The trophic fingerprint of marine fisheries

Trevor A. Branch (), Reg Watson, Elizabeth A. Fulton, Simon Jennings, Carey R. McGilliard, Grace T. Pablico, Daniel Ricard and Sean R. Tracey
Additional contact information
Trevor A. Branch: School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Box 355020, University of Washington
Reg Watson: Sea Around Us Project, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia
Elizabeth A. Fulton: CSIRO Wealth from Oceans, GPO Box 1538
Simon Jennings: Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
Carey R. McGilliard: School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Box 355020, University of Washington
Grace T. Pablico: Sea Around Us Project, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia
Daniel Ricard: Dalhousie University
Sean R. Tracey: Marine Research Laboratories, Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 49, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia

Nature, 2010, vol. 468, issue 7322, 431-435

Abstract: Catch-based fisheries data can mislead It is often claimed that industrial fisheries are 'fishing down marine food webs' by depleting top predators (such as tuna) before targeting their prey species (plankton feeders such as oysters and sardines). But new global data reveal little evidence for this pattern of sequential depletion, working downwards through the trophic levels of the marine ecosystem. Rather, comparison of model predictions of the widely adopted marine indicator, mean trophic level (MTL) derived from reported catches, with actual ecosystem MTL suggests that fishing has intensified throughout all levels of marine food webs. The trend can be masked by the use of data based on catches, and if we are to accurately monitor future fisheries collapses — and recoveries — we may need to shift focus from catch-based indicators to tracking true abundance trends using scientific surveys and models.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09528

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