A step towards seascape scale conservation: using vessel monitoring systems (VMS) to map fishing activity

Conservation of marine ecosystems will require a holistic understanding of fisheries with concurrent spatial patterns of biodiversity. Using data from the UK Government Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) deployed on UK-registered large fishing vessels we investigate patterns of fisheries activity on ann...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2007-10, Vol.2 (10), p.e1111-e1111
Main Authors: Witt, Matthew J, Godley, Brendan J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animals
Aquatic birds
Biodiversity
Commercial fishing
Computers
Conservation
Conservation of Natural Resources
Continental shelves
Data processing
Ecological monitoring
Ecology
Ecology/Conservation and Restoration Ecology
Ecology/Ecosystem Ecology
Ecology/Marine and Freshwater Ecology
Ecology/Spatial and Landscape Ecology
Ecosystem
Ecosystem conservation
Ecosystem disturbance
Ecosystem management
Environment
Environmental management
Fish
Fisheries
Fisheries management
Fishery conservation
Fishes
Fishing
Fishing vessels
Fishing zones
Food
Longlining (Fisheries)
Mapping
Marine conservation
Marine ecosystems
Monitoring systems
Remote sensing
Risk management
Seabirds
Software
Sustainable fisheries
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:Conservation of marine ecosystems will require a holistic understanding of fisheries with concurrent spatial patterns of biodiversity. Using data from the UK Government Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) deployed on UK-registered large fishing vessels we investigate patterns of fisheries activity on annual and seasonal scales. Analysis of VMS data shows that regions of the UK European continental shelf (i.e. Western Channel and Celtic Sea, Northern North Sea and the Goban Spur) receive consistently greater fisheries pressure than the rest of the UK continental shelf fishing zone. VMS provides a unique and independent method from which to derive patterns of spatially and temporally explicit fisheries activity. Such information may feed into ecosystem management plans seeking to achieve sustainable fisheries while minimising putative risk to non-target species (e.g. cetaceans, seabirds and elasmobranchs) and habitats of conservation concern. With multilateral collaboration VMS technologies may offer an important solution to quantifying and managing ecosystem disturbance, particularly on the high-seas.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0001111