Inhibition of Protease Activity in Muscle Extracts and Surimi from Pacific Whiting, Merluccius productus, and Arrowtooth Flounder, Atheresthes stomias

Muscle extracts of Pacific whiting, Merluccius productus, and arrowtooth flounder, Atheresthes stomias, were assayed for proteolytic activity using azocasein as a substrate. Pacific whiting extracts showed maximum activity at pH 5.0-5.2 and a temperature of 50°C, while arrowtooth flounder extracts had maximum activity at pH 5.5 and 55°C. Three sources of inhibitors (potatoes, egg white, beef plasma protein) were evaluated in vitro for inhibition of protease activity. All three were found to be effective inhibitors in crude muscle extracts. Further studies utilizing these inhibitors in surimi showed that potato was equivalent to both egg white and beef plasma protein in preserving the gel forming characteristics ofheated kamaboko in both species.

The Fisheries of Hawaii and U.S.-associated Pacific Islands

In the late 1980's and early 1990's, significant changes occurred in the fisheries of Hawaii. Expansion and diversification of pelagic fisheries and growth (including industrialization) of fisheries that, in at least some cases, had been largely recreational or artisanall ed to fear of overfishing and problems in allocation among fishery sectors. Combined with establishment of limited entry programs in Hawaii fisheries (bottomfish, longline, and lobster), this led to anticipation that similar growth might occur in Guam, the Northern Marianas, and American Samoa.

Fisheries and Marine Resources of Hawaii and the U.S.-associated Pacific Islands: An Introduction

The fisheries of Hawaii and other U.S.-associated islands in the Pacific Ocean are characterized by high diversity, both in the species exploited and the human cultures that exploit them. The commercial sector has undergone rapid growth in recent years, but recreational and subsistence sectors remain important. Information on these fisheries is generally not available in published form. This paper presents an overview and introduction to a volume of papers describing fisheries in the region, with the goal of making the information available to scientists and the general public. A great deal remains to be learned about the dynamics of these fisheries as well as the associated issues in biological research, fisheries management, and environmental protection.

Precious Coral Fisheries of Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Islands

The precious coral fishery in Hawaii and the Western Pacific consists of one industry but two distinct and separate fisheries. The first is the harvest of black coral by scuba divers from depths of 30-100 m. The second is a fishery for pink and gold coral at depths between 400 and 1500 m and employs either a human-operated submersible that permits selective harvest or tangle net dredges which are nonselective. The modern history of these fisheries date from 1958 until the present. In this paper the ecology, life history. and management of the dominant species that make up these fisheries are reviewed. Research needs of the fisheries and the economic and future prospects of the precious coral industry are also described. At the present, the precious coral jewelry industry in Hawaii (all species) is valued at about $25 million at the retail level.

The Western Pacific Fishery Information Network: A Fisheries Information System

The Western Pacific Fishery Information Network (WPACFlN) is an intergovernmental agency cooperative program sponsored by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to help participating island fisheries agencies carry out data collection, analysis, reporting programs, and data management activities to better support fisheries management under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act; and to help meet local fisheries information and management needs. The WPACFlN is the central source of information for Federal fisheries management of most fisheries in American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and it plays an important role in acquiring fisheries data in Hawaii. This paper describes the development and status of this fishery information system.

Status, Constraints, and Opportunities for Salmon Culture in the United States: A Review

This paper reviews and analyzes the major factors constraining the development of salmon culture in the United States. A brief review of economic factors in the seafood sector contributing to the industry's recent growth is offered, and the present status of the major producing regions is summarized. The major constraints, which include marketing problems, policy and regulatory constraints, production costs, disease, financiing, and environmental uncertainty, are discussed, followed by recommendations for improving the industry's development.

Differences in Dolphin Mortality Rates in Night and Day Sets for the U.S. Eastern Tropical Pacific Tuna Purse Seine Fishery

Because dolphins sometimes travel with yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP), purse seiners use the dolphins to locate and capture tuna schools. During the process of setting the purse seine nets, dolphins often become entangled and drown before they can be released. Data for the U.S. purse seine fleet in the ETP during 1979-88 show that dolphin mortality rates in sets made during the night are higher than mortality rates in sets made during the day. Even with efforts to reduce nightset mortality rates through the use of high intensity floodlights, night set mortality rates remain higher. The data are also used to simulate a regulation on the fishery aimed at eliminating night sets and show that dolphin mortality rates would decrease.

A Review of World Salmon Culture

World farmed salmon production reached 145,000 metric tons (t) in 1988 and an estimated 217,000 t in 1989. The latter figure is comparable to the U. S. annual salmon catch (about 250,000 t) and is approaching one-third the size of the world wild salmon catch (about 700,000 t). The rapid expansion of farmed salmon supplies in the late 1980's has led to sharp price decreases. Lower prices have forced some farmers out of business, but at the same time, a large number of farmers first began harvesting salmon on a commercial scale as the 1980's ended. Farmed salmon production could exceed 270,000 t in 1990.

