From Ethnobiology to Ecotoxicology: Fishers’ Knowledge on Trophic Levels as Indicator of Bioaccumulation in Tropical Marine and Freshwater Fishes

Information on fish trophic levels is important to assess fishing impacts and to better understand the bioaccumulation of pollutants within aquatic food chains. The local ecological knowledge held by small-scale fishers can fill knowledge gaps in fish trophic ecology. We estimated the trophic levels of 69 tropical and subtropical fish species (33 coastal and 36 freshwater species) using data on fish diets from the literature and obtained from interviews with Brazilian fishers. The fish trophic levels estimated from fishers’ knowledge were positively correlated with the trophic levels estimated using data from biological studies for both coastal and freshwater fish. The fishers’ knowledge also indicated bioaccumulation patterns, as the fish trophic levels estimated from fishers’ knowledge were positively related to the mercury (Hg) content in fish muscle (wet weight, from literature data) in 41 fish species (15 coastal and 26 freshwater). These findings reveal the potential for new applications of fishers’ knowledge to ecotoxicology, which could improve management of aquatic ecosystems and strengthen fishers’ political status.     

“Fish Rescue us from Hunger”: the Contribution of Aquatic Resources to Household Food Security on the Rufiji River Floodplain,Tanzania, East Africa

Inland fisheries are essential to nutrition and food security in developing countries but remain undervalued. Worldwide, studies of aquatic resource consumption are rare. We use data from a monthly survey of 40 households in a Tanzanian village over 1 year combined with qualitative methods to analyse consumption of animal aquatic resources across wealth, seasons, fishing vs. non-fishing, and male- vs. female-headed households. We find that local freshwater fish are the most frequent source of animal protein, consumed on 57% of survey days. Wealth matters, with better-off households eating fish more often and in larger daily quantities on average. Middle-ranked households catch and sell fish more often, but all households double their consumption on average on days they catch rather than purchase fish. Female-headed households rely on gifts to increase consumption. Our results emphasise the need to preserve the livelihood functions of inland fisheries in the face of increasing threats.     

巢湖渔业资源现状及其对水体富营养化的响应研究

2002年至2004年期间,对巢湖鱼类资源进行调查,共发现鱼类54种,隶属16科、9目,主要以鲤科鱼类为主(35种),占64.8%,与20世纪80年代相比,鱼类种类数减少了40种,主要表现在洄游性种类急剧减少,甚至消失。渔业资源结构(渔获物)表现为以湖鲚、太湖新银鱼等小型鱼类为优势种类,在渔产量的比例不断上升,而大型鱼类(如翘嘴、鲤等)的种群结构趋于低龄化,产量呈下降趋势。结合已有的历史资料,分析巢湖渔业资源变化的影响因素,结果表明造成巢湖渔业资源结构变化受人为活动的影响主要表现在水利工程修建、过度捕捞和水体富营养化等方面。同时探讨近20年巢湖渔业捕捞产量与水体氮磷含量变化的相互关系发现,水体磷的含量变化显著影响巢湖渔业的捕捞产量。因此,合理利用巢湖渔业资源,需要减轻水体富营养化,控制捕捞强度和人为调整渔业结构使得巢湖渔业可持续发展。     

Susceptibility to freshwater acidification by two species of loon: Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) and Arctic Loon (Gavia arctica) in southwest Sweden

In southwest Sweden, the two species of loon, Gavia stellata and G. arctica, have shown different trends in population size and production of young during the last decades. Both species fish in oligotrophic freshwaters, susceptible to acidification. The number of breeding sites occupied by G. stellata has been reduced by almost 50% during the last 40–50 years. For G. arctica, there are no indications of significant declines in population size or reproductive success during the last 20 years. The different trends in numbers and production of young might reflect different susceptibility to the ecological changes in acidified lakes. G. stellata prefer fishing lakes with high abundance of Acerina cernua and salmonid and cyprinid fish, such as Coregonus albula and Rutilus rutilus. They also feed their prefledged chicks almost entirely on cyprinid and salmonid fish. G. arctica prefer fishing lakes with high transparency and, when feeding in groups, high abundance of Perca fluviatilis. Their young can be fed on aquatic insects as a supplement to the fish diet. Thus, G. stellata to a higher degree than G. arctica relies on fish which are susceptible to low pH, and G. arctica may also benefit from the increased abundance of aquatic insects in lakes with reduced predation from fish. Furthermore, high water transparency is important for the selection of lakes by G. arctica but not by G. stellata. In G. stellata, high contents of mercury in eggs can be related to the intake of fish in lakes affected by acidification.     

