Assessing the effects of demersal fishing and conservation strategies of marine mammals over a Patagonian food web
- Ocampo Reinaldo, Matías
- Milessi Millan, Andres Conrado
- Romero, Maria Alejandra
- Crespo, Enrique Alberto
- Wolff, Matthias
- González, Raul Alberto Candido
DOIAbstract
The San Matías Gulf (SMG) is a semi-enclosed ecosystem where the Argentine hake Merluccius hubbsi (AH) has been the main fishery resource since 1971. During the 20th century the South American sea lion Otaria flavescens (SASL) population was severely reduced in this ecosystem due an intense hunting, but in the 1970's conservation was promoted and hunting was banned. As a consequence SASL have been slowly recovering, until the 1990's when rapidly rebuilt their populations. Recent studies indicate that they feed mostly over commercially profitable medium-sized AH. Also, medium-sized and large hake are well-known cannibals that feed heavily over smaller AH. Fishing trawlers affect juvenile and medium-sized AH and artisanal long-liners capture ...
Add to ORKG