Multiple sensitivity metrics are needed to adequately assess a species’ sensitivity for conservation and management

Abstract

Fish populations are declining globally due to increasing anthropogenic pressures. While research has been carried out to understand the impacts of certain threats on different fish species, most studies have focused on a small number of species with high commercial value, leaving a pressing need to assess non-target and rare species. We calculated rmax for a range of commonly captured marine fish species to determine intrinsic sensitivity, assessed sensitivity to fishing with a length-based spawning stock per recruit model (Rindorf et al. 2020), and created a combination sensitivity metric (weighted mean of these two metrics). A significant positive correlation was found between both metrics, demonstrating that intrinsically sensitive species are also particularly sensitive to fishing, though this was not always the case, highlighting the need to use multiple metrics for a realistic assessment of species’ sensitivity. We found chondrichthyan species to be particularly sensitive by all metrics. Of the species that ranked in the top twenty most sensitive species for both intrinsic sensitivity and sensitivity to fishing, more than half are not covered by species-specific protective legislation within European waters, suggesting that many sensitive species lack adequate protection. We propose incorporating sensitivity metrics into conservation and management to benefit management efforts of all species.