禁渔初期鄱阳湖鱼类时空分布特征

研究于2020—2021年使用Simrad EY60鱼探仪对鄱阳湖进行了秋季、春季和冬季共3次的水声学调查,并同步开展渔获物调查作为补充,分析鄱阳湖鱼类资源时空分布变化特征。结果表明:在季节分布上,鱼类目标强度和密度值都存在显著差异(P<0.05),在目标强度上表现为冬季[(–51.0±14.13) dB]>春季[(–52.10±4.59) dB]>秋季[(–52.71±9.95) dB],在鱼类密度上表现为冬季(54.61 ind./1000 m3)>秋季(46.10 ind./1000 m3)>春季(18.54 ind./1000 m3);在水平分布上,鱼类资源空间分布不均且不同湖区间有显著差异(P<0.05),秋季鱼类主要分布在中部湖区松门山,冬季鱼类主要分布在北部湖区通江水道;在垂直分布上,秋季和冬季均表现为底层>中层>表层,春季表现为表层>中层>底层。综合来看,鄱阳湖鱼类时空分布与鱼类的生活习性如产卵、育肥和越冬等因素密切相关。研究结果为从宏观空间尺度分析区域鱼类时空变动特征提供参考,也为鄱阳湖禁捕效果评估及生物完整...     

A Review of Catch-and-Release Angling Mortality with Implications for No-take Reserves

Management agencies have increasingly relied on size limits, daily bag or trip limits, quotas, and seasonal closures to manage fishing in recreational and commercial fisheries. Another trend is to establish aquatic protected areas, including no-take reserves (NTRs), to promote sustainable fisheries and protect aquatic ecosystems. Some anglers, assuming that no serious harm befalls the fish, advocate allowing catch-and-release (C&R) angling in aquatic protected areas. The ultimate success of these regulations and C&R angling depends on ensuring high release survival rates by minimizing injury and mortality. To evaluate the potential effectiveness of these practices, we review trends in C&R fishing and factors that influence release mortality. Analysis of Marine Recreational Fishery Statistic Survey (MRFSS) data for 1981–1999 showed no statistically significant U.S. trends for total number of anglers (mean 7.7 × 10⁶), total catch in numbers (mean 362 × 10⁶), or total annual catch/angler (mean 42.6 fish). However, mean total annual landings declined 28% (188.5 to 135.7 × 10⁶), mean total catch/angler/trip declined 22.1% (0.95 to 0.74 fish), and mean landings/angler/trip declined 27% (0.42 to 0.31 fish). The total number of recreational releases or discards increased 97.1% (98.0 to 193.2 × 10⁶) and as a proportion of total catch from 34.2% in 1981 to 58.0% in 1999. Evidence indicates that the increased releases and discards are primarily in response to mandatory regulations and to a lesser extent, voluntary releases. Total annual catch and mean annual catch/angler were maintained despite declines in catch per trip because anglers took 30.8% more fishing trips (43.5 to 56.9 × 10⁶), perhaps to compensate for greater use of bag and size limits. We reviewed 53 release mortality studies, doubling the number of estimates since Muoneke and Childress (1994) reviewed catch and release fishing. A meta-analysis of combined data (n=274) showed a skewed distribution of release mortality (median 11%, mean 18%, range 0–95%). Mortality distributions were similar for salmonids, marine, and freshwater species. Mean mortality varied greatly by species and within species, anatomical hooking location was the most important mortality factor. Other significant mortality factors were: use of natural bait, removing hooks from deeply hooked fish, use of J-hooks (vs. circle hooks), deeper depth of capture, warm water temperatures, and extended playing and handling times. Barbed hooks had marginally higher mortality than barbless hooks. Based on numbers of estimates, no statistically significant overall effects were found for fish size, hook size, venting to deflate fish caught at depth, or use of treble vs. single hooks. Catch and release fishing is a growing and an increasingly important activity. The common occurrence of release mortality, however, requires careful evaluation for achieving fishery management goals and in some cases, disturbance, injury, or mortality may conflict with some goals of NTRs. Research is needed to develop better technology and techniques to reduce release mortality, to assess mortality from predation during capture and after release, to determine cumulative mortality from multiple hooking and release events, and to measure sub-lethal effects on behavior, physical condition, growth, and reproduction.     

