Fishing and ot her ant hropogenic impact s have led t o declines in many fish st ocks and modificat ion of t he seabed. As a result , effort s t o rest ore marine ecosyst ems have become increasingly focused on spat ially explicit management met hods t o prot ect fish and t he habit at s t hey require for survival. This has led t o a proliferat ion of invest igat ions t rying ant hropogenic impact s and ident ify fish resource requirement s in order t o meet conservat ion and management needs.

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... wide range of habit at -relat ed concept s, wit h different uses and underst andings has arisen as a consequence. Inconsist encies in t erminology can cause confusion bet ween st udies, making it difficult t o invest igat e and underst and t he ecology of fish and t he fact ors t hat affect t heir survival. Ult imat ely, t he inabilit y t o discern t he relat ionships bet ween fish and t heir environment clearly can hinder conservat ion and management measures for fish populat ions. This review ident ifies and addresses t he present ambiguit y surrounding -relat ed concept s current ly used in spat ial management of demersal marine fish populat ions. The role of spat ial and t emporal scales is considered, in addit ion t o examples of how t o assess fish habit at for conservat ion and management purposes.