Jonathan Amos
BBC 17 Nov 17;
The importance of seagrasses is further emphasised in a new report that looks at how they underpin fishing worldwide.
These flowering plants, which grow in near-shore waters, are under intense pressure - some estimates suggest global losses are running at 7% a year.
The grasses provide shelter and food for many sea creatures and that makes them a natural draw to fishers.
But Richard Unsworth and colleagues say this valuable resource will need better management if it is to be sustained.
"Our study is really the first to show just how important seagrass meadows are to fishing," explained the researcher from Swansea University in the UK.
"Wherever you get seagrasses, you get fishing, basically," he told BBC News.
Seagrass meadows are found around every continent except Antarctica.
The plants cycle nutrients, stabilise sediments, and - as photosynthesisers - act as a "sink" for carbon dioxide.
They also provide nursery habitat for juvenile fish, which hide from predators among the stems.
However, the scale of the importance of the meadows to fisheries has been more supposition than fact because of a paucity of data on how they are actually used, according to Dr Unsworth.
His team set about correcting this by interviewing experts - including other scientists and fisheries managers - on what they were observing around the world.
The team also took in case studies covering all regions from the Philippines to Zanzibar, Indonesia, the Turks and Caicos Islands and locations in the Mediterranean.
The picture that emerges is much the same everywhere.
Fishers actively target seagrasses because they recognise the habitats' great productivity.
This is true from small-scale recreational activity all the way through to large-scale commercial practice.
The study details the types of tools and equipment used - from spears to nets - and the variety of species taken, from invertebrates such as crabs, shrimp and clams, to popular finfish such as mullet, herring and snapper.
One critical point to emphasise from the assessment is that many hundreds of millions of people worldwide depend on the catch from seagrass meadows for their daily protein intake.
This makes their conservation and proper management all the more important, says the team.
There is a claim that a meadow area equivalent to two football pitches is disappearing every hour.
Such statements are very hard to verify, but there is no doubt that seagrasses are being diminished by poor water quality in coastal areas as a result of agricultural and urban run-off, among several threats that also include insensitive fishing practices.
Team member Lina Nordlund, from Stockholm University, said: "The ecological value of seagrass meadows is irrefutable, yet their loss continues at an accelerating rate.
"Now there is growing evidence globally that many fisheries associated to seagrass are unrecorded, unreported and unmanaged, leading to a tragedy of the seagrass commons."
Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, from Cardiff University, added: "Arguments in support of seagrass have in the past too often focused on the fluffy - such as the conservation of seahorses.
"I don't want to dismiss seahorses' importance, but the reality is that seagrasses have much higher value in supporting fisheries. And I've come across numerous occasions where fishermen have been against conservation of seagrasses because they can't moor their boats in these locations, when it's those seagrasses that support their activity in the first place.
"What we need to do is increase the level of understanding and appreciation of these habitats."
The team's study - Global significance of seagrass fishery activity - is published in the journal Fish and Fisheries.
The tragedy of the seagrass commons
SWANSEA UNIVERSITY EurekAlert 17 Nov 17;
Writing in the Journal Fish & Fisheries, Dr Richard Unsworth of Swansea University (together with colleagues at Cardiff University and Stockholm University) examine the global extent to which these meadows of underwater plants support fishing activity.
"Wherever seagrass exists in proximity to people, our research finds that it's used as a key targeted fishing habitat" said Dr Unsworth, who is based at Swansea University's Biosciences department.
"Our research is for the first time recording how globally extensive the use of seagrass meadows as a fishery habitat is. In developing countries this activity tends to have a major significance for daily food supply and general livelihoods. In developed countries the role of this activity is more for recreation or species specific targeted fisheries (e.g. clams)."
Dr Nordlund from Stockholm University added "The ecological value of seagrass meadows is irrefutable, yet there loss continues at an accelerating rate. Now there is growing evidence globally that many fisheries associated to seagrass are unrecorded, unreported and unmanaged, leading to a tragedy of the seagrass commons".
In their article, the researchers highlight that because of their nearshore, shallow water distribution in sheltered environments seagrass meadows make great places to fish in all conditions. This leads to high intensity of fishing effort often all year round.
The authors have studied seagrass fisheries all around the world from the Philippines, to Zanzibar, Indonesia, the Turks & Caicos Islands and locations in the Mediterranean. They have found many similarities in the types of fishing gear used the major animal families that are fished and the extent of effort focused in these sensitive habitats.
