Deep-sea seamount fisheries: a review of global status and future prospects

Abstract

Seamounts support a large number and wide diversity of fish species. A number of these species can form aggregations for spawning or feeding and are the target of large-scale trawl fisheries. Since the 1970s, seamounts throughout the worlds’ oceans have been explored for commercial resources, starting with efforts by the Soviet Union and Japan, which deployed distant water fleets around the world. Since then, a large number of countries have pursued fisheries on seamounts, especially in the deep sea. The total cumulative catch from seamount trawl fisheries exceeds two million tonnes. Catch histories for many deep-sea species show rapidly declining landings, and careful management is required to increase the chances of sustainable fisheries. The low productivity of many seamount species limits the prospects for the large-scale exploitation of fish and invertebrate resources on seamounts.