Trawl ban in a heavily exploited marine environment: Responses in population dynamics of four stomatopod species.

ABSTRACT: Intensive trawling activities in Hong Kong waters have seriously depleted fishery resources and damaged marine benthic habitats over the last four decades. To minimize further destruction and rehabilitate fishery resources, the Hong Kong Government implemented a permanent territory-wide trawling closure on 31 December 2012. Such a trawl ban creates a unique opportunity to investigate recoveries in ecosystem structure and function following a major shift in disturbance regime by removing impacts from a major gear. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that dominant predatory mantis shrimps, including Harpiosquilla harpax, Miyakella nepa, Oratosquillina interrupta, and Oratosquilla oratoria would show signs of recovery following the trawl ban. Their population dynamics were investig

SUBMITTER: Tao LSR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6294824 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature