Integration of fisheries into marine spatial planning: quo vadis?

The relationship between fisheries and marine spatial planning (MSP) is still widely unsettled. Whileseveral scientific studies highlight the strong relation between fisheries and MSP, as well as ways inwhich fisheries could be included in MSP, the actual integration of fisheries into MSP often fails. In thisarticle, we review the state of the art and latest progress in research on various challenges in the integrationof fisheries into MSP. The reviewed studies address a wide range of integration challenges,starting with techniques to analyse where fishermen actually fish, assessing the drivers for fishermen'sbehaviour, seasonal dynamics and long-term spatial changes of commercial fish species under variousanthropogenic pressures along their successive life stages, the effects of spatial competition on fisheriesand projections on those spaces that might become important fishing areas in the future, and finally,examining how fisheries could benefit from MSP. This paper gives an overview of the latest developmentson concepts, tools, and methods. It becomes apparent that the spatial and temporal dynamicsof fish and fisheries, as well as the definition of spatial preferences, remain major challenges, butthat an integration of fisheries is already possible today