Kelly Stewart|Rebecca L. Lewison|Daniel C. Dunn|Rhema Bjorkland|Shaleyla Kelez|Patrick N. Halpin|Larry B. Crowder
Characterizing Fishing Effort and Spatial Extent of Coastal Fisheries
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service|NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center|San Diego State University|Marine Conservation Institute|Duke University|Marine Conservation Institute|Duke University|Marine Conservation Institute|Duke University|Marine Conservation Institute|Duke University|Marine Conservation Institute|Duke University
biodiverse coastal zones often areas intense fishing pressure due high relative density fishing capacity nearshore regions although overcapacity one central challenges fisheries sustainability coastal zones accurate estimates fishing pressure coastal zones limited hampering assessment direct collateral impacts eg habitat degradation bycatch fishing compiled comprehensive database fishing effort metrics corresponding spatial limits fisheries used spatial analysis program feet map fishing effort density measured boatmeters per km coastal zones six ocean regions also considered utility number socioeconomic variables indicators fishing pressure national level fishing density increased function population size decreased function coastline length mapping exercise points intra interregional hotspots coastal fishing pressure significant intuitive relationships found fishing density population size coastline length may help coarse regional characterizations fishing pressure however spatiallydelimited fishing effort data needed accurately map fishing hotspots ie areas intense fishing activity suggest estimates fishing effort target catch yield serve necessary measure fishing activity key link evaluating sustainability environmental impacts coastal fisheries