A net positive effect? Assessing the impact on fishing opportunities within multiple-use MPAs. A case study from Scotland
Williams, C.; Taylor, P.; Underdown, N. (2020). A net positive effect? Assessing the impact on fishing opportunities within multiple-use MPAs. A case study from Scotland, in: Humphreys, J. et al. Marine protected areas: Science, policy and management. pp. 437-458. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-08-102698-4.00022-8 |
| Keywords | Fisheries management
Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS]; Pecten maximus (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS]
British Isles, Scotland [Marine Regions]
Marine/Coastal | | Author keywords | Marine protection areas; Spatial management; Scotland; Pectin maximus |
| Authors | | Top | - Williams, C.
- Taylor, P.
- Underdown, N.
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| Abstract | Spatial management of marine fisheries in the form of exclusions for certain gear types in specific areas is one of the primary means of limiting the impact of fisheries on the wider marine environment. Whether limiting heavy towed gear use in sensitive benthic habitats, or limiting the direct impacts of fishing mortality on seasonal spawning aggregations, spatial management can be the most effective tool to restrict unwanted negative impacts from fishing. Understanding the impacts of Marine Protected Areas in economic, as well as environmental terms, is crucial for managers, fishers and researchers alike. Spatial restrictions are often anticipated to have overall negative economic impacts for the fishing industry, which are supported by lobbying and campaigns against MPAs and the associated fisheries management. Seeing the spatial management of fisheries as a fishing opportunity, i.e. a quantified entitlement to fish is an area of fisheries research which is developing in a UK context but requires more case studies. The Scottish langoustine (Nephrops norvegicus) and king scallop (Pecten maximus) fisheries at key ports were selected as case studies for this chapter, examining whether the loss of fishing opportunities within Marine Protected Areas in Scotland have been as ‘economically disastrous’ as claimed by industry. |
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