Pre-construction coral survey of the M/V Wellwood Grounding Site: April 23-24, 2002

This report documents abundance and cover for selected elements of the benthic coral reef assemblage at the site of the 1984 grounding of the M/V Wellwood on Molasses Reef, Florida Keys. The purpose of the effort was to establish a pre-construction baseline before the installation of reef modules at the site. The installation process is intended to stabilize fractured substrates that were recently exposed by storm impacts, and to provide three-dimensional relief in order to enhance reef community recovery. It is hoped that the restoration effort will result in a biological assemblage with the character of the transition community that would exist there had the incident not occurred. To date, the assemblage has developed the character of a comparatively featureless hard ground similar in composition to hard ground areas and transition zones surrounding the grounding site. These data will allow scientists and resource managers to better track the trajectory of recovery following the installation of modules. Direct counts of scleractinian and gorgonian corals, hydrocorals of the genus Millepora, and zoanthids of the genus Palythoa were made in three areas within and around the grounding site. The site is poorly developed with respect to scleractinian colony size and cover compared to surrounding areas. Key scleractinian species necessary for the development of topographic relief in the area denuded by the grounding are not well represented in the current community. Though gorgonian cover and richness is similar in all study areas, gorgonian community recovery in the damaged area is not complete. Unlike surrounding areas, one species, Pseudopterogorgia americana, accounts for over half of all corals at the grounding site, over 80% of all gorgonians, and nearly all the coral cover. Based on these findings and other observations made in the 18 years since the grounding, recommendations are made that should be considered in the course of human intervention targeted at stabilizing and enhancing the site. (PDF contains 24 pages.)

Report of the first STREAM regional conference. Bangkok, Thailand 19-21 June 2002

Since the STREAM Initiative’s official launch on 1 December 2001, this Regional Conference was the first opportunity for many colleagues directly involved in STREAM to come together. (PDF has 30 pages.)

Proceedings of the Learning Workshop on Livelihoods Analysis. Long An, Vietnam 19-20 November 2002

Sustainable Aquaculture for Poverty Alleviation (SAPA) is a strategy under the overall national program for hunger eradication and poverty reduction. This reflects high attention by the Ministry of Fisheries (MOFI) to the poor. Since the strategy was initiated, several actions have been taken. Recently, conferences and meetings were conducted in Hanoi, Thai Nguyen and Quang Tri. Consequently we also have workshops on a regional basis, and today we are pleased to conduct a workshop in Long An on livelihoods analysis. Now at the Ministry, there are more than 340 projects in aquaculture to attack poverty. The launch of SAPA has been given a high priority among support agencies. Recently Mr Gill of the World Bank and the Ministry agreed that they would act to strengthen aquaculture for poverty reduction. So today with the support of the Long An People’s Committee, NACA and STREAM we have a workshop to strengthen learning about livelihoods analysis. (PDF has 61 pages.)

Report of the workshop on process monitoring and significant change. Bangkok, Thailand 26-28 June 2002

The STREAM Initiative is a process rather than a project, and its focus is on learning and building on learning, not the achievement of pre-determined objectives. An overarching goal of STREAM is to facilitate changes that support poor people who manage aquatic resources. A key objective of STREAM is policy change, which in itself is complex and difficult to monitor. Two further layers of complexity relate to the regional scope of the Initiative and the collaborative involvement of stakeholders, all of which need to be accountable for their work. The objectives of this workshop are consistent with the aims of the STREAM Initiative and can be summerized as follows: 1- Familiarizing everyone in the regional STREAM Initiative with work being done in process monitoring and significant change. 2- Discussion and development of a practical information system that enables (i) the monitoring of development processes and significant changes occurring within the STREAM Initiative, and (ii) learning to inform STREAM implementation and other stakeholders. (PDF has 59 pages.)

