Short-term impact of bait digging on intertidal macrofauna of tidal mudflats around the Kneiss Islands (Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia)

¹ Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 1171, 3038 Sfax, Tunisie
² UNICAEN, CNRS, UMR 6143 M2C, Laboratoire Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière, 24 rue des Tilleuls, 14000 Caen, France

^a Corresponding author: nawfelmosbahi@hotmail.fr

Received: 26 August 2015
Accepted: 18 January 2016

Abstract

In the Gulf of Gabès (South-eastern Tunisia), polychaete bait digging is widely practiced for recreational and commercial fishing and is an economically significant activity. The present study aims to assess the short-term effects of intertidal bait digging on macrobenthic communities from the Kneiss Islands. Following a protocol with a control station (not impacted) and three impacted stations for polychaete collection, the study was conducted during March and April 2015 at spring tides. After digging, immediate significant decreases were observed in the abundance of total macrofauna as well in numerous families of polychaetes. Control of this activity should be proposed for the future to protect the biodiversity of this intertidal area of high heritage interest.