Sensitivity of macrobenthic secondary production to trawling in the English sector of the Greater North Sea: A biological trait approach

Within the GNS, estimates of total production varied by almost three orders of magnitude, from 1.66 kJ m− 2 y− 1 to 968.9 kJ m− 2 y− 1. Large-scale patterns were observed in the proportion of secondary production derived from trawling-sensitive taxa. In the southern North Sea, total production is predominantly governed by taxa with low sensitivity to trawling, whereas production is relatively trawling-sensitive in the northern North Sea and western English Channel. In general, the more sensitive and productive regions are associated with poorly-sorted, gravelly or muddy sediments, while the less sensitive and less productive regions are associated with well-sorted, sandy substrates. These relationships between production sensitivity and environmental features are primarily due to variations in long-term recovery; total production of most assemblages is highly sensitive to the direct impacts of trawling. We discuss the implications of these findings for management 1decisions to improve the environmental sustainability of trawling.