Report of the CFDO-SCALE-STREAM Stakeholders Meeting. Phnom Penh, 16-17 May 2002

The CFDO-SCALE-STREAM Stakeholders Meeting was held on the 16th and morning of the 17th of May 2002 in the Department of Fisheries (DOF). This was the first opportunity for a range of stakeholders to gather for presentations and discussions on the STREAM Initiative and its partnership with the Community Fisheries Development Office (CFDO) and the Cambodian NGO SCALE. (PDF contains 18 pages)

Hydroacoustic evaluation of spawning red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) aggregations along the coast of Puerto Rico in 2002 and 2003

Red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) have been overfished in the Caribbean and were included with seven other regional grouper species deemed vulnerable to risk of extinction. The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources desired to map spawning red hind aggregations within commonwealth waters as part of their resource management program for the species. Mobile hydroacoustic surveys were conducted over 3-day periods in 2002 and 2003, indexed to the full moon phase in February or March when red hind were known to aggregate. Four vessels concurrently sampled the southwest, south, and southeast coasts of Puerto Rico in 2002. In 2003, three vessels conducted complementary surveys of the northwest, north, and northeast coasts of the island, completing a circuit of the coastal shelf-spawning habitat. These surveys indicated that red hind spawning aggregations were prevalent along the south and west coasts, and sparse along the north coast during the survey periods. Highest spawning red hind concentrations were observed in three areas offshore of the west coast of Puerto Rico, around Mona and Desecheo islands (20,443 and 10,559 fish/km2, respectively) and in the Bajo de Cico seasonal closed area (4,544 fish/km2). Following both 2002 and 2003 surveys, a series of controlled acoustic measurements of known local fish species in net pens were conducted to assess the mean target strength (acoustic backscatter) of each group. Ten species of fish were measured, including red hind (E. guttatus), coney (E. fulvus), white grunt (Haemulon plumieri), pluma (Calamus pennatula), blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus), squirrel fish (Holocentrus spp.), black durgeon (Melichtyhs niger), ocean file fish (Canthidermis sufflamen), ocean surgeon fish (Acanthurus bahianus), and butter grouper (Mycteroperca spp.). In general, the mean target strength results from the caged fish experiments were in agreement with published target strength length relationships, with the exception of white grunt and pluma.

International Workshop for Management and Trade of Caiman yacare, Gainsville, FL, 3-5 October 2002

A workshop was held 3-5 October 2002 in Gainesville, Florida, USA to discuss management, conservation and trade in Caiman yacare. Twenty five official participants represented the four yacare range states (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay), Venezuela, USA, the meeting sponsors (US Fish and Wildlife Service, CITES Secretariat, Louisiana Fur and Alligator Council), TRAFFIC Sur America and Crocodile Specialist Group. A series of country reports detailing yacare management in the four range states were distributed in Spanish and English prior to the meeting and presentations on these and on general principles of crocodilian harvest, conservation and management provided the basis for the discussions. Three working groups considered: • Requirements and field techniques for field data collection. • Requirements and techniques for regulation of harvest. • Requirements and processes for regulation of trade and export. Written reports of working groups and a plenary drafting session were finalized during the meeting and distributed, with the country reports, to participants. The workshop drafted a framework for caiman management and regulation that could be used as a template and adapted for use in each range state. The meeting agreed to convene an ad-hoc working group of range state representatives to continue discussions on the harmonization of caiman management into the future.

