Review on hard coral recruitment (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) in Colombia

Recruitment, defined and measured as the incorporation of new individuals (i.e. coral juveniles) into a population, is a fundamental process for ecologists, evolutionists and conservationists due to its direct effect on population structure and function. Because most coral populations are self-feeding, a breakdown in recruitment would lead to local extinction. Recruitment indirectly affects both renewal and maintenance