Oceanographic and meteorological observations for project Little Window: March 1970

ENGLISH: Project Little Window was planned to provide some answers to the important scientific question of whether or not the HRIR (high resolution infrared radiometer) sensors aboard NASA and NOAA satellites can provide useful data for much of the oceanographic community. The sensors aboard these satellites were designed in response to the initial needs of meteorologists for temperature measurements integrated over a distance of 5-10 nautical miles and extending over a range from 30°C to about -75°C (i2-4°C). To this end the sensors have been a very powerful tool to the meteorologist in preparing daily weather advisories and in carrying out research. SPANISH: El proyecto Little Window fue planeado para suministrar algunas respuestas al importante tema científico sobre si los captadores (ltsensors") infrarrojos de alta resoluci6n (IRAR) a bordo de los satélites NASA y NOAA, pueden o no proveer datos útiles para la mayor1a de los oceanógrafos. Los captadores a bordo de estos satélites fueron concebidos en respuesta a las necesidades iniciales de los meteor6logos para obtener mediciones de temperatura integradas sobre una distancia de 5-10 millas náuticas, y entre 30°c y aproximadamente -75°C (~2-4°C). Con este fin los captadores han sido un instrumento poderoso para el meteor6logo en la preparaci6n de las informaciones diarias de tiempo y en la realizaci6n de las investigaciones. (PDF contains 171 pages.)

Oceanographic, meteorological, satellite and aircraft observations for project Little Window 2: May 1971

ENGLISH: In May 1971, a joint united states - Mexican experiment, Project Little Window 2, (LW-2) involving data collected by satellite, aircraft and ship sensors was made in the southern part of the Gulf of California. LW-2 was planned as an improved and enlarged version of LW-l (conducted the previous year; Stevenson and Miller, 1971) with field work scheduled to be made within a 200 by 200 km square region in the Gulf of California. The purposes of the new field study were to determine through coordinated measurements from ships, aircraft and satellites, the utility of weather satellites to measure surface temperature features of the ocean from space and specifically to evaluate the high resolution infrared sensors aboard N~ 1, ITOS 1 and NIMBUS 4 and to estimate the magnitude of the atmospheric correction factors needed to bring the data from the spacecraft sensors into agreement with surface measurements. Due to technical problems during LW-2, however, useful data could not be obtained from ITOS 1 and NIMBUS 4 so satellite information from only NOAA-1 was available for comparison. In addition, a new purpose was added, i.e., to determine the feasibility of using an Automatic picture Transmission (APT) receiver on shore and at sea to obtain good quality infrared data for the local region. SPANISH: En mayo 1971, los Estados Unidos y México realizaron un experimento en conjunto, Proyecto Little Window 2 (LW-2), en el que se incluyen datos obtenidos mediante captadores de satélites, aviones y barcos en la parte meridional del Golfo de California. Se planeó LW-2 para mejorar y ampliar el proyecto de LW-l (conducido el año anterior; Stevenson y Miller, 1971), realizándose el trabajo experimental en una región de 200 por 200 km cuadrados, en el Golfo de California. El objeto de este nuevo estudio experimental fue determinar mediante reconocimientos coordinados de barcos, aviones y satélites la conveniencia de los satélites meteorológicos para averiguar las características de la temperatura superficial del océano desde el espacio, y especialmente, evaluar los captadores infrarrojos de alta resolución a bordo de NOAA 1, ITOS 1 Y NIMBUS 4, y estimar la magnitud de los factores de corrección atmosféricos necesarios para corregir los datos de los captadores espaciales para que concuerden con los registros de la superficie. Sin embargo, debido a problemas técnicos durante LW-2, no fue posible obtener datos adecuados de ITOS 1 y NIMBUS 4, as1 que solo se pudo disponer de la información de NOAA 1 para hacer las comparaciones. Además se quiso determinar la posibilidad de usar un receptor de Trasmisión Automático de Fotografias (APT) en el mar para obtener datos infarojos de buena calidad en la región local. (PDF contains 525 pages.)

Untersuchungen der Industriefischerei 1995/96

Information on the impact of industrial fishery on sandeel and sprat is given. First results of experimental fishing on board RV "Walther Herwig III" and results of studies aboard commercial vessels within the German Economic Zone are presented.

Das Problem „Siebkrabben“ in der Garnelenfischerei

Along with consumption shrimp, brown shrimp fisheries also land some shrimp too small for human consumption which are sieved out on land and have to be degenerated (“crushed shrimp”). This share is recorded in German official statistics besides a third fraction called “industrial shrimp”. In view of the MSC certification processes, sustainable fishing and the fishermen’s voluntary obligation to - in future - limit the shares of “crushed shrimp”, landings data from 2010 have been analysed. Depending on seasons the goal of less than 20% of “crushed shrimp” in German landings was not met in several months in 2010, especially in August, when more than 40% of the landings contained more than the proposed amount. The processing procedures aboard the vessels are shortly discussed and the proposal is made to rather increase net selectivity than use wider sieves for the cooked fraction before landing. Cooking and processing small and later rejected shrimp is an uneconomic action. Reducing the share of “crushed shrimp” serves the idea of sustainable use of shrimp stocks as well as of sound economics.

Pesca experimental de atum com "long line" na ZEE moçambicana

Results of the analysis of statistical data gathered aboard 2 crafts licensed for experimental commercial tuna fishing with long-line in the EEZ of Mozambique are presented.

Análise de dados colhidos a bordo da embarcação Cassiopeia de 7 a 15 de Maio de 1999

This paper aims to analyse the results of a cruise aboard the vessel Cassiopeia, held from 7 to 15 May 1999. These results relate mainly to the Quissico area and have as an objective to verify different features: total fish catch, predominance of caught species, dimensions of captured fish and fishing effort.

Possíveis relações entre a área de pesca, profundidade e tempo de imersão nas actividades da pesca com covos

A cruise aboard the vessel Cassiopeia was held from 14 to 22 November 2000. The objective to map the fishing areas, to study the variation of the catch, income, specific composition and length on wishbone Polysteganus coeruleopunctatus (cachucho) in relation to fishing areas, depth and immersion time of the fish pots. The total capture registered was 4.350,00 Kg for 1600 fish pots and 32 effectuated throws. The highest capture per throw was registered in the interval of depth between the 140 to 180 meters. Regarding the time of immersion, the better captures were obtained in the interval between 25 and 30 hours. The profits during this cross were for fish-trap (2, 71 kg), per throw 135,00 Kg and for immersion hour 6,07 kg. P. coeruleopunctatus (cachucho) was more abundant in number in Quissico, while in Zavora it was abundant in number and also in weight. Likewise, the cachucho was more abundant in number and weight in the captures of the fish pots submerged less than 24 hours, 100-140 meters depth. Cachucho catch under 100 meters depth was quite reduced (less than 1 %). The middle length of the cachucho captured during the cross was 275,7 mm. There were significant differences in the lengths of the cachucho accordingly to depth or fishing area. The smallest individual (fish) was captured by fish pots that were submerged more than 24 hours. The principal recommendations of the study refer to maintenance of the current fishing effort with regard to the number of fish pots, and explore the fishing areas on a rotating basis, to avoid the local effort, currently high.

Food habits of Atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus) off the coast of New England

Although the Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) is one of the most common dolphins off New England, little has been documented about its diet in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Current federal protection of marine mammals limits the supply of animals for investigation to those incidentally caught in the nets of commercial fishermen with observers aboard. Stomachs of 62 L. acutus were examined; of these 62 individuals, 28 of them were caught by net and 34 were animals stranded on Cape Cod. Most of the net-caught L. acutus were from the deeper waters of the Gulf of Maine. A single stomach was from the continental slope south of Georges Bank. At least twenty-six fish species and three cephalopod species were eaten. The predominant prey were silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), spoonarm octopus (Bathypolypus bairdii), and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus). The stomach from a net-caught L. acutus on the continental slope contained 7750 otoliths of the Madeira lanternfish (Ceratoscopelus maderensis). Sand lances (Ammodytes spp.) were the most abundant (541 otoliths) species in the stomachs of stranded L. acutus. Seasonal variation in diet was indicated; pelagic Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) was the most important prey in summer, but was rare in winter. The average length of fish prey was approximately 200 mm, and the average mantle length of cephalopod prey was approximately 50 mm.

Length at maturity in three pelagic sharks (Lamna nasus, Isurus oxyrinchus, and Prionace glauca) from New Zealand

Reproductive data collected from porbeagle, shortfin mako, and blue sharks caught around New Zealand were used to estimate the median length at maturity. Data on clasper development, presence or absence of spermatophores or spermatozeugmata, uterus width, and pregnancy were collected by observers aboard tuna longline vessels. Direct maturity estimates were made for smaller numbers of sharks sampled at recreational fishing competitions. Some data sets were sparse, particularly over the vital maturation length range, but the availability of multiple indicators of maturity made it possible to develop estimates for both sexes of all three species. Porbeagle shark males matured at 140–150 cm fork length and females at about 170–180 cm. New Zealand porbeagles therefore mature at shorter lengths than they do in the North Atlantic Ocean. Shortfin mako males matured at 180–185 cm and females at 275 –285 cm. Blue shark males matured at about 190 –195 cm and females at 170–190 cm; however these estimates were hampered by small sample sizes, difficulty obtaining representative samples from a population segregated by sex and maturity stage, and maturation that occurred over a wide length range. It is not yet clear whether regional differences in median maturity exist for shortfin mako and

Overview of the U.S. East Coast Bottom Longline Shark Fishery, 1994–2003

The U.S. Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico commercial shark fisheries have greatly expanded over the last 30 years, yet fishery managers still lack much of the key information required to accurately assess many shark stocks. Fishery observer programs are one tool that can be utilized to acquire this information. The Commercial Shark Fishery Observer Program monitors the U.S. Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico commercial bottom longline (BLL) large coastal shark fishery. Data gathered by observers were summarized for the 10-year period, 1994 to 2003. A total of 1,165 BLL sets were observed aboard 96 vessels, with observers spending a total of 1,509 days at sea. Observers recorded data regarding the fishing gear and methods used, species composition, disposition of the catch, mortality rates, catch per unit of effort (sharks per 10,000 hook hours), and bycatch of this fishery. Fishing practices, species composition, and bycatch varied between regions, while catch rates, mortality rates, and catch disposition varied greatly between species.

Stanford University’s John Otterbein Snyder: Student, Collaborator, and Colleague of David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert

John Otterbein Snyder (1867–1943) was an early student of David Starr Jordan at Stanford University and subsequently rose to become an assistant professor there. During his 34 years with the university he taught a wide variety of courses in various branches of zoology and advised numerous students. He eventually mentored 8 M.A. and 4 Ph.D. students to completion at Stanford. He also assisted in the collection of tens of thousands of fish specimens from the western Pacific, central Pacific, and the West Coast of North America, part of the time while stationed as “Naturalist” aboard the U.S. Fish Commission’s Steamer Albatross (1902–06). Although his early publications dealt mainly with fish groups and descriptions (often as a junior author with Jordan), after 1910 he became more autonomous and eventually rose to become one of the Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus spp., experts on the West Coast. Throughout his career, he was especially esteemed by colleagues as “a stimulating teacher,” “an excellent biologist,” and “a fine man.

Skimmer Trawl Fishery Catch Evaluations in Coastal Louisiana, 2004 and 2005

Fishery observers collected data from 307 tows during 96 trips aboard skimmer trawl vessels in Louisiana’s coastal waters from September 2004 through June 2005 to estimate catch rates of target and nontarget species, including sea turtles (Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae), by area and season during commercial shrimping operations. About 16,965.7 kg of total catch were recorded during 517.0 hours of fishing operations. Based on weight extrapolations from species composition samples, penaeid shrimp (Penaeidae) dominated the catch at 66%, followed by finfish at 19%, nonpenaeid shrimp crustaceans at 7%, discarded penaeid shrimp at 6%, and debris at 3%. Noncrustacean invertebrates comprised less than 1%. Catch rates in kilograms per hour by category was 21.6 for penaeid shrimp, 6.2 for finfish, 2.2 for nonpenaeid crustaceans, 1.8 for discarded penaeid shrimp, and 0.9 for debris. White shrimp, Litopenaeus setiferus, other penaeid shrimp, and Gulf menhaden, Brevoortia patronus, were the top three dominant species by weight. Seasonally, a higher catch rate was observed from May through August 2005 for penaeid shrimp as compared with the September through December 2004 period. Conversely, the September through December 2004 period experienced a higher catch rate for finfish than during May through August 2005. No sea turtle interactions were documented.

Characteristics of Shark Bycatch Observed on Pelagic Longlines off the Southeastern United States, 1992–2000

Data collected by fisheries observers aboard U.S. pelagic longline vessels were examined to quantify and describe elasmobranch bycatch off the southeastern U.S. coast (lat. 22°–35°N, long. 71°–82°W). From 1992 to 2000, 961 individual longline hauls were observed, during which 4,612 elasmobranchs (15% of the total catch) were documented. Of the 22 elasmobranch species observed, silky sharks, Carcharhinus falciformis, were numerically dominant (31.4% of the elasmobranch catch). The catch status of the animals (alive or dead) when the gear was retrieved varied widely depending on the species, with high mortalities seen for the commonly caught silky and night, C. signatus, sharks and low mortalities for rays (Dasyatidae and Mobulidae), blue, Prionace glauca; and tiger, Galeocerdo cuvier; sharks. Discard percentages also varied, ranging from low discards (27.6%) for shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus, to high discards for blue (99.8%), tiger (98.5%), and rays (100%). Mean fork lengths indicated the majority of the observed by-catch — regardless of species — was immature, and significant quarterly variation in fork length was found for several species including silky; dusky, C. obscurus; night; scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini; oceanic whitetip, C. longimanus; and sandbar, C. plumbeus; sharks. While sex ratios overall were relatively even, blue, tiger, and scalloped hammerhead shark catches were heavily dominated by females. Bootstrap methods were used to generate yearly mean catch rates (catch per unit effort) and 95% confidence limits; catch rates were generally variable for most species, although regression analysis indicated significant trends for night, oceanic whitetip, and sandbar sharks. Analysis of variance indicated significant catch rate differences among quarters for silky, dusky, night, blue, oceanic whitetip, sandbar, and shortfin mako sharks.

Government-Industry Cooperative Fisheries Research in the North Pacific under the MSFCMA

The National Marine Fisheries Service’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) has a long and successful history of conducting research in cooperation with the fishing industry. Many of the AFSC’s annual resource assessment surveys are carried out aboard chartered commercial vessels and the skill and experience of captains and crew are integral to the success of this work. Fishing companies have been contracted to provide vessels and expertise for many different types of research, including testing and evaluation of survey and commercial fishing gear and development of improved methods for estimating commercial catch quantity and composition. AFSC scientists have also participated in a number of industry-initiated research projects including development of selective fishing gears for bycatch reduction and evaluating and improving observer catch composition sampling. In this paper, we describe the legal and regulatory provisions for these types of cooperative work and present examples to illustrate the process and identify the requirements for successful cooperative research.

Catch and Bycatch in the Shark Drift Gillnet Fishery off Georgia and East Florida

An observer program of the shark drift gillnet fishery off the Atlantic coast of Florida and Georgia was begun in 1993 to define the fishery and estimate bycatch including bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, and sea turtles. Boats in the fishery were 12.2-19.8 m long. Nets used were 275-1,800 m long and 3.2-4.1 m deep. Stretched-mesh sizes used were 12.7-29.9 cm. Fishing trips were usually <18 h and occurred within 30 n.mi. of port. Fishing with an observer aboard occurred between Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla., and off Cape Canaveral, Fla. Nets were set at least 3 n.mi. offshore. Numbers of boats in the fishery increased from 5 in 1993 to 11 in 1995, but total trips decreased from 185 in 1994 to 149 in 1995. During 1993-95, 48 observer trips were completed and 52 net sets were observed. No marine mammals were caught and two loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, were caught and released alive. A total of 9,270 animals (12 shark, 21 teleost, 4 ray, and 1 sea turtle species) were captured. Blacknose, Carcharhinus acronotus; Atlantic sharpnose, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae; and blacktip shark, C. limbatus), were the dominant sharks caught. King mackerel, Scomberomorus cavalIa; little tunny, Euthynnus alleteratus; and cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus, were the dominant bycatch species. About 8.4% of the total catch was bycatch. Of the totals, 9.4% of the sharks and 37.3% ofthe bycatch were discarded.