Publication

2009-10

English

http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/11169/7523.pdf (2.41 Mo)

Martin C. S.^{1, 2}, Carpentier Andre¹, Vaz Sandrine¹, Coppin Franck¹, Curet L.³, Dauvin J. -C.⁴, Delavenne Juliette¹, Dewarumez J. -M.⁴, Dupuis L.², Engelhard G.⁵, Ernande Bruno¹, Foveau A.⁴, Garcia C.⁴, Gardel Laure¹, Harrop S.³, Just R.³, Koubbi P.^{6, 7}, Lauria Valentina¹, Meaden G. J.², Morin Jocelyne¹, Ota Y.³, Rostiaux Emilie¹, Smith R.³, Spilmont N.⁴, Verin Yves¹, Villanueva Ching-Maria¹, Warembourg Caroline¹

1 : IFREMER, Inst Francais Rech Exploitat Mer, Lab Ressources Halieut, Ctr Manche Mer Nord, F-62321 Boulogne, France.
2 : Canterbury Christ Church Univ, Dept Geog & Life Sci, Canterbury CT1 1QU, Kent, England.
3 : Univ Kent, DICE, Dep Anthropol, Canterbury CT2 7NS, Kent, England.
4 : USTL, CNRS, LOG, Stn Marine Wimereux,UMR 8187, F-62930 Wimereux, France.
5 : CEFAS, Lowestoft Lab, Lowestoft NR33 0HT, Suffolk, England.
6 : Univ Paris 06, Lab Oceanog Villefranche, UMR 7093, F-06230 Villefranche Sur Mer, France.
7 : CNRS, LOV, UMR 7093, F-06230 Villefranche Sur Mer, France.

Aquatic Living Resources (0990-7440) (Edp Sciences S A), 2009-10 , Vol. 22 , N. 4 , P. 499-508

7

Ecology

Eastern English Channel, Dover Strait, Benthos, Fish, Habitat, Ecosystem, Marine spatial planning, Fisheries, Legislation, Trophic network, Food web, GIS, Geographic Information System

The eastern English Channel, the narrow channel of water separating northern France and southeast England is an area of intense human use of the array of resources concentrated into its relative small area. The vulnerability of living resources and their habitats brought together French and British maritime experts within a common project (called CHARM): to create an atlas of marine resource habitats in the eastern English Channel so as to provide planners and decision-makers with the necessary information to help managing the use of its living and non-living resources. This multidisciplinary and richly illustrated atlas provides abundant information on the legal framework and physical environment; benthic invertebrates, fish and their habitats; fishing activities; and a first attempt at developing a trophic network model (using ECOPATH software) and a marine conservation planning exercise (using MARXAN software, at a spatial resolution of 25 km(2)). Although most of the data used were collected elsewhere, some were collected especially for the project. Similarly, most of the analyses performed on the data where entirely original for this geographical area. The CHARM atlas has significantly improved the knowledge about the eastern Channel while contributing to the recognition that such holistic or multidisciplinary approaches to exploited marine systems are necessary to efficiently and durably manage their resources use.