Sustainable development of the blue economy in the Southern Bight of the North Sea (SBNS) requires quantitative assessment methods of the impacts of economic activities. For this purpose, a food web model of the SBNS was developed. The model was constructed for the year of 1991 and described the dietary relationships between 43 functional groups, as well as commercial and recreational fisheries fleets. According to this model, the trophic flows in the SBNS were complex and supported by multiple pathways. Detritus recycling was high and mainly driven by benthos. Thirteen ecological indicators, as well as two fisheries indicators estimated from this model, were used to assess the environmental state of the SBNS and were compared to previously published food web models with overlapping study areas describing the Southern North Sea (SNS). The indicators suggest that the SBNS ecosystem might be experiencing some degree of stress or perturbations, probably from previous overexploitation and eutrophication in the 1970s and 1980s. While the SBNS and SNS exhibit similarities in food web complexity and structure, notable differences arise in terms of food web stability and resilience, with the SBNS demonstrating higher stability. Additionally, variations in fisheries practices are evident, as the SBNS primarily targets demersal species, whereas fishermen in the SNS show interest in both demersal and pelagic fisheries. These findings underscore the importance of implementing an ecosystem-based management framework, and the indicators employed in this study for describing the SBNS food web structure could be valuable for developing quantitative sustainability assessment methods in support of such a comprehensive management approach. It is anticipated that this food web model of the SBNS can be useful for simulating the potential impact of future management scenarios. As such, it is a valuable step towards a digital twin of the SBNS, which could provide a holistic decision-making tool for ecosystem-based management. |