Even in small seagrass meadows in Wales fishers can be seen targeting shrimp at low tide and placing gill nets to catch Bass. By providing a three-dimensional structure in an otherwise barren sea, seagrasses provide the perfect hiding place for fish and invertebrates such as crabs, shrimp and clams. This abundance of animal life is what attracts fishers.
"It is important that more recognition is given to the value of these habitats for supporting fisheries as they're being damaged and degraded globally." said Dr Cullen-Unsworth (Cardiff University), one of the co-authors who is also director of the marine conservation charity Project Seagrass who are working to highlight the importance and plight of these sensitive marine habitats.
Whether for recreation or sustenance, seagrass proves vital to fishing around the globe
Brooks Hays UPI 17 Nov 17;
Nov. 17 (UPI) -- New research reveals the importance seagrass plays as host to fishing activity.
When scientists looked at seagrasses and marine meadows around the globe, they found high levels of fishing activity are constant.
The research -- published this week in the journal Fish & Fisheries -- suggests scientists need to consider how to protect and manage seagrass ecosystems in order to promote healthier, more sustainable fisheries.
"If there is seagrass and people there is most certainly fishing," Lina Mtwana Nordlund, an ecologist at Stockholm University in Sweden, said in a news release. "It doesn't matter if it is a country with high or low human development, fishing occurs. But the reasons for fishing and the target species vary."
In less developed nations, seagrass tends to host subsistence fishing. Those fishing aren't usually targeting a specific species. Instead, they're trying to catch whatever's available, whether to feed their own family or sell to their neighbors.
In more developed nations, seagrass tends to host recreational fishing. Those fishing are typically targeting specific species.
In both lesser and more developed nations, marine meadows host all kinds of fishing techniques and equipment.
"The ecological value of seagrass meadows is irrefutable, yet their loss continues at an accelerating rate," warned Dr. Richard Unsworth, a researcher Swansea University. "Now there is growing evidence globally that many fisheries associated to seagrass are unrecorded, unreported and unmanaged, leading to a tragedy of the seagrass commons."
Researchers hope their work will inspire conservationists and policy makers to take steps to better protect shallow-water ecosystems where seagrass grows.
"Seagrass meadows are being damaged and degraded globally and urgent action is needed to stem the loss of seagrass meadows," said Mtwana Nordlund. "Their importance as a key fishing ground is yet another reason why we need to start appreciating the value of seagrass."
Seagrass is a key fishing ground globally
STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY EurekAlert 17 Nov 17;
New research demonstrates that seagrass meadows are important fishing grounds all around the globe. The work highlights that there is an urgent need to start appreciating and understanding this role to be able to build more sustainable fisheries. A study led by Dr Lina Mtwana Nordlund at Stockholm University, published in the scientific journal Fish & Fisheries, examines the global extent to which these underwater meadows support fishing activity.
"If there is seagrass and people there is most certainly fishing. It doesn't matter if it is a country with high or low human development, fishing occurs. But the reasons for fishing and the target species vary" says Dr Nordlund who is based at Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science at Stockholm University in Sweden.
In countries with a low human development index score seagrass fishery activity tends to target anything one can find that can be eaten, sold or used as bait. These seagrass fisheries have a major significance for daily food supply and livelihoods. In countries with a very high human development index score, seagrass fisheries are more commonly recreational with specific species targeted, such as clams. The research highlights that nearly every type of fishing gear is used within seagrass fisheries.
"The ecological value of seagrass meadows is irrefutable, yet their loss continues at an accelerating rate. Now there is growing evidence globally that many fisheries associated to seagrass are unrecorded, unreported and unmanaged, leading to a tragedy of the seagrass commons" says co-author Dr Richard Unsworth, Swansea University.
The researchers from Stockholm University, Cardiff University and Swansea University highlight that because seagrass is generally found nearshore in shallow sheltered environments, it creates an accessible fishing ground in nearly all weather conditions.
The authors have studied seagrass fisheries all around the world from the Philippines, to USA, Indonesia, the Turks & Caicos Islands and locations in the Mediterranean. "Seagrass meadows are being damaged and degraded globally and urgent action is needed to stem the loss of seagrass meadows. Their importance as a key fishing ground is yet another reason why we need to start appreciating the value of seagrass" says Dr Mtwana Nordlund.