Biology and Potential Use of Pacific Grenadier, Coryphaenoides acrolepis, off California

Grenadiers (family Macrouridae) are the most abundant fish on most continental slope areas worldwide. Off California the Pacific grenadier, Coryphaenoides acrolepis, occurs in relatively large numbers and may have marketing potential. This repon provides information on the biology of the species and catch results from a number of scientific cruises. Catch data on several other species found together with Pacific grenadier, panicularly sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria, are also given. The fish were caught with a bottom trawl (15 trawls), and with free-vehicle longline gear (117 sets). The latter was a hook and line system in which the gear was dropped to the seafloor untethered to the fishing vessel, and floated to the surface, with the catch, when detachable weights were automatically released. Sablefish dominated longline catches in depths of 200-600fm (334-1,098m), while Pacific grenadier was most abundant between 600 and 1,OOOfm (1,098-1,830m). Best trawl catches of Pacific grenadier were made at depths between 615 and 675fm (1,125 and 1,235 m) and at 760fm (1,391 m). Ripe females were absent from our samples, but spent females were found during the entire year with highest numbers in the spring and early summer. Only one larva was found despite extensive sampling with plankton nets. Pacific grenadier was found to have good edible qualities by a taste-test panel, although the protein content (15 percent) and flesh yield (24 percent) were significantly lower than those of other fishes. A second species, the giant grenadier, Albatrossia pectoralis, was found to have exceptionally poor eating qualities and even lower protein content.

A Review of the South Pacific Tuna Baitfisheries: Small Pelagic Fisheries Associated with Coral-Reefs

A review is given of current information concerning small pelagic fishes exploited for tuna bait in the South Pacific. These fishes are usually caught over or near coral reefs using light attraction and lift nets. The most common and widespread species are anchovies (Engraulidae), sprats (Clupeidae), silversides (Atherinidae), and herrings (Clupeidae). Recorded yields ranged from 0.5 to 2.6t/km2, and methods are described to estimate potential yields empirically in the absence of catch data. Environmental effects on small pelagic fish production are discussed, and evidence is presented to suggest that rainfall markedly affects stolephorid anchovy production. Some species of small pelagic fish, such as Selar spp., Decapterus spp., and Herklotsichthys sp., have been fished traditionally by artisanal fishermen, but anchovy and sprat stocks were probably unexploited prior to pole-and-line tuna fishing in the South Pacific.

Size-related Hooking Mortality of Incidentally Caught Chinook Salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Mortality associated with the incidental catch and release by commercial trollers of two size classes of chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, was assessed. Observed cumulative mortality 4-6 days after hooking was 18.3 percent for sublegal-sizefish « 66 cm FL) and 19.0 percent for legal-sizefish. Size of fish was not significantly related to mortality; however, when the results were combined with data from a previous experiment, there was a significant inverse relationship between fish length and mortality. Hooking mortality estimates calculated from tagging experiments and observed relative mortality of legal-and sublegal-size fish held in net pens, were used to derive a range for total hooking mortality of 22.0-26.4 percent for sublegal-size chinook salmon and 18.5-26.4 percent for legal-size chinook salmon.

U.S. Fisheries Management and Foreign Trade Linkages: Policy Implications for Groundfish Fisheries in the North Pacific EEZ

The groundfish resources of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off Alaska, dominated by Alaska or walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma, Pacific cod, Gadus macrocephalus, and flatfishes, Pleuronectidae, can sustain annual commercial harvests well in excess of 2 million metric tons (t). As recently as 1979, foreign fisheries took 99 percent of the annual harvest supported by these resources. This has changed dramatically during the 1980's. The foreign fisheries have received rapidly decreasing allocations, first as joint venture fisheries expanded and, more recently, as the domestic fisheries have grown. Joint venture fisheries are fisheries in which domestic fishing vessels deliver their catch directly to foreign processing vessels in the EEZ. By 1986, the joint venture and domestic fisheries accounted for 66 percent and 8 percent, respectively, of the annual harvest. The preliminary corresponding figures for 1987 are 78 and 18 percent.

River Dart Salmon Project. Summary of Phase I report.

This is the River Dart Salmon Project Summary of Phase I Report (2002) by the Westcountry Rivers Trust. The report contains sections on the introduction to Dart Salmon, factors affecting salmon numbers, salmon rod catch and salmon electro-fishing data, and a summary and discussion of the next phase. It also contains two tables with time series analysis on fry/parr numbers in representative section of the River Dart and figures with trends in fry/parrs numbers at juveniles electro-fishing sites. The section on salmon rod catch data includes trend analysis, cross-correlation of catches in different rivers and a general conclusion.