Abstract
The Juan Fernández Ridge (JFRE) is a vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) located off the coast of central Chile formed by the Juan Fernández Archipelago and a group of seamounts. This ecosystem has unique biological and oceanographic features, characterized by: small geographical units, high degree of endemism with a high degree of connectivity within the system. Two fleets have historically operated in this system: a long term coastal artisanal fishery associated with the Islands, focused mainly on lobster, and a mainland based industrial demersal finfish fishery operating on the seamounts which is currently considered overexploited. The management of these fisheries has been based on a classical single-species approach to determine output controls (industrial fleet) and a mixed management system with formal and informal components (artisanal fleet). There has been growing interest in increasing the exploitation of fisheries, and modernization of the fishing fleet already operating in the JFRE. Under this scenario of increased levels of fishing exploitation and the high level of interrelation of species it might be necessary to understand the impact of these fisheries from a holistic perspective based on a ecosystem-based modeling approach. To address these challenges we developed an Atlantis end-to-end model was configured for this ecosystem. The implemented model has a high degree of skill in representing the observed trends and fluctuations of the JFRE. The model shows that the industrial fishing has a localized impact and the artisanal fisheries have a relatively low impact on the ecosystem, mainly via the lobster fishery. The model indicates that the depletion of large sized lobster has leads to an increase in the population of sea urchins. Although this increase is not sufficient, as yet, to cause substantial flow-on effects to other groups, caution is advised in case extra pressure leads the ecosystem towards a regime shift.
Highlights
IntroductionAll human activities in the oceans and along coasts (e.g. tourism, fisheries, shipping, infrastructure) have some degree of impact on the ecosystems and no location has escaped from the human footprint [1]
All human activities in the oceans and along coasts have some degree of impact on the ecosystems and no location has escaped from the human footprint [1]
Two commercial fishing fleets have historically operated in the Juan Fernandez Ridge (JFRE): i) a long term coastal and traditional artisanal fishery associated with the islands, mainly targeting lobsters (Jasus frontalis; [30, 31]), Juan Fernandez (J.F.) morwong (Nemadactylus gayi; [32]) and more recently golden crab (Chaceon chilensis; [33]); and ii) a mainland based industrial demersal finfish fishery operating on the seamounts, which targeted on two species: orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) and alfonsino (Berix splendens), both of these industrial fisheries are currently considered over-exploited and are closed
Summary
All human activities in the oceans and along coasts (e.g. tourism, fisheries, shipping, infrastructure) have some degree of impact on the ecosystems and no location has escaped from the human footprint [1]. The topographical and biophysical characteristics of these ecosystems suggest they can be more productive compared with the oceans that surround them [9] These seamounts have a great biodiversity of organisms: such as deep-sea corals, invertebrates, and fishes, many of them endemic [9, 10]. Some of these species have great economic value, which has led to the development of lucrative fisheries surpassing more than 2 million tonnes of catch globally from these ecosystems since the 1960s [11]. Many of these fisheries have not been sustainable and are currently classified as either over-exploited or depleted [11,12,13,14]. The type of fishing gear needed to fish a seamount is typically influenced by its depth and distance from shore:
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