期刊
MARINE POLICY
卷 75, 期 -, 页码 116-124出版社
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2016.10.021
关键词
Scallops; Eelgrass; Overfishing; Shellfish; Historical ecology; Population collapse
资金
- Jefferson Scholars Foundation
- University of Virginia Department of Environmental Sciences
- Virginia's Recreational Fishery License Fund
- NOAA's Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program
- Virginia Sea Grant
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Division Of Environmental Biology [1237733] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Virginia supported the most productive bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) fishery in the United States in 1930, but the fishery disappeared three years later and never recovered. This collapse highlights a tipping point, but managers of extant bay scallop fisheries have not looked to this case for guidance, because the collapse has long been attributed to an exogenous eelgrass (Zostera marina) 'wasting disease' pandemic. Consequently, it remains little understood. However, efforts to restore the fishery, following successful eelgrass restoration, now warrant a thorough examination of its economic significance and disappearance. This study comprehensively surveyed information on the original fishery and reconstructed the pre-collapse population to evaluate restoration prospects and management strategies that reduce the risk of future scallop-seagrass system collapses. Harvest records suggest that overharvesting possibly contributed to the Virginia fishery disappearance a factor that influenced other bay scallop fisheries but did not alarm contemporary managers in Virginia. The harvest peaked before managers observed eelgrass disappearing and exceeded most pre-collapse population estimates. Intensive dredging possibly precipitated a feedback that reduced scallop recruitment by lowering seagrass shoot densities. Managers should, therefore, consider a potential tradeoff between future scallop harvest and eelgrass restoration goals. The restored wild scallop population in Virginia cannot yet support a commercial fishery at historic levels, which removed between 270 and 380x as many individuals. However, the economic risks associated with reestablishing this fishery are low. The collapse did not cause a significant loss in total economic value, because harvesters rapidly shifted focus to clams, supplanting lost scallop revenue.
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