Fishing impacts on the marine inorganic carbon cycle

1.  Teleost fish excrete precipitated carbonate and make significant contributions to the marine inorganic carbon cycle at regional and global scales. As total carbonate production is linked to fish size and abundance, fishing is predicted to affect carbonate production by modifying fish abundance and size-structure.
2.  We draw on concepts from physiology, metabolic ecology, life history theory, population dynamics and community ecology to develop, validate and apply analytical tools to assess fishing impacts on carbonate production. Outputs suggest that population and community carbonate production fall rapidly at lower rates of fishing than those used as management targets for sustainable yield.
3.  Theoretical predictions are corroborated by estimated trends in carbonate production by a herring population and a coral reef fish community subject to fishing. Our analytical results build on widely applicable relationships between life history parameters and metabolic rates, and can be generalized to most fished ecosystems.
4.   Synthesis and applications . If the maintenance of chemical processes as well as biological process were adopted as a management objective for fisheries then the methods we have developed can be applied to assess the effects of fishing on carbonate production and to advise on acceptable rates of fishing. Maintenance of this ecosystem service would require lower rates of fishing mortality than those recommended to achieve sustainable yield.     

水产动物行为及其在渔业中的应用研究进展

水产动物的行为研究是渔业领域的重要研究方向,对理解水产动物的行为表型与功能,对提升渔业生产效果有着重要的理论和应用价值。现阶段水产动物行为学的研究成果已被广泛应用于水产动物人工养殖、渔业资源保护和捕捞渔业等多个领域。文章综述了水产动物行为的研究现状,水产动物主要的行为类型,每种行为的发生及其机理,行为间的相互影响及行为在渔业中的应用状况。同时,针对当前水产动物行为学研究存在的问题,提出了今后水产动物行为学的研究方向和研究重点。文章旨在为水产动物行为学领域的研究提供借鉴与启发,并为水产动物行为学研究成果在渔业中的应用提供理论参考。     

The consequences of balanced harvesting of fish communities

Balanced harvesting, where species or individuals are exploited in accordance with their productivity, has been proposed as a way to minimize the effects of fishing on marine fish communities and ecosystems. This calls for a thorough examination of the consequences balanced harvesting has on fish community structure and yield. We use a size- and trait-based model that resolves individual interactions through competition and predation to compare balanced harvesting with traditional selective harvesting, which protects juvenile fish from fishing. Four different exploitation patterns, generated by combining selective or unselective harvesting with balanced or unbalanced fishing, are compared. We find that unselective balanced fishing, where individuals are exploited in proportion to their productivity, produces a slightly larger total maximum sustainable yield than the other exploitation patterns and, for a given yield, the least change in the relative biomass composition of the fish community. Because fishing reduces competition, predation and cannibalism within the community, the total maximum sustainable yield is achieved at high exploitation rates. The yield from unselective balanced fishing is dominated by small individuals, whereas selective fishing produces a much higher proportion of large individuals in the yield. Although unselective balanced fishing is predicted to produce the highest total maximum sustainable yield and the lowest impact on trophic structure, it is effectively a fishery predominantly targeting small forage fish.     

