McCarthy, Arlie and Steadman, Daniel and Richardson, Hannah and Benbow, Sophie and Murphy, Jack and Brian, Joshua and Costa-Domingo, Giulia and Brooks, Holly and Hazin, Carolina and McOwen, Chris and Walker, Jessica and Willer, David and Abdi, Mohamad and Auster, Peter and Bealey, Roy and Bensted-Smith, Robert and Broadburn, Kathryn and Febrica, Senia (2024) Destructive fishing : An expert-driven definition and exploration of this quasi-concept. Conservation Letters, 17 (3): e13015. ISSN 1755-263X
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Numerous policy and international frameworks consider that “destructive fishing” hampers efforts to reach sustainability goals. Though ubiquitous, “destructive fishing” is undefined and therefore currently immeasurable. Here we propose a definition developed through expert consultation: “Destructive fishing is any fishing practice that causes irrecoverable habitat degradation, or which causes significant adverse environmental impacts, results in long-term declines in target or nontarget species beyond biologically safe limits and has negative livelihood impacts.” We show strong stakeholder support for a definition, consensus on many biological and ecological dimensions, and no clustering of respondents from different sectors. Our consensus definition is a significant step toward defining sustainable fisheries goals and will help interpret and implement global political commitments which utilize the term “destructive fishing.” Our definition and results will help reinforce the Food and Agricultural Organization's Code of Conduct and meaningfully support member countries to prohibit destructive fishing practices.