posted on 2024-02-26, 10:14authored byGudrun G. Thorarinsdóttir, Stefan Áki Ragnarsson, Karl Gunnarsson, Elena Guijarro Garcia
No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.
The direct effect of hydraulic dredging on an ocean quahog population and accompanying fauna in shallow waters (10 m depth) was investigated by comparing samples from dredge tracks and nearby undisturbed areas. The rate of the shell breakage of ocean quahog left in the track was 21%, and these shells were on average smaller than those caught. The dredge tracks disappeared shortly after dredging and the effects on benthic fauna other than ocean quahog were of short duration, with faunal densities attaining pre-disturbance levels in a few months after dredging in most cases. In April 2006 a heavy storm caused transport of large quantities of ocean quahogs from this area, the soft bottom at 10 m depth, up onto a hard substratum at lower depth. There the clams unable to burry down again and escape were easy prey for predators. A year later only empty shells and shell fragments were observed at this site, but no living clams.
History
Symposia
2008 Annual Science Conference, Halifax, Canada
Session
Theme Session G: Sediment–biota interactions and mapping marine habitats
Abstract reference
G:07
Recommended citation
[Authors]. 2008. The impact of hydraulic clam dredging and storm on a soft bottom community. 2008 Annual Science Conference, Halifax, Canada. CM 2008/G:07. https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.25243741