On the potential benefits of marine spatial planning for herring spawning conditions—An example from the western Baltic Sea

Abstract

Fisheries and marine spatial planning (MSP) still have a widely unsettled relationship. This paper reports on the potential benefits of MSP for the management of herring (Clupea harengus L.) stocks in the Greifswalder Bodden, a major spawning ground for western Baltic spring-spawning herring. The various pressures that have potential impacts on spawning conditions are identified based on a systematic literature review. Those anthropogenic activities that affect spawning conditions and could underlie MSP regulations are then analysed on the basis of the pressure maps to assess their importance for recruitment success in comparison to other pressures which are not subject to MSP by-laws, e.g. eutrophication. The results confirm that MSP could potentially improve the management of certain fish stocks and help to close existing gaps in European fisheries policy.