Enhancement and conservation of inland fisheries resources in China

The inland aquatic ecosystem in China have been largely influenced by large-scale economic activities and over-exploitation of aquatic resources. Fisheries resource enhancement and conservation activities have been carried out throughout China. These activities include establishing artificial fish habitat and hatchery, releasing juvenile fish to rivers and lakes, forbidding illegal fishing, and setting up natural reserves. The purpose of these activities is to restore the quantity of inland fisheries resources, guarantee sustainable development of fisheries, maintain biological diversity and keep an ecological balance. These activities, conducted with a variety of methods, numerous species, extensive water areas and large scale programs have played an active role in fisheries resource enhancement and conservation. As a consequence the inland water environment has been improved; the biological diversity and fish catch increased, and the social, ecological and economic benefits have been significantly improved. However, problems such as inappropriate technology and nonstandard operations continue to affect fisheries resource enhancement, conservation and ecological stability. This paper reviews the history and practice of inland fisheries resource enhancement and conservation in China, analyzes the existing problems and deficiencies in the activities, and finally make some recommendations on technology and procedures to sustain inland fisheries resources.     

Historical Indigenous use of aquatic resources in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin, and its implications for river management

Summary Indigenous people demonstrably lived along rivers and around lakes and wetlands of Australia's Murray‐Darling Basin in pre‐European times. Waterways were, and continue to be, of major significance to the society and culture of Aboriginal peoples throughout Australia. Historically, they exploited most of the fauna – from mussels and crayfish, to fish and birds – and either ate, or used for other purposes, many species of aquatic plants. Such practices placed them in the role of environmental modifiers, a role played by all human groups from both past and present. They built sophisticated fish traps, cut gaps in river banks to allow fish to move on to floodplains, and there is evidence that they practised a form of fish culture by creating small impoundments in which small fish could live and grow in normally ephemeral tributary streams away from predatory larger fish. Knowledge of the numbers of Aboriginal people inhabiting the riverine regions of the Murray‐Darling Basin are sketchy, but at times large groups congregated for cultural reasons, facilitating fishing with extensively engineered fish traps, such as that at Brewarrina, on the Barwon River in New South Wales. At other times, densities may have been about 0.5 person per river kilometre, although this was certainly not evenly distributed and the calculation postdated deaths from smallpox. From archaeological and anthropological evidence, aquatic fauna and flora would have constituted between about 30% and 100% of the diets of Indigenous people historically, depending on season and location. As such, Indigenous people were very much a part of the ecology of aquatic ecosystems and their effects may have been profound. Despite this, their role in influencing these ecosystems has largely been ignored by contemporary freshwater ecologists and managers. Current management practices do not seem to have considered the loss of this component of riverine ecosystems, and there is little debate about how the historical part that Indigenous people played in shaping these systems and their biota might be incorporated into management generally.     

渔场重心信度测算及渔场重心修正理论构建——以闽南-台湾浅滩渔场二长棘鲷为例

渔场重心是表征渔场位置的重要参数,准确掌握渔场重心,对判断鱼类洄游路线、确定中心渔场、表征鱼群分布特征和变化规律具有重要意义。渔场重心计算采用的是固定物体重心计算方法,然而运动的鱼类和固定物体有着本质的区别。因此,由固定物体重心计算的渔场重心能否体现鱼群分布特征,值得深入研究。渔场重心信度是用于度量由固定物体重心计算的渔场重心表征鱼群分布特征的能力,体现渔场重心的可信程度,而渔场重心修正是为了提升渔场重心表征鱼群分布特征的能力,提高渔场重心信度,以准确掌握渔场重心。以闽南-台湾浅滩渔场二长棘鲷(Parargrops edita Tanaka)为例,采用渔场重心、几何中心和单位捕捞努力量渔获量(Catch Per Unit Effort,CPUE)为参数,首次建立了渔场重心信度测算及渔场重心修正理论和方法,分析了渔场重心信度,研究了渔场重心修正方法和渔场重心的分布特征,旨在从更精细地水平上掌握二长棘鲷渔场重心,为生态智慧在渔业资源开发和管理的应用提供可靠的数据支持。结果表明:(1)二长棘鲷渔场重心信度各月变化在0.12—1.00,平均值0.67,均方差0.31,各月渔场重心可信度波动较大,12月份和2月份渔场重心信度最大为1.00,鱼群对称和均匀分布于渔场重心,渔场重心可信度最高,3—8月份渔场重心信度低于0.70,鱼群在渔场重心周围的对称性和均匀度差,渔场重心可信度差,其中3月份渔场重心信度最小为0.12;(2)渔场重心信度不仅反映了渔场重心可信程度,还体现了鱼群在渔场重心周围的分布特征,可作为研究鱼群分布特征的重要参数,渔场重心信度低于0.70,渔场重心需要修正;(3)渔区修正系数用于判别鱼群所在渔区是否排除,通过去除渔区修正系数小于0.5的鱼群,能保留85%以上的鱼群数量,提高渔场重心信度0.70以上;(4)修改后的渔场重心变化规律较显著,4—5月份,幼鱼群体重心向西迁移,6—7月份,索饵群体重心向东北方向移动,8月份,索饵群体重心开始往南迁移,9—11月份,越冬群体重心逐渐向南移动,12月份,生殖群体重心继续往南迁移,1—3月份生殖群体主要集中在305渔区(119°15'E,23°15'N)附近进行生殖活动,鱼群少有迁移。     

Efficiency of point abundance sampling by electro-fishing modified for short fishes

The assessment of fish densities using point abundance sampling by electro‐fishing requires information about the size of the sample area. For electro‐fishing the effective fishing range depends on biological effects such as species and length of fish as well as physical effects like conductivity of water or substrate type. The present study investigates systematically the impact of conductivity and substrate type on the extension of the electrical field of a battery‐powered electro‐fishing gear (DEKA 3000, Marsberg, Germany), modified for larval and juvenile fishes. Threshold values for galvanotaxis were examined for juvenile fishes of five species in terms of current densities. Based on 71 experiments a general function relating body length to current density threshold values was developed. Optimal electrical current flow periods of 10 s were determined. For three different substrate types (gravel, sand, mud) a formula has been developed to quantify biological and physical effects on the effective fishing range. Each equation included information on the length of fish and the ambient conductivity. An increase in the effective fishing range of about 10% every 0.1 mS cm^?1 was established. Reduction of the fishing range over muddy substrate was about 20–30% compared with coarse gravel or sand. This study provides a sufficient tool to calculate area‐related densities of larval and juvenile fishes in different habitat types of a large river system using point abundance sampling by electro‐fishing. Finally, calculated fish densities were evaluated by different types of fishing gear.     

Ecological, environmental and socioeconomic aspects of the Lake Victoria's introduced Nile perch fishery in relation to the native fisheries and the species culture potential: lessons to learn

Inland fishery ecosystems in Africa are characterized by patterns of overexploitation, environmental degradation and exotic species introductions. Ecological complexity and diversity of aquatic habitats dictate that fishes in general are not evenly distributed in a water body. However, fisheries management regimes tend to ignore this basic principle, assume generalized conditions in a water body, and focus more on ‘desired’ objectives such as maximizing catch. The result is to disregard fish habitat boundaries and anthropogenic influences from the catchment that influence fish production. Overexploitation and environmental degradation disrupt sustainable socioeconomic benefits from the fisheries, create uncertainty among investors, but leave some managers calling for more information with the expectation that the fisheries will recover with time. Open access to the fisheries and full control of fishing effort remain challenges for managers. Exotic species introductions and fish farming can increase production, but such interventions require firm commitment to sound ecological principles and strict enforcement of recommended conservation and co‐management measures in capture fisheries. The general tendency to downplay fishing effort issues, other ecosystem values and functions or rely on temperate fisheries models until a new cycle of overexploitation emerges, characterizes many management patterns in inland fisheries. Aquaculture is not an option to challenges in capture fisheries management. Aquaculture should be developed to increase fish production but even this practice may have negative environmental impacts depending on practice and scale. Decades of information on Lake Victoria fisheries trends and aquaculture development did not stop the collapse of native fisheries. The successfully introduced Nile perch (Lates niloticus) has shown signs of overexploitation and aquaculture has again been considered as the option. By reviewing significant trends associated with Nile perch and its feasibility in aquaculture this paper uses Lake Victoria to illustrate ‘special interest management’ targeting selected species of fish rather than the fisheries.     