Anuario Estadistico de Pesca 2002

El capítulo uno concentra información sobre los volúmenes de producción obtenidos en la fase primaria de la actividad (captura y acuacultura). Las variables manejadas son: producción por principales especies, destino de consumo, litoral y entidad federativa, acuacultura, así como el valor de lo explotado o cultivado a precios de productor (precio en playa); al final se incorpora un conjunto de cuadros con series históricas de producción, desglosadas por principales pesquerías, litorales y entidades. Enel capítulo segundo se presentan estadísticas sobre la transformación o industrialización de productos pesqueros. Sus indicadores más representativos se refieren a materia prima procesada y producción obtenida, desagregándola por entidad federativa y principales procesos de producción, es decir, congelado, enlatado, reducción (elaboración de harina de pescado y aceites) y otros procesos. El capítulo tercero contiene las estadísticas sobre la fase de la comercialización y consumo de los productos provenientes de la pesca: disponibilidad, consumo (aparente y per-cápita), precios y balanza comercial pesquera, incluyendo series históricas sobre estos indicadores. En el capítulo cuarto se da a conocer información acerca de los principales activos disponibles en el sector, esto es, flota, planta industrial, instalaciones portuarias, granjas acuícolas comerciales y centros de acuacultura. De igual manera, aparecen las cifras de los empleos generados por la actividad, las organizaciones sociales pesqueras y su membresía, como también los créditos otorgados al sector por la banca de desarrollo. El capítulo quinto resume información sobre las Normas Oficiales Mexicanas (NOM) vigentes que conciernen a la actividad pesquera, así como de las vedas que se aplican en las diferentes pesquerías. En el sexto y último capitulo es una recapitulación de la información presentada por la FAO, en un esfuerzo por proporcionar una mejor y mayor perspectiva de la actividad pesquera del país a nivel mundial, Registra treinta y uno cuadros sobre los temas mas relevantes de Producción pesquera, acuacultura, industria pesquera, Comercio de Productos pesqueros, consumo aparente, población pesquera, flota pesquera, presentadas por país de origen en el que se puede apreciar la destacada participación de México. La estructura del Anuario concluye con la presentación del anexo, que comprende el glosario de términos se consignan definiciones de algunos términos que pueden resultar de utilidad para el lector., la lista de las especies que integran cada una de las pesquerías para las cuales se registra información desagregada y se presentan cuadros sinópticos a manera de indicadores, sobre las principales variables de la pesca mexicana, de las pesquerías más importantes, al igual que las fases y especies con mayor participación relativa en la pesca mundial. (Catch statistics for Mexican waters 2002.) (PDF has 243 pages.)

Genetic improvement and utilisation of indigenous tilapia in southern Africa: final technical report, December 1st 1998 to June 31st, 2002

Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) is an indigenous tilapia species in southern Africa, until now the majority of genetic research has been carried out on Asian species of tilapia but this project aims to look at this African species. Those most suited to further development in aquaculture in southern Africa have now been identified. The genetic characterisation of strains has been completed. This information has aided the choice of strains for use in small scale aquaculture and for genetically male tilapia (GMT) production. They will form the basis of future strategies for further genetic improvement, and management of genetic diversity of Mozambique tilapia. The information will also contribute towards responsible management and development of genetic resources, particularly with regard to indigenous species of tilapia. Good progress has been made with the adaptation and implementation of producing the supermale fish required to produce all male offspring, resulting in faster growing populations of tilapia. The presence of the project and its associated activity has been a catalyst for a surge in interest in tilapia culture throughout southern Africa. [PDF contains 183 pages]

Simulierte Auswirkungen des mehrjährigen Bewirtschaftungsplans für die Dorschfischerei in der westlichen Ostsee und die Möglichkeit einer technischen Alternative

The cod stock in the Western Baltic Sea is assessed to be overfished regarding the definitions of the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development at Johannesburg in 2002. Thus, the European Fisheries Council enforced a multi-annual management plan in 2007. Our medium term simulations over the future 10 years assume similar stock productivity as compared with the past four decades and indicate that the goals of the management plan can be achieved through TAC and consistent effort regulations. Taking account of the uncertainty in the recruitment patterns, the target average fishing mortality of age groups 3 – 6 years of F = 0.6 per year as defined in the management plan is indicated to exceed sustainable levels consistent with high long term yields and low risk of depletion. The stipulated constraint of the annual TAC variations of ±15% will dominate future fisheries management and implies a high recovery potential of the stock through continued reductions in fishing mortality. The scientific assessment of sustainable levels of exploitation and consideration in the plan is strongly advised, taking account of uncertainties attributed to environmental and biological effects. We recommend our study to be complemented with economic impact assessments including effects on by-catch species, which have been disregarded in this study. It is further demonstrated, that the goals of the management plan can alternatively be achieved by mesh size adaptations. An alternative technical option of mesh size increases to realize the required reductions in fishing mortality provides avoidance of discards of undersized fish after a few years by means of improved selectivity, another important element of the Common Fisheries Policy. However, it is emphasized that technical regulations since 1990 failed to affect the by-catch and discards of juvenile cod. In any way, the meaningful implementation of the multiannual management plan through stringent control and enforcement appears critical.

