Spatio-temporal patterns of fishing pressure on UK marine landscapes, and their implications for spatial planning and management

The spatio-temporal distribution of fishing pressure on marine landscapes in offshore UK (England and Wales) waters is assessed, based on a time-series of fishing vessel monitoring system (VMS) data for UK and foreign fleets deploying beam and otter trawls, and scallop dredges. The results reveal that marine landscapes with coarse or mixed sediments and weak or moderate tide stress are heavily. shed. Marine landscapes experienced different intensities of fishing pressure depending on their spatial location in UK offshore waters and the regional heterogeneity of landscape types. Spatial patterns of fishing pressure vary by region, but within regions, patches of high fishing pressure remain centred at the same locations. When designing marine management plans, it is important to take account of the spatial extent and patchiness of fishing activity, and the consistency with which areas are. shed in the same region from year to year. Descriptions of the spatial distribution of fishing pressures will become more meaningful at a local level if they also reflect the sensitivity of the habitats to those pressures. The further development of such sensitivity analyses, using life-history traits or measures of benthic production, is now becoming a priority.