From bycatch to litter: a systematic map of the ecological impacts of fishing in European seas

@article{Beukhof2025,
  Title = {From bycatch to litter: a systematic map of the ecological impacts of fishing in European seas},
  Author = {Beukhof, Esther D. and Uhlmann, Sven Sebastian and van der Reijden, Karin J. and Anastasopoulou, Aikaterini and Altuna-Etxabe, Miren and Astarloa, Amaia and Basurko, Oihane C. and Binch, Logan and Bluemel, Joanna K. and Carbonara, Pierluigi and Dinesen, Grete E. and Eigaard, Ole R. and Festjens, Felien and Girardin, Raphael and Halouani, Ghassen and Kempf, Alexander and MacMillan, Isla and Papadopoulou, Nadia and Potier, Mikaela and Romagnoni, Giovanni and Seghers, Stephie and Smith, Christopher J. and Spedicato, Maria Teresa and Thorpe, Robert B. and Tsagarakis, Konstantinos and Van Hoey, Gert and Piet, Gerjan and Reid, David and Rindorf, Anna and Brown, Elliot J.},
  Editor = {},
  Journal = {Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries},
  Year = {2025},
  Volume = {36},
  Doi = {10.1007/s11160-025-10013-4},
  Abstract = {Ecological impacts from fishing are multifaceted, ranging from bycatch of sensitive species to physical seabed disturbance and cascading effects on food webs and biodiversity. A systematic review approach was applied to map the wealth of literature available on ecological fishing impacts in European seas. Over 2000 papers were screened, resulting in 527 papers that underwent full assessment and from which a systematic map database was created. Results show that impacts from demersal trawls on fish and benthic invertebrates were most studied, with catch or bycatch of organisms and physical disturbance of the seabed as key pressures. Pressures like discarding and fisheries-related litter were much less studied, as were impacts on marine mammals, sharks, rays, seabirds, food webs, reptiles, cephalopods, plants and plankton. Most papers studied impacts on the abundance or mortality of organisms, followed by community composition and biodiversity. Half of the papers were from the Mediterranean Sea, with fewer from other areas. We further illustrate the utility of the database with two case studies: one rich in papers, focusing on ecological impacts from bycatch of endangered, threatened or protected species, and one less well represented, focusing on ecological impacts from fisheries-related litter. For each case study, regional differences and key relationships between pressures, gear types and ecosystem components were identified, including information on scale, resolution and sampling methodology, followed by future research directions. Our systematic mapping approach enables users to reproduce and expand the database for future studies, summarising the knowledge needed to implement ecosystem-based fisheries management in Europe.},
}

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Beukhof, Esther D.
AU  - Uhlmann, Sven Sebastian
AU  - van der Reijden, Karin J.
AU  - Anastasopoulou, Aikaterini
AU  - Altuna-Etxabe, Miren
AU  - Astarloa, Amaia
AU  - Basurko, Oihane C.
AU  - Binch, Logan
AU  - Bluemel, Joanna K.
AU  - Carbonara, Pierluigi
AU  - Dinesen, Grete E.
AU  - Eigaard, Ole R.
AU  - Festjens, Felien
AU  - Girardin, Raphael
AU  - Halouani, Ghassen
AU  - Kempf, Alexander
AU  - MacMillan, Isla
AU  - Papadopoulou, Nadia
AU  - Potier, Mikaela
AU  - Romagnoni, Giovanni
AU  - Seghers, Stephie
AU  - Smith, Christopher J.
AU  - Spedicato, Maria Teresa
AU  - Thorpe, Robert B.
AU  - Tsagarakis, Konstantinos
AU  - Van Hoey, Gert
AU  - Piet, Gerjan
AU  - Reid, David
AU  - Rindorf, Anna
AU  - Brown, Elliot J.
TI  - From bycatch to litter: a systematic map of the ecological impacts of fishing in European seas
T2  - Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries
PY  - 2025
VL  - 36
DO  - 10.1007/s11160-025-10013-4
AB  - Ecological impacts from fishing are multifaceted, ranging from bycatch of sensitive species to physical seabed disturbance and cascading effects on food webs and biodiversity. A systematic review approach was applied to map the wealth of literature available on ecological fishing impacts in European seas. Over 2000 papers were screened, resulting in 527 papers that underwent full assessment and from which a systematic map database was created. Results show that impacts from demersal trawls on fish and benthic invertebrates were most studied, with catch or bycatch of organisms and physical disturbance of the seabed as key pressures. Pressures like discarding and fisheries-related litter were much less studied, as were impacts on marine mammals, sharks, rays, seabirds, food webs, reptiles, cephalopods, plants and plankton. Most papers studied impacts on the abundance or mortality of organisms, followed by community composition and biodiversity. Half of the papers were from the Mediterranean Sea, with fewer from other areas. We further illustrate the utility of the database with two case studies: one rich in papers, focusing on ecological impacts from bycatch of endangered, threatened or protected species, and one less well represented, focusing on ecological impacts from fisheries-related litter. For each case study, regional differences and key relationships between pressures, gear types and ecosystem components were identified, including information on scale, resolution and sampling methodology, followed by future research directions. Our systematic mapping approach enables users to reproduce and expand the database for future studies, summarising the knowledge needed to implement ecosystem-based fisheries management in Europe.
ER  -