## 4 Discussion
However, the results indicate that the time between the implementation in 2016 of the Fishing Protected Zones in a great part of the continental shelf of the Menorca Channel, where trawling fleet was excluded, and the sampling period (2019) has not been enough to recover their epibenthic communities. Otherwise, we would not have been able to detect differences between Non-impacted and Low effort history areas in the central part of the Menorca Channel, and we would have detected more differences between Medium effort history and High effort areas in the southern part. Besides, benthic-forming species show very low annual taxes of growing, both for calcareous or non-calcareous species [72], even if the environmental conditions are optimal, such as in the Menorca Channel [52]. In addition to the sensitivity of species [73], recovery of epibenthic communities depends on the time that has passed since the bottom trawling had impacted areas and the intensity of bottom trawling [74; 75]. As a consequence, epibenthic communities of the Menorca Channel can show successful stages of recovery, but they have still not completely returned to the state they were in without bottom trawling. The results contribute new scientific information about the impact of fishing activities on rhodoliths beds, needed for the development of the management plan required for the designation of the Menorca Channel as a Special Area of Conservation. The creation of the Fishing Protected Zones in 2016 has shown to be an effective measure to recover the epibenthic communities of the Menorca Channel. Additional technical measures on fishing gear to reduce the impact of bottom trawling, such as the modification of the ground rope of nets and the use of semi-pelagic doors, for which the efficiencies have been already tested in the area [24; 76], should be considered to be implemented in areas opened to this fishery. For the development of this management plan, studies on the impact of small-scale fisheries on the benthic communities of the Menorca Channel will also be necessary. Especially regarding the coralinguous beds, which are widely distributed in the area [36; 77], and the use of trammel nets to exploit the European spiny lobster (_Palinurus eleplas_), taking into account that this is one of the most important demersal fisheries developed by the small scale fleet, and that the most important fishing grounds are located in the Menorca Channel [38; 78]. In this sense, preliminary results about the effects of trammel nets on coralingenous beds, developed in the ECOSAFIMED framework project, suggest lower percentages of biogenic substrates and richness of megabenthic species in fishing grounds subjected to greater fishing pressure. This effect could be mitigated with measures such as returning the sessile benthic by-catch at the same site where it has been captured and returning all the benthic by-catch to the sea in less than 30 min. The Menorca Channel is one of the main areas of rhodoliths beds in the western Mediterranean. The negative impacts of bottom trawling on these beds and the first signals of their recovery in areas recently closed to this fishery, as shown in the results obtained in the present study, indicate that this is an effective measure for the conservation of this habitat of special interest and must be included in the management plan required to declare the Menorca Channel as a Special Area of Conservation. Conceptualization, M.T.F., F.O. and E.M.; methodology, M.T.F., C.I., F.O., D.P., E.M.-H., J.S.-N., G.J., S.M., D.D., U.F.-A., J.-T.V. and E.M.; supervision, F.O., D.P., D.D., G.J., J.-T.V. and E.M.; writing--original draft, M.T.F. and E.M.; writing--review and editing, C.I., F.O., D.P., E.M.-H., J.S.-N., G.J., S.M., D.D., N.M.-C., J.A.D., U.F.-A., S.J., S.R.-A., N.R.d.l.B. and J.-T.V. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.