Seabed litter distribution in the high seas of the Flemish Pass area (NW Atlantic)

Ana García-Alegre; Esther Román-Marcote; Jesús Gago; Gonzalo González-Nuevo; Mar Sacau; Pablo Durán Muñoz

doi:10.3989/scimar.04945.27a

Seabed litter distribution in the high seas of the Flemish Pass area (NW Atlantic)

Scientia Marina ◽

10.3989/scimar.04945.27a ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 84 (1) ◽

pp. 93

Author(s):

Ana García-Alegre ◽

Esther Román-Marcote ◽

Jesús Gago ◽

Gonzalo González-Nuevo ◽

Mar Sacau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Ocean ◽

Bottom Trawl ◽

Northwest Atlantic ◽

Marine Litter ◽

Fishing Gears ◽

National Jurisdiction ◽

Baseline Information ◽

Northeastern Flank ◽

Using Data ◽

The Eu

Seabed litter of the Flemish Pass area (NW Atlantic Ocean) was analysed and described using data from the EU-Spain groundfish survey (2006-2017 period). This study presents baseline information on seabed litter in this area. The Flemish Pass is located in areas beyond national jurisdiction within the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Regulatory Area Division 3L. A total of 1169 valid bottom trawl hauls were analysed (104-1478 m depth). Litter was found in 8.3% of the hauls, with mean densities of 1.4±0.2 items km–2 and 10.6±5.2 kg km–2. An increasing pattern with depth was found, the highest densities of seabed litter being identified in the deepest areas located in the Flemish Pass channel and down the northeastern flank of the Grand Bank. Fishing was found to be the main source of marine litter, and 61.9% of the hauls with litter presence showed litter included in the fisheries-related litter category. Whereas in most cases the litter was composed of small fragments of rope, in other cases it was composed of entire fishing gears such as traps. Plastics, metal and other anthropogenic litter were the next most abundant categories, accounting for 18.6%, 16.5% and 12.4% of the total, respectively.

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Distribution of deep-water corals of the Flemish Cap, Flemish Pass, and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland (Northwest Atlantic Ocean): interaction with fishing activities

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsq071 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 68 (2) ◽

pp. 319-332 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

F. J. Murillo ◽

P. Durán Muñoz ◽

A. Altuna ◽

A. Serrano

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Ocean ◽

Continental Slope ◽

Deep Water ◽

Coral Species ◽

Habitat Mapping ◽

Bottom Trawl ◽

Soft Corals ◽

Northwest Atlantic ◽

Grand Banks ◽

Black Corals

Abstract Murillo, F. J., Durán Muñoz, P., Altuna, A., and Serrano, A. 2011. Distribution of deep-water corals of the Flemish Cap, Flemish Pass, and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland (Northwest Atlantic Ocean): interaction with fishing activities. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 319–332. The distribution of deep-water corals of the Flemish Cap, Flemish Pass, and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland is described based on bycatch from Spanish/EU bottom trawl groundfish surveys between 40 and 1500 m depth. In all, 37 taxa of deep-water corals were identified in the study area: 21 alcyonaceans (including the gorgonians), 11 pennatulaceans, 2 solitary scleractinians, and 3 antipatharians. The greatest diversity of coral species was on the Flemish Cap. Corals were most abundant along the continental slope, between 600 and 1300 m depth. Soft corals (alcyonaceans), sea fans (gorgonians), and black corals (antipatharians) were most common on bedrock or gravel, whereas sea pens (pennatulaceans) and cup corals (solitary scleractinians) were found primarily on mud. The biomass of deep-water corals in the bycatches was highest in previously lightly trawled or untrawled areas, and generally low in the regularly fished grounds. The information derived from bottom-trawl bycatch records is not sufficient to map vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) accurately, but pending more detailed habitat mapping, it provides a valuable indication of the presence/absence of VMEs that can be used to propose the candidate areas for bottom fishery closures or other conservation measures.

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Population biology of monkfish Lophius americanus

ICES Journal of Marine Science ◽

10.1093/icesjms/fsn108 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 65 (7) ◽

pp. 1291-1305 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

R. Anne Richards ◽

Paul C. Nitschke ◽

Katherine A. Sosebee

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Ocean ◽

Shallow Water ◽

Population Biology ◽

Sex Ratios ◽

Marine Science ◽

The South ◽

Northwest Atlantic ◽

The North ◽

Using Data

Abstract Richards, R. A., Nitschke, P. C., and Sosebee, K. A. 2008. Population biology of monkfish Lophius americanus. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1291–1305. This paper provides an overview of the biology of monkfish in US waters of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean using data from resource surveys spanning the period 1948–2007. Monkfish exhibited seasonal onshore–offshore shifts in distribution, migrated out of the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) in mid-spring, and re-appeared there in autumn. Sex ratios at length for fish 40–65-cm long were skewed towards males in the southern MAB, but approximated unity elsewhere, suggesting that a portion of the population resides outside sampled areas. Growth was linear at 9.9 cm year−1 and did not differ by region or sex. Maximum observed size was 138 cm for females and 85 cm for males. Length at 50% maturity for males was 35.6 cm (4.1 years old) in the north and 37.9 cm (4.3 years old) in the south; for females 38.8 cm (4.6 years old) in the north and 43.8 cm (4.9 years old) in the south. Ripe females were found in shallow (<50 m) and deep (>200 m) water in the south, and in shallow water (<50 m) in the north.

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