Seasonal closures as a measure of trawling effort control in two Mediterranean trawling grounds: effects on epibenthic communities.

Within the framework of ecosystem-based management, we focused on the use of seasonal closures as effective measures to minimise the degradation of benthic communities by trawling. These closures imply the complete cessation of trawling fleet activity and are commonly used in the Mediterranean to reduce the annual fishing effort, with the ultimate goal of effective resource management. In this study, we aimed to investigate how epibenthic communities respond to seasonal closures. The potential benefits of short-term annual closures in two Mediterranean fishing grounds were evaluated by analysing changes in community structure and composition that were linked to the closure. A decrease of faunal abundance was observed with the resumption of fishing activity after the closure at both fishing grounds. Remarkably, results indicated that some large and mobile fauna were able to respond to these closures. We concluded that the currently planned closures are too short to benefit benthic communities.