Spatial patterns of fishing activity inside the Gorringe bank MPA based on VMS, AIS and e-logbooks data

Abstract

In this study, the fishing distribution and intensity over the Gorringe bank, a large oceanic underwater mountain located in the NE Atlantic, Natura 2000 Network MPA inside Portugal‘s EEZ is evaluated in the period from 2012 to 2016. Based on the combined analysis of fisheries-dependent data comprising Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), Automatic Identification System (AIS) and electronic logbooks available for the Portuguese fleet operating within the area, it was possible to identify fishing trips and fishing events and define fishing trajectories, allowing the estimation of the fishing effort and the CPUE at a high spatial resolution. A total of 32 Portuguese vessels were identified to have undertaken fishing activity within the limits of this MPA, mainly longliners based on mainland ports, operating drifting and bottom longlines on a seasonal basis. Fleet-related differences in the distribution and intensity of fishing effort and CPUE for the main target species were addressed. The bottom longline activity concentrated, as expected, around the two seamount summits, where the presence of VMEs and sensitive habitat-forming species have been registered. The analysis of AIS data, the only dataset made available in this study for non-Portuguese vessels, strongly suggests that the foreign fleet operating within the Gorringe MPA represents a significant fraction of the fishing activity in the area. If assessing the fishing impacts is deemed as an important objective in the management of this MPA, then the results obtained in this study can be a valuable contribution towards the environmental protection of this oceanic seamount.