Mobile Fishing Gear Effects on Benthic Habitats: A Bibliography (Second Edition)

This document reviews the results of a workshop on scallop biology and the effects of scallop dredging on benthic communities. The workshop was held in Kodiak, Alaska, during 10-12 June 1999. A review of the history of the Alaskan weathervane scallop fishery was presented. Other speakers presented papers on scallop biology and fisheries in other cold-water areas. Topics of the papers included physical and biological variables influencing distribution, impacts of suspended particles on energetics, modeling approaches to identify dredging impacts, effects of long-term dredging, benthic communities associated with scallops, and the importance of protecting areas from fishing. Following the first day of public presentations, a two-day workshop was convened to develop a viable study program for examining the effects of dredging on the scallop’s life history, population dynamics, and associated benthic community. The workshop results were intended to be applied to the Alaskan fishery for weathervane scallops, but they are applicable to many scallop fisheries. The working groups identified ten research topics for which information needs to be gathered. Topics include the importance of spatial distribution on fertilization success, the reproductive output of individuals, the importance of nursery areas, scallop behavior and how it may be altered by dredging, factors that affect growth, fishery induced injury and mortality, causes and rates of natural mortality, long-term factors affecting recruitment, effects of scallop dredging on the benthos, and developing harvest strategies for scallops. Also, the working groups recommended that a monitoring program be established that included short-and long-term data gathering, and they identified methods and tools that might be used for this task. Aldridge, D. C. 2000. The impacts of dredging and weed cutting on a population of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae). Biological Conservation. 95(3) : 247-257.