Growth, mortality, maturity and length-weight parameters of fishes in Lake Kariba, Africa

This preliminary compilation presents vital parameters for 22 species of freshwater fish from Lake Kariba. The majority of the growth parameters are derived from tables in Balon and Coche's "Lake Kariba: a man-made tropical ecosystem in central Africa". The rest of the parameters are compiled from more recent sources and unpublished data.

Checklist of the shore fishes of the Mentawai Islands, Nias Island and the Padang Region of West Sumatra

This paper presents a checklist of reef fishes of West Sumatra and adjacent provinces. The list includes 362 species of 143 genera and 46 families and contains seven new records and nine probable new species for Indonesia. It also uses information from sources only available in Bahasa Indonesia. The relative paucity of the fish fauna in West Sumatra seems to be related to the habitat destruction caused by illegal fishing with explosives or poisons such as cyanide.

ReefBase - a global database of coral reef systems and their resources

ReefBase a global database of coral reefs systems and their resources was initiated at International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM), Philippines in November 1993. The CEC has provided funding for the first two years and the database was developed in collaboration with the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, UK, as well as other national, regional, and international institutions. The ReefBase project activities and what ICLARM will do to accomplish the project objectives are briefly discussed.

Length-weight relationship of fishes and cephalopods from the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean)

Length-weight relationship (LWR) parameters of 72 species of fishes and 15 species of cephalopods caught in the Balearic Islands demersal fishery are reported. This is the first compilation of LWR for these groups in the Balearic Islands.

Baseline biochemical and genetic profiles of four fishes from the River Nile

Six enzyme systems coding for 10 loci and 6 proteins were examined in the blood of Polypterus senegalus, Clarias lazera, Tilapia nilotica and Protopterus annectens, using electrophoresis. Six loci were polymorphic in all the four species, three polymorphic in three species and one polymorphic in T. nilotica. Four protein loci were monomorphic in all the four species with variants in P. senegalus and T. nilotica. Haemoglobin can be used as a species-specific marker. Polymorphism was 53-56 per cent and average heterozygosity was 0.1-0.15.

Is epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) specific fungus of fishes a primary pathogen?: an opinion

Earlier findings on epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) and the present observation of the authors on transmission of EUS to snakehead (Channa sp.) without skin damage provide evidence to suggest that the invasive fungus associated with EUS is a primary pathogen.

Fishes of the Mekong River: conservation and need for aquaculture

Conservation and the potential and need for aquaculture of three major fish (Catlocarpio siamensis, Probarbus spp. and Pangasius gigas) of the Mekong River are discussed. Different steps being undertaken by the Cambodian government in doing such activities are highlighted.

Ecosystem function and biodiversity on coral reefs

The article highlights a workshop held in Key West, Florida in November 1993 attended by a group of 35 international scientists where topics of ecosystem function and biodiversity on coral reefs were discussed.

A global protocol for monitoring of coral bleaching

Coral bleaching and subsequent mortality represent a major threat to the future health and productivity of coral reefs. However a lack of reliable data on occurrence, severity and other characteristics of bleaching events hampers research on the causes and consequences of this important phenomenon. This article describes a global protocol for monitoring coral bleaching events, which addresses this problem and can be used by people with different levels of expertise and resources.

Vital statistics of marine fishes of Vanuatu

Vital statistics are presented for 38 marine species of Vanuatu based on previous studies conducted in the area, with parameters describing growth (6 species, 13 sets of parameters), mortality (estimates of M for 6 species), length-weight relationship (32 species), and reproduction (length at first maturity for 26 species, months of reproduction for 18 species). The species covered belong mainly to the family Lutjanidae.

Length-weight relationships of fishes from tributaries of the Volta River, Ghana: Part II and Conclusion

Slopes and intercepts of length-weight relationships obtained from 37 populations from the rivers Oti, Pru and Black Volta in Ghana were compared using a one way analysis of covariance with fixed effects. Although no significant differences were obtained from this analysis, an ANOVA comparing the magnitudes of mean condition factors (Wx100/SL3) found 9 out of 37 populations significantly different at the 0.05 level. A two-way nested ANOVA using all populations combined, however, did not yield any significant differences between the three rivers. Thus, pooling the data to obtain the results presented in Part I (see Entsua-Mensah et al. Naga 1995) is justified here.

Diet composition and daily ration estimates of selected trawl-caught fishes in San Miguel Bay, Philippines

The diet composition of fish caught in San Miguel Bay, Philippines, in April and May 1993 was studied. The diets of tiger-tooth croaker (Otolithes ruber), commerson's anchovy (Stolephorus commersonii); and the Indian anchovy (Stolephorus indicus) consisted mainly of zooplankton, primarily crustaceans. The stomach content of orangefin ponyfish (Leiognathus bindus) was found to consist mostly of detritus and unidentified materials. Daily rations estimated were: 1.90 g day super(1) for O. ruber of 17.3 g mean body weight (BW), 0.078 g day super(1) for S. commersonii) of 3.8 g mean BW, 0.062 g day super(1) for S. indicus of 3.9 g mean BW and 0.56 g day super(1) for L. bindus of 7.7 g mean BW.

Length-weight relationships of soft-bottom demersal fishes from Jalisco and Colima states, Mexico

The parameters a and b of the length-weight relationship of the form W=aL super(b) were estimated for 24 species of soft bottom demersal fishes caught on the continental shelf off Jalisco and Colima states, Mexico. The estimates of b ranged from 2.74 to 3.33. The mean of the b values is 3.02 with a standard deviation of 0.15.

Fisheries management: what chance on coral reefs?

Failures of fishery management to control fishing effort globally and how this affects the coral reef fisheries are discussed. The use of marine reserves in coral reef fisheries management is also emphasized.