Skip to main content
Publications | Persons | Institutes | Projects
[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

Acute impacts of bottom trawl gears on benthic metabolism and nutrient cycling
Tiano, J.C.; Witbaard, R.; Bergman, M.J.N.; van Rijswijk, P.; Tramper, A.; Van Oevelen, D.; Soetaert, K. (2019). Acute impacts of bottom trawl gears on benthic metabolism and nutrient cycling. ICES J. Mar. Sci./J. Cons. int. Explor. Mer 76(6): 1917–1930. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsz060

Additional data:
In: ICES Journal of Marine Science. Academic Press: London. ISSN 1054-3139; e-ISSN 1095-9289, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Author keywords
    biogeochemistry; ecosystem functioning; oxygen dynamics; nutrients; beam trawling; pulse trawling; organic carbon; Frisian Front

Authors  Top 
  • Tiano, J.C., more
  • Witbaard, R., more
  • Bergman, M.J.N., more
  • van Rijswijk, P., more
  • Tramper, A., more
  • Van Oevelen, D., more
  • Soetaert, K., more

Abstract
    Research on the environmental impacts of bottom fishing gears has focused mainly on structural characteristics of benthic habitats such as faunal composition and the physical features of the seafloor. This study focuses more on functional characteristics by addressing the biogeochemical consequences associated with tickler chain beam trawl and electric PulseWing trawl gears. In June 2017, professional fishermen trawled experimental transects with both types of gears in the Frisian Front area of the North Sea. Box core sediment samples and in situ landers were used to evaluate biogeochemical fluxes and sediment characteristics in untrawled and trawled areas (samples taken 3.5–70 h after fishing). A reduction of sedimentary chlorophyll a was observed, which was larger following tickler chain (83%) compared to PulseWing trawling (43%). This displacement of surface material caused significant decreases in the sediment oxygen consumption in tickler chain (41%) and PulseWing trawled samples (33%) along with a deeper penetration of oxygen in the sediment (tickler chain: 3.78 mm, PulseWing: 3.17 mm) compared to untrawled areas (2.27 mm). Our research implies that bottom trawl disturbance can lead to immediate declines in benthic community metabolism, with tickler chain trawling exhibiting more prominent alterations than PulseWing trawling on benthic biogeochemical processes.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors