Ecological meltdown in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland: two centuries of change in a coastal marine ecosystem.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Firth of Clyde is a large inlet of the sea that extends over 100 km into Scotland's west coast.

Methods

We compiled detailed fisheries landings data for this area and combined them with historical accounts to build a picture of change due to fishing activity over the last 200 years.

Findings

In the early 19th century, prior to the onset of industrial fishing, the Firth of Clyde supported diverse and productive fisheries for species such as herring (Clupea harengus, Clupeidae), cod (Gadus morhua, Gadidae), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus, Gadidae), turbot (Psetta maxima, Scophthalmidae) and flounder (Platichthys flesus, Pleuronectidae). The 19th century saw increased demand for fish, which encouraged more indiscriminate methods of fishing such as botto

SUBMITTER: Thurstan RH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2912323 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature