Demersal assemblages on deep water trawling grounds off the Maltese Islands : management implications

Abstract

Data from three consecutive years of trawl surveys were used to characterise the demersal assemblages present on trawling grounds around the Maltese Islands, (Central Mediterranean) in water ranging from 85 to 800 m depth. Five different assemblages were present which seemed related to depth zones that do not coincide with those sampled in existing stock assessment programmes. It is therefore clear that the depth strata sampled in such programmes need to be revised to make them more biologically relevant and to achieve a better sampling representation of each assemblage type.