Identifying priority areas for spatial management of mixed fisheries using ensemble of multi-species distribution models

Spatial fisheries management is widely used to reduce overfishing, rebuild stocks, and protect biodiversity. However, the effectiveness and optimization of spatial measures depend on accurately identifying ecologically meaningful areas, which can be difficult in mixed fisheries. To apply a method generally to a range of target species, we developed an ensemble of species distribution models (e-SDM) that combines general additive models, generalized linear mixed models, random forest, and gradient-boosting machine methods in a training and testing protocol. The e-SDM was used to integrate density indices from two scientific bottom trawl surveys with the geopositional data, relevant oceanographic variables from the three-dimensional physical-biogeochemical operational model, and fishing effort from the vessel monitoring system. The determined best distributions for juveniles and adults are used to determine hot spots of aggregation based on single or multiple target species. We applied e-SDM to juvenile and adult stages of 10 marine demersal species representing 60% of the total demersal landings in the central areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Using the e-SDM results, hot spots of aggregation and grounds potentially more selective were identified for each species and for the target species group of otter trawl and beam trawl fisheries. The results confirm the ecological appropriateness of existing fishery restriction areas and support the identification of locations for new spatial management measures.