Abstract
The Gulf of Gabes in southern Tunisia shows the highest tidal ranges of the Mediterranean Sea. During spring tides, the very large intertidal sand and mudflat zone is exploited for clam harvesting, mainly targeted on the species Ruditapes spp. mainly Ruditapes decussatus by Linnaeus in 1758. To assess the short-term impact of clam harvesting on the intertidal macrobenthos of the Kneiss Islands mudflats, a control-impact study was set up in September and December 2013 using a BACI (Before-After-Control-Impact) design, with a control station and eight stations fished for clams. Significant decreases in total macrofauna, benthic polychaetes (mainly Nephtyidae, Eunicidae, Spionidae, Maldanidae, Sabellidae and Cirratulidae) and R. decussatus were observed from before to after the harvesting initiated. In the future, it would be very important to control this human activity, due to its negative impact on the surrounding macrofauna, which represent essential prey for fishes and birds living in this protected area.
Highlights
The intertidal zone is an important source of natural resources that are harvested by professional and recreational fishers mainly for financial gain
The aim of this study is to estimate, for the first time, the effects of clam harvesting on the macrobenthic communities in a poorly investigate area of the southern Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Gabès)
Before the clam harvesting period, the fauna composition was mainly dominated by molluscs, the most abundant families being the bivalves Veneridae, Scrobiculariidae and the gastropods Cerithiidae, and by polychaetes, the most abundant families being Nephtyidae, Cirratulidae, Sabellidae, Maldanidae, Eunicidae and Spionidae
Summary
The intertidal zone is an important source of natural resources that are harvested by professional and recreational fishers mainly for financial gain. Harvesting involves turning over sediment to capture target species such as molluscs, crustaceans and polychaetes. This may have a negative impact on the associated benthic infauna community, such as observed in the Lowes Cove communities from Walpole, Maine (USA) [1]. In a study of the impact of rake harvesting on the intertidal zone of the western Cotentin (western part of the English Channel, France), Beck et al [11] show that the effect of harvesting depends on the sediment type and hydrodynamic regime
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