Seabed morphology, sediment grain size, and macrobenthic communities in a fished area and an area unaffected by fishing in the central Adriatic (Italy)

Abstract

        Studies performed in Italy for assessing the effects of fishing activities have been largely confined to the Adriatic Sea. They mostly investigated effects of experimentally induced impacts. The objective of this study was to compare a commercial fishing ground with an area in which no fishing was conducted. The two areas were less than 2 km apart and close to a gas platform in the central Adriatic. Seabed morphology, sediment grain size, and macrobenthic community composition were investigated. There were clear physical effects on the seabed morphology, mostly as a consequence of the trawling passage. Strong and unequivocal signs of disturbance were not detected from the grain size analysis but there was a major spatial variability of sediment distribution. There were signs of stress in the macrobenthic community, i.e., reduction of complexity and diversity, increased variability of distributional patterns, and fewer large longlived species in the fished area.