The results show that benthic assemblages found in dredged areas are characterized by species living in high-energy habitat, due to the closeness to the shore, and thus showing a high resilience at medium-term disturbs.
A control area was identified where fishing does not occur, in order to compare exploited and not exploited sea bottoms. A net sampler (40 cm width, 18 cm height, and 14 mm mesh size) was mounted on a commercial dredge (3 m width) and enabled to collect specimens of the smallest sizes for the entire community present in the areas.
The study area was located between 1 and 4 m depth, within 0.3 nautical miles from the coast. A medium-term assessment of the impact of the hydraulic dredges targeting razor clam Ensis minor on macro-benthic community was made during two surveys carried out in winter 2017 and late spring – summer 2018 in central Tyrrhenian Sea, which represents the main fishing ground for this species.
Claudio Vasapollo 1* Massimo Virgili 1 Giada Bargione 1,2 Andrea Petetta 1,2 Rocco De Marco 1 Elisa Punzo 1 Alessandro Lucchetti 1
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