This bibliography attempts to compile a listing of papers and reports that address the many effects and impacts that fishing can have on habitat and the marine environment. The bibliography is not limited to scientific literature only. It includes technical reports, state and federal agency reports, college theses, conference and meeting proceedings, popular articles, and other forms of nonscientific literature. This was done in an attempt to gather as much information on fishing impacts as possible. Researchers will be able to decide for themselves whether they feel the included information is valuable.

Fishing, both recreational and commercial, can have many varying impacts on habitat and the marine environment. Whether a fisher prop scars seagrass, drops an anchor on a coral reef, or drags a trawl across the bottom, each act can alter habitat and affect fish populations. While fishing can have many varying impacts on habitat, this bibliography tries to narrow its focus to the physical impacts of fishing on habitat. It does not try to include the ecosystem effects of fishing. Removal of predators, prey, and competitors can have very serious and extensive effects on the ecosystem, but it is not addressed here. Also, the bibliography tries not to include bycatch issues and the act of discarding bycatch back into the marine environment. While the bibliography includes research on physical fishing impacts on animals, if the animal was caught or retained and then later discarded, the bibliography does not deal with this issue. Some included papers may not directly apply to the above guidelines. However, it is thought that inferences can be made on how this action could affect other habitat, animals, or environments, i.e., lost gear that affects a marine mammal could also affect fish in the same way.

The Annotated Bibliography is now online as a ProCite searchable database. You can access the database by the following link. http://www.gsmfc.org/ris/risweb.isa. The best way to search is with the advanced search feature. If you would like to search the abstracts of the references, use the "all non-indexed fields" under the "Field to Search" button. This is the only way to fully search the abstracts. You also have the option of using the indexed fields. These include the authors, keywords, periodical, year, and titles.

You can also download the bibliography as an Adobe Acrobat File (.pdf).  Also, users of this document should feel free to contact the editor with comments, suggestions, and updated information. He can be reached at jrester@gsmfc.org or (228) 875-5912.

Annotated Bibliography of Fishing Impacts on Habitat

The Annotated Bibliography of Fishing Impacts on Habitat originally produced in February 2000 has been updated. The Commission’s Habitat Subcommittee felt that the gathering of pertinent literature should continue. The first update contains 47 new articles since the publication of the original bibliography. The second update contains 55 new articles since the first update.  The third update contains 52 articles.  The updates use the same criteria that the original bibliography used to compile articles. These new references have been added to the ProCite database.

Annotated Bibliography of Fishing Impacts on Habitat - October 2000 Update

Annotated Bibliography of Fishing Impacts on Habitat - October 2001 Update

Annotated Bibliography of Fishing Impacts on Habitat - September 2003 Update

The bibliographies are saved as Adobe Acrobat Files (.pdf).  In order to view the files, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader, please use the link provided to download it.

Another site to check out for gear impacts to habitat is the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Effects of Gear web site. It also contains a ProCite searchable database.

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Last modified: January 03, 2007