Assessing fish community dynamics in a Norwegian no-take marine reserve compared to a harvested area

2022

An ecosystem's ability to respond and maintain key functions during environmental change are largely determined by its biodiversity. As human activities continue to alter the composition of biological communities at all scales there is a need for up-to-date status of biodiversity, including how marine fisheries may affect diversity in coastal systems. In this study, I assessed the effect of protection from fishing on a coastal fish community in the Tvedestrand fjord on the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. I compared fish species richness, diversity, composition, catch per unit effort (CPUE), and fish size (body length) between a marine protected area (MPA) and a nearby fished area (i.e., the cont…