Deep-sea seamount fisheries: a review of global status and future prospects

ABSTRACT. Seamounts support a large number and wide diversity of fish species. A number of these spe-cies can form aggregations for spawning or feeding and are the target of large-scale trawl fisheries. Since the 1970s, seamounts throughout the worlds ’ oceans have been explored for commercial resources, starting with efforts by the Soviet Union and Japan, which deployed distant water fleets around the world. Since then, a large number of countries have pursued fisheries on seamounts, especially in the deep sea. The total cumula-tive catch from seamount trawl fisheries exceeds two million tonnes. Catch histories for many deep-sea spe-cies show rapidly declining landings, and careful management is required to increase the chances of sustain-able fisheries. The low productivity of many seamount species limits the prospects for the large-scale exploita-tion of fish and invertebrate resources on seamounts