Aktivitäten des nationalen Fischereidatenerhebungsprogramms im Jahr 2004

Based on the EU Regulation 1543/2000 for the improvement of quantity and quality of fishery data the Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture has initiated a national data collection programme, executed by three institutions, Federal Research Centre for Fisheries (BFAFi), Federal Agency for Ariculture and Food and the Federal Research Centre Agriculture, co-ordinated by BFAFi. In 2004 samples have been taken from 943 hauls during 29 commercial fishing trips; 357 000 fish have been measured. From 2002 to 2004 the number of length and weight and measurements, and age determinations could increased by 32, 65 and 156 % resp. Pilot inquiries have been carried out to prepare also the collection of economical date of fishing vessels and of fish processing plants from 2006.

Fischereisituation, Probennahme und Zustand der Nutzfischbestände im Nordostatlantik im Jahre 2002

NE-arctic cod, saithe, haddock, redfish and Greenland halibut are important fish stocks of the European fisheries. In many European countries national data sampling projects on commercial fisheries have been established in recent years. Since 1990 German investigations in the NE-Atlantic have been mainly carried out on the commercial trawler FMS KIEL. The results of these sea samplings are used as German basic data for stock assessments of the “Arctic Fisheries Working Group” of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES). Biological investigations were carried out in Norwegian waters, the Svalbard area and the Barents Sea (ICES Divisions I, IIa and IIb) on board FMS KIEL in March and October/November 2002. This report presents results of these cruises and an overview over the general fishery situation in 2002. Finally, results and recommendations on the scientific stock assessments of cod, saithe, haddock, redfishand Greenland halibut are reported.

Untersuchungen des Zanderbestandes in den deutschen Küstengewässern der Ostsee von 1992 bis 2002

Pike-perch is an important resource for the coastal fishery in the brackish waters of the eastern part of the coast. For the conservation of the stocks regulation measures (minimum landing size, closed season and minimum mesh size) have been introduced since many years. Basic biological material of the last decade sampled from the commercial fishery and for recruitment by a standard trawl survey. For the “Eastern stock” this paper presents the results concerning age distribution, year-class strengths, growth, proportion spawners, natural mortality and yield-per-recruit analyses.

Fischarten der westlichen Ostsee – Untersuchungen von 2000 bis 2002

Ichthyoplankton provides information on the species com-position in an area of investigation and leads to a better understanding of the entire fish community. Every year since 1993 May/June (from 2000 in April/May) an ichthyoplankton survey in ICES Subdivision 22 and 24 has been done to sample the plankton community in the western Baltic Sea. One objective was to acquire indicators of possible changes in the natural structures of the fish com-munity. The time series derived from the Bongo-Net samples is too short to show a trend in larval densities. Up to now samples in the western Baltic Sea yielded only low mean densities. According to the reproductive biology the fish species were divided in three major groups: •Fish species with a long developmental phase in the plankton community •Small short lived species with benthic eggs and a reduced planktonic phase •Guests without local spawning populations. Species were identified, which were absent in the plankton of the western Baltic Sea in the 1960s and 1970s.

Ist das Meer so tief, wie unsere Messgeräte angeben?

Das Institut für Fischereiökologie führt regelmäßig radioökologische Untersuchungen im früheren Versenkungsgebiet für schwach radioaktive Stoffe im Nordostatlantik durch (Vobach 2002). In diesem Zusammenhang werden an bestimmten Positionen Wasserproben aus verschiedenen Tiefen, von der Oberfläche bis hinab zum Grund in knapp 5000 m Tiefe genommen. Dabei hat es sich als zweckmäßig erwiesen, mittels eines Pingersystems (kurze 12 kHz Schallsignale) Tiefen bis etwa 3000 m als Entfernung vom Schiff und darunter liegende als Entfernung vom Grund (Bethke und Kellermann 1994) zu bestimmen. Damit einheitlich für alle Ergebnisse die Probenahmetiefe angegeben werden kann, muss die Entfernung vom Schiff bis zum Grund, also die Wassertiefe, bekannt sein.