Basic reproduction ratio for a fishery model in a patchy environment

We present a dynamical model of a multi-site fishery. The fish stock is located on a discrete set of fish habitats where it is catched by the fishing fleet. We assume that fishes remain on fishing habitats while the fishing vessels can move at a fast time scale to visit the different fishing sites. We use the existence of two time scales to reduce the dimension of the model : we build an aggregated model considering the habitat fish densities and the total fishing effort. We explore a regulation procedure, which imposes an average residence time in patches. Several equilibria exist, a Fishery Free Equilibria (FFEs) as well as a Sustainable Fishery Equilibria (SFEs). We show that the dynamics depends on a threshold which is similar to a basic reproduction ratio for the fishery. When the basic reproduction ratio is less or equal to 1, one of the FFEs is globally asymptotically stable (GAS), otherwise one of the SFEs is GAS.     

Occurrence of the medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis) in birds’ nests

Occurrence and breeding of Hirudo medicinalis were recorded in birds’ nests in the fishing ponds and water bodies used extensively by anglers in south-eastern Poland, in 4 of 11 studied bird species (Circus aeruginosus, Fulica atra, Cygnus olor, Chroicocephalus ridibundus). Factors important for the distribution and density of this leech were: nest height, pH of the water and oxygen concentration in the water inside the nests, the body-length of the nesting birds. Our data show that (1) H. medicinalis chooses nests as habitats that are safe in water bodies rich in predators (particularly fish) and provide stable feeding conditions; (2) fishing ponds and other water bodies used extensively by anglers in a landscape modified by human pressure can be an important secondary habitat for the medicinal leech. As the nesting activity of some aquatic birds apparently favors the occurrence of H. medicinalis, active protection of aquatic birds and creating sites appropriate for their breeding may be an indirect way for the conservation of the leech in such areas.     

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.     

Parrotfish Size: A Simple yet Useful Alternative Indicator of Fishing Effects on Caribbean Reefs?

There is great need to identify simple yet reliable indicators of fishing effects within the multi-species, multi-gear, data-poor fisheries of the Caribbean. Here, we investigate links between fishing pressure and three simple fish metrics, i.e. average fish weight (an estimate of average individual fish size), fish density and fish biomass, derived from (1) the parrotfish family, a ubiquitous herbivore family across the Caribbean, and (2) three fish groups of “commercial” carnivores including snappers and groupers, which are widely-used as indicators of fishing effects. We hypothesize that, because most Caribbean reefs are being heavily fished, fish metrics derived from the less vulnerable parrotfish group would exhibit stronger relationships with fishing pressure on today’s Caribbean reefs than those derived from the highly vulnerable commercial fish groups. We used data from 348 Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) reef-surveys across the Caribbean to assess relationships between two independent indices of fishing pressure (one derived from human population density data, the other from open to fishing versus protected status) and the three fish metrics derived from the four aforementioned fish groups. We found that, although two fish metrics, average parrotfish weight and combined biomass of selected commercial species, were consistently negatively linked to the indices of fishing pressure across the Caribbean, the parrotfish metric consistently outranked the latter in the strength of the relationship, thus supporting our hypothesis. Overall, our study highlights that (assemblage-level) average parrotfish size might be a useful alternative indicator of fishing effects over the typical conditions of most Caribbean shallow reefs: moderate-to-heavy levels of fishing and low abundance of highly valued commercial species.     

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.