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Abstract Some species of commercial value, mainly pelagic fishes or squids,
display fidelity to localized high-productivity fronts. Aggregations of organisms in predictable places facilitate fishing operations; moreover fishermen may
easily detect certain kinds of fronts (e.g. thermal fronts) by employing satellite
information, improving fisheries’ efficiency. Abundance of some benthic valuable
resources (e.g. scallops) increase in fronts as well, forming dense and profitable
beds. Species having little or no commercial value also concentrate at fronts; consequently, interactions between fisheries and vulnerable or endangered species are
amplified at fronts: high bycatch rates of large pelagic sharks, sea turtles, marine
mammals, and seabirds characterize some fronts. Fronts also exhibit a potential
to concentrate several types of pollutants (e.g. plastics; oil; heavy metals) at their
surface convergence and in sediments, thus endangering species that make use of
the fronts. Because of potential dangers for marine life, fronts may be considered
as valuable candidates for the implementation of protected areas. The ocean’s
storage of carbon and ability to regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide is crucially
dependent on primary production. Although high phytoplankton standing stocks
do not necessarily imply CO 2 sequestration, it has been shown that at least some
fronts do present this type of biogeochemical response. It is expected that climate change will affect several of the physical forcing processes that generate and
maintain fronts. Variations in the intensity of such forcing will affect key ecological processes associated with fronts. Because fronts depend on different forcing,
it is expected that the impact and speed of climate change will vary among frontal types and geographical regions. Fronts play a significant role in the ecology of
seas, and their forcing and properties are likely to change in response to climate
change. Thus, it is suggested that fronts would be ideal sites for early monitoring
and assessment of the dynamics of global state variables.
Keywords Pelagic fisheries · Benthic fisheries · Endangered species bycatch ·
Pollutant concentration · Frontal forcing climate change · CO 2 sequestration
Chapter 4
Management and Conservation
of Marine Life
© The Author(s) 2015
E.M. Acha et al., Ecological Processes at Marine Fronts,
SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15479-4_4
Abstract Some species of commercial value, mainly pelagic fishes or squids,
display fidelity to localized high-productivity fronts. Aggregations of organisms in predictable places facilitate fishing operations; moreover fishermen may
easily detect certain kinds of fronts (e.g. thermal fronts) by employing satellite
information, improving fisheries’ efficiency. Abundance of some benthic valuable
resources (e.g. scallops) increase in fronts as well, forming dense and profitable
beds. Species having little or no commercial value also concentrate at fronts; consequently, interactions between fisheries and vulnerable or endangered species are
amplified at fronts: high bycatch rates of large pelagic sharks, sea turtles, marine
mammals, and seabirds characterize some fronts. Fronts also exhibit a potential
to concentrate several types of pollutants (e.g. plastics; oil; heavy metals) at their
surface convergence and in sediments, thus endangering species that make use of
the fronts. Because of potential dangers for marine life, fronts may be considered
as valuable candidates for the implementation of protected areas. The ocean’s
storage of carbon and ability to regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide is crucially
dependent on primary production. Although high phytoplankton standing stocks
do not necessarily imply CO 2 sequestration, it has been shown that at least some
fronts do present this type of biogeochemical response. It is expected that climate change will affect several of the physical forcing processes that generate and
maintain fronts. Variations in the intensity of such forcing will affect key ecological processes associated with fronts. Because fronts depend on different forcing,
it is expected that the impact and speed of climate change will vary among frontal types and geographical regions. Fronts play a significant role in the ecology of
seas, and their forcing and properties are likely to change in response to climate
change. Thus, it is suggested that fronts would be ideal sites for early monitoring
and assessment of the dynamics of global state variables.
Keywords Pelagic fisheries · Benthic fisheries · Endangered species bycatch ·
Pollutant concentration · Frontal forcing climate change · CO 2 sequestration
Chapter 4
Management and Conservation
of Marine Life
© The Author(s) 2015
E.M. Acha et al., Ecological Processes at Marine Fronts,
SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15479-4_4