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A SPATIALLY EXPLICIT MODEL OF THE ANTARCTIC KRILL FISHERY OFF THE SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS
Author(s) -
Marín Victor H.,
Delgado Luisa E.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
ecological applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.864
H-Index - 213
eISSN - 1939-5582
pISSN - 1051-0761
DOI - 10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[1235:asemot]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - krill , antarctic krill , shetland , euphausia , fishery , fishing , foraging , oceanography , marine ecosystem , environmental science , biomass (ecology) , trawling , ecology , ecosystem , biology , geology
We show the development of a spatially explicit ecosystem model for the Euphausia superba fishery in the South Shetland Islands area (Antarctic Peninsula). We generated a virtual ecosystem, using a spatial automaton–geographic information system technique, to study management scenarios. We used literature data to generate the advection field, the initial krill biomass, and the distribution and size of penguin colonies in the area. Parameters for the fishing fleet were extracted from analysis of Chilean krill‐fishing vessels. The model assumes that krill are passive current drifters and that penguin foraging occurs in areas close to their colonies. We analyzed the effect that a simulated 20‐vessel fishing fleet would have on the availability of prey, considering the krill flux due to advection. The results show that it would be reasonable to manage the krill fishery in the South Shetland Islands as an interconnected set of ecotrophic modules, allocating the fleet downstream from the main penguin foraging sector.