Small-scale dredging activities in freshwater bodies have the potential to impact habitats and food resources that fishes depend on, and ultimately impact fisheries productivity. This systematic review will explore the evidence base for small-scale dredging impacts on the indicators of fisheries productivity, and will help to inform management decisions that seek to reconcile biodiversity conservation and freshwater fisheries, with potentially disruptive anthropogenic activities in freshwater environments.

Methods

This systematic review will examine, summarize and synthesize all available evidence on the impacts of small-scale dredging activities on surrogate indicators of fisheries productivity. All studies in freshwater habitats in temperate regions in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres will be considered. Both peer reviewed primary and grey literature will be included in the review, and searches will be conducted in academic journal databases, online search engines, and specialist websites. Study validity will be critically assessed to identify any risk of bias. Data will be presented as a narrative synthesis, and if sufficient good quality data are available, a meta-analysis will be performed.