Assessing the sensitivity of habitats to fishing: from seabed maps to sensitivity maps.

In the Welsh part of the Irish Sea, a method was developed for assessing the sensitivity of different seabed habitats to existing fishing activities, across a range of potential fishing intensities. The resistance of 31 habitats and their associated biological assemblage to damage by 14 categories of fishing activity were assessed along with the rate at which each habitat would recover following impact (resilience). Sensitivity was scored based on a combination of the resistance of a habitat to damage and its subsequent rate of recovery. The assessments were based, wherever possible, on scientific literature, with expert judgement used to extrapolate results to habitat and gear combinations not directly examined in the published literature. The resulting sensitivity matrices were then subject to further peer review at a series of workshops. Following consensus on the habitat sensitivity, these data were combined with the most resolved sea-floor habitat maps. These habitat sensitivity maps can help inform the development of site-specific management plans, as well as having a place in spatial planning and aiding managers in developing dialogue with other stakeholders. A case study of their application is provided.

Angiosperms (seagrass) within the EU water framework directive: a UK perspective.

Taxonomic composition, the presence of disturbance-sensitive species and abundance are attributes for monitoring the status of marine angiosperms; a biological quality element required for assessment of environmental condition under the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Their relevance for defining the ecological status of UK water bodies and the establishment of reference conditions for these attributes are described. Founded on quantitative measurements of these attributes, a set of metrics has been developed for monitoring and assessment of the only truly marine angiosperms, seagrass. The proposed metrics are presented and tested against a variety of littoral and sublittoral UK seagrass beds. In combination they express the cumulative response of marine angiosperms to different levels of anthropogenic disturbance.