to environmental perturbations. Most species have shown a decrease in overlaps with other species. The greatest decrease in species overlap robustness and sensitivity to the loss of other species has occurred in the pelagic community. Some demersal species have become more robust and less sensitive. Pelagic structural keystone species, predominately the tunas and billfish, have been replaced by demersal fish species. The changes in species overlap were strongly correlated with regional oceanographic changes, in particular increasing ocean warming and the southward transport of warmer and saltier water with the East Australian Current, but less correlated with fisheries catch. Our study illustrates how large‐scale multispecies distribution changes can help identify structural changes in marine ecosystems associated with climate change.     

Combined Fishing and Climate Forcing in the Southern Benguela Upwelling Ecosystem: An End-to-End Modelling Approach Reveals Dampened Effects

The effects of climate and fishing on marine ecosystems have usually been studied separately, but their interactions make ecosystem dynamics difficult to understand and predict. Of particular interest to management, the potential synergism or antagonism between fishing pressure and climate forcing is analysed in this paper, using an end-to-end ecosystem model of the southern Benguela ecosystem, built from coupling hydrodynamic, biogeochemical and multispecies fish models (ROMS-N₂P₂Z₂D₂-OSMOSE). Scenarios of different intensities of upwelling-favourable wind stress combined with scenarios of fishing top-predator fish were tested. Analyses of isolated drivers show that the bottom-up effect of the climate forcing propagates up the food chain whereas the top-down effect of fishing cascades down to zooplankton in unfavourable environmental conditions but dampens before it reaches phytoplankton. When considering both climate and fishing drivers together, it appears that top-down control dominates the link between top-predator fish and forage fish, whereas interactions between the lower trophic levels are dominated by bottom-up control. The forage fish functional group appears to be a central component of this ecosystem, being the meeting point of two opposite trophic controls. The set of combined scenarios shows that fishing pressure and upwelling-favourable wind stress have mostly dampened effects on fish populations, compared to predictions from the separate effects of the stressors. Dampened effects result in biomass accumulation at the top predator fish level but a depletion of biomass at the forage fish level. This should draw our attention to the evolution of this functional group, which appears as both structurally important in the trophic functioning of the ecosystem, and very sensitive to climate and fishing pressures. In particular, diagnoses considering fishing pressure only might be more optimistic than those that consider combined effects of fishing and environmental variability.     

Modelling marine ecosystem response to climate change and trawling in the North Sea

The marine ecosystem response to climate change and demersal trawling was investigated using the coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical water column model GOTM-ERSEM-BFM for three contrasting sites in the North Sea. Climate change forcing was derived from the HadRM3-PPE-UK regional climate model for the UK for the period 1950–2100 using historical emissions and a medium emissions scenario (SRESA1B). Effects of demersal trawling were implemented as an additional mortality on benthic fauna, and changes in the benthic–pelagic nutrient and carbon fluxes. The main impacts of climate change were (i) a temperature-driven increase in pelagic metabolic rates and nutrient cycling, (ii) an increase in primary production fuelled by recycled nutrients, (iii) a decrease in benthic biomass due to increased benthic metabolic rates and decreased food supply as a result of the increased pelagic cycling, and (iv) a decrease in near-bed oxygen concentrations. The main impacts of trawling were (i) reduced benthic biomass due to the increased mortality, and (ii) the increased benthic–pelagic nutrient fluxes, with these effects counteracting each other, and relatively small changes in other variables. One important consequence was a large decrease in the de-nitrification flux predicted at the two summer-stratified sites because less benthic nitrate was available. The effects of trawling scaled linearly with fishing effort, with greatest sensitivity to fishing in summer compared to fishing in winter. The impacts of climate change and trawling were additive, suggesting little or no non-linear interactions between these disturbances.     

Indicators quantifying small pelagic fish interactions: application using a trophic model of the southern Benguela ecosystem

Three indicators quantifying interactions between species are developed for an upwelling system to provide useful measures for the comparison of marine ecosystem structure and function. Small pelagic fish are dominant in upwelling systems, and by definition, they are pivotal in a wasp-waist upwelling system. The indicator of interaction strength (IS) quantifies the effect that a change in biomass of one group has on abundance of other groups. The functional impact (FI) indicator quantifies the trophic impacts of species on their own and other functional groups or feeding guilds. The trophic replacement (TR) indicator quantifies the trophic similarity between a species that is removed from an ecosystem and other species in that ecosystem, i.e. it quantifies the ability of one group to trophically replace another. A trophic model of the southern Benguela ecosystem is used as an example for the application of the indicators. The strong similarities in trophic functioning of the southern Benguela ecosystem in the anchovy-dominated system of the 1980s, and the 1990s when there was a shift towards greater sardine abundance, are explained by the mutual trophic replacement abilities of anchovy and sardine. Differences between the proposed indicators and mixed trophic impact assessment are highlighted, mainly resulting from the static versus dynamic nature of the models upon which they are based. Trophic indicators such as those presented here, together with other kinds of ecosystem indicators, may assist in defining operational frameworks for ecosystem-based fisheries management.     

Globalization,marine regime shifts and the Soviet Union

Regime shifts have been observed in marine ecosystems around the world, with climate and fishing suggested as major drivers of such shifts. The global and regional dynamics of the climate system have been studied in this context, and efforts to develop an analogous understanding of fishing activities are developing. Here, we investigate the timing of pelagic marine regime shifts in relation to the emergence of regional and global fishing activities of the Soviet Union. Our investigation of official catch statistics reflects that the Soviet Union was a major fishing actor in all large marine ecosystems where regime shifts have been documented, including in ecosystems where overfishing has been established as a key driver of these changes (in the Baltic and Black Seas and the Scotian Shelf). Globalization of Soviet Union fishing activities pushed exploitation to radically new levels and triggered regional and global governance responses for improved management. Since then, exploitation levels have remained and increased with new actors involved. Based on our exploratory work, we propose that a deeper understanding of the role of global fishing actors is central for improved management of marine ecosystems.     

Historic changes in length distributions of three Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) stocks: Evidence of growth retardation

Understanding how combinations of fishing effort and selectivity affect productivity is central to fisheries research. We investigate the roles of fishing regulation in comparison with ecosystem status for Baltic Sea cod stock productivity, growth performance, and population stability. This case study is interesting because three cod populations with different exploitation patterns and stock status are located in three adjacent but partially, ecologically different areas. In assessing stock status, growth, and productivity, we use survey information and rather basic stock parameters without relying on age readings. Because there is an urgent interest of better understanding of the current development of the Eastern Baltic cod stock, we argue that our approach represents partly a novel way of interpreting monitoring information together with catch data in a simplified yet more informative way. Our study reports how the Eastern and Western Baltic cod have gone toward more truncated size structures between 1991 and 2016, in particular for the Eastern Baltic cod, whereas the Öresund cod show no trend. We suggest that selective fishing may disrupt fish population dynamic stability and that lower natural productivity might amplify the effects of selective fishing. In support of earlier findings on a density‐dependent growth of Eastern Baltic cod, management is advised to acknowledge that sustainable exploitation levels for Eastern Baltic cod are much more limited than perceived in regular assessments. Of more general importance, our results emphasize the need to embrace a more realistic view on what ecosystems can produce regarding tractable fish biomass to facilitate a more ecosystem‐based fisheries management.