Management of catches, effort and exploitation pattern are considered the most effective measures to control fishing mortality and ultimately ensure productivity and sustainability of fisheries. Despite the growing concerns about the spatial dimension of fisheries, the distribution of resources and fishing effort in space is seldom considered in assessment and management processes. Here we propose SMART (Spatial MAnagement of demersal Resources for Trawl fisheries), a tool for assessing bio-economic feedback in different management scenarios. SMART combines information from different tasks gathered within the European Data Collection Framework on fisheries and is composed of: 1) spatial models of fishing effort, environmental characteristics and distribution of demersal resources; 2) an Artificial Neural Network which captures the relationships among these aspects in a spatially explicit way and uses them to predict resources abundances; 3) a deterministic module which analyzes the size structure of catches and the associated revenues, according to different spatially-based management scenarios. SMART is applied to demersal fishery in the Strait of Sicily, one of the most productive fisheries of the Mediterranean Sea. Three of the main target species are used as proxies for the whole range exploited by trawlers. After training, SMART is used to evaluate different management scenarios, including spatial closures, using a simulation approach that mimics the recent exploitation patterns. Results evidence good model performance, with a noteworthy coherence and reliability of outputs for the different components. Among others, the main finding is that a partial improvement in resource conditions can be achieved by means of nursery closures, even if the overall fishing effort in the area remains stable. Accordingly, a series of strategically designed areas of trawling closures could significantly improve the resource conditions of demersal fisheries in the Strait of Sicily, also supporting sustainable economic returns for fishermen if not applied simultaneously for different species.

Russo, T., Parisi, A., Garofalo, G., Gristina, M., Cataudella, S., Fiorentino, F. (2014). SMART: a spatially explicit bio-economic model for assessing and managing demersal fisheries, with an application to Italian trawlers in the strait of Sicily. PLOS ONE, 9(1), e86222 [10.1371/journal.pone.0086222].

SMART: a spatially explicit bio-economic model for assessing and managing demersal fisheries, with an application to Italian trawlers in the strait of Sicily

RUSSO, TOMMASO;PARISI, ANTONIO;CATAUDELLA, STEFANO;
2014-01-01

Abstract

Management of catches, effort and exploitation pattern are considered the most effective measures to control fishing mortality and ultimately ensure productivity and sustainability of fisheries. Despite the growing concerns about the spatial dimension of fisheries, the distribution of resources and fishing effort in space is seldom considered in assessment and management processes. Here we propose SMART (Spatial MAnagement of demersal Resources for Trawl fisheries), a tool for assessing bio-economic feedback in different management scenarios. SMART combines information from different tasks gathered within the European Data Collection Framework on fisheries and is composed of: 1) spatial models of fishing effort, environmental characteristics and distribution of demersal resources; 2) an Artificial Neural Network which captures the relationships among these aspects in a spatially explicit way and uses them to predict resources abundances; 3) a deterministic module which analyzes the size structure of catches and the associated revenues, according to different spatially-based management scenarios. SMART is applied to demersal fishery in the Strait of Sicily, one of the most productive fisheries of the Mediterranean Sea. Three of the main target species are used as proxies for the whole range exploited by trawlers. After training, SMART is used to evaluate different management scenarios, including spatial closures, using a simulation approach that mimics the recent exploitation patterns. Results evidence good model performance, with a noteworthy coherence and reliability of outputs for the different components. Among others, the main finding is that a partial improvement in resource conditions can be achieved by means of nursery closures, even if the overall fishing effort in the area remains stable. Accordingly, a series of strategically designed areas of trawling closures could significantly improve the resource conditions of demersal fisheries in the Strait of Sicily, also supporting sustainable economic returns for fishermen if not applied simultaneously for different species.
2014
Pubblicato
Rilevanza internazionale
Articolo
Esperti anonimi
Settore BIO/07 - ECOLOGIA
Settore SECS-S/03 - STATISTICA ECONOMICA
English
Con Impact Factor ISI
Russo, T., Parisi, A., Garofalo, G., Gristina, M., Cataudella, S., Fiorentino, F. (2014). SMART: a spatially explicit bio-economic model for assessing and managing demersal fisheries, with an application to Italian trawlers in the strait of Sicily. PLOS ONE, 9(1), e86222 [10.1371/journal.pone.0086222].
Russo, T; Parisi, A; Garofalo, G; Gristina, M; Cataudella, S; Fiorentino, F
Articolo su rivista
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Russo et al. SMART - PLoS ONE - 2014.pdf

solo utenti autorizzati

Licenza: Copyright dell'editore
Dimensione 4.38 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
4.38 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2108/86288
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 8
  • Scopus 55
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 59
social impact