Assessing population recovery inside British Columbia's Rockfish Conservation Areas with a remotely operated vehicle
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Published source details
Haggarty D.R., Shurin J.B. & Yamanaka K.L. (2016) Assessing population recovery inside British Columbia's Rockfish Conservation Areas with a remotely operated vehicle. Fisheries Research, 183, 165-179.
Published source details Haggarty D.R., Shurin J.B. & Yamanaka K.L. (2016) Assessing population recovery inside British Columbia's Rockfish Conservation Areas with a remotely operated vehicle. Fisheries Research, 183, 165-179.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Cease or prohibit all (mobile and static) fishing gears that catch bottom (demersal) species Action Link |
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Cease or prohibit all (mobile and static) fishing gears that catch bottom (demersal) species
A replicated, controlled study in 2009–2011 of four seabed areas in the northeast Pacific Ocean, off Canada (Haggarty et al. 2016) found that prohibiting bottom trawls as well as commercial and recreational hook and line fishing in protected areas for two to seven years, did not result in different densities of six of six fish species compared to outside. Densities did not differ for quillback Sebastes maliger (inside: 0.04 fish/100 m2, outside: 0.04 fish/100 m2), yelloweye Sebastes ruberrimus (inside 0.02 fish/100 m2, outside 0.02 fish/100 m2), copper Sebastes caurinus (inside 0.03 fish/100 m2, outside 0.04 fish/100 m2), lingcod Ophiodon elongatus (inside 0.02 fish/100 m2, outside 0.03 fish/100 m2), kelp greenling Hexagrammos decagrammus (inside 0.04 fish/100 m2, outside 0.04 fish/100 m2) and greenstriped rockfish Sebastes elongatus (inside 0.02 fish/100 m2, outside 0.02 fish/100 m2). Areas inside and outside 35 Rockfish Conservation Areas in four regions of southern British Columbia were surveyed 30 times by a remotely operated camera vehicle in 2009–2011. Data were collected during daylight from paired transects 300–900 m long inside and outside the protected areas. Fish density was calculated from fish counts and size of surveyed area. The Rockfish Conservation Areas were established between 2004–2007 and prohibited bottom trawl fisheries and commercial and recreational hook and line fisheries. Fisheries for invertebrates by trap and hand, and seining, gillnetting and mid-water trawling were permitted.
(Summarised by: Chris Barrett)
