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Oceans Fishing activity Seabed trawling
Demersal Fish Community Classification
The Demersal Fish Community Classification was developed to identify particular seabed areas that typically support certain characteristic fish groupings, and uses an extensive set of fisheries research trawl data to model the distribution of 122 fish species that live near the seabed (demersal fish species) (Leathwick et al, 2006). The species listed in the classification do not necessarily reflect the commercial catch in those areas, as this information is based on research trawls aimed at specific species.
The classification provides a geographic distribution of areas that typically support particular demersal fish communities, based on the types of fish living in the communities and the environmental conditions in which the communities occur in each area (Leathwick et al, 2006). This provides a useful way of evaluating whether geographic shifts in fishing effort are related to changes in the extent to which particular fish groupings are being targeted.
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There are three ecological classifications used for reporting on New Zealand's marine environment.
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Last updated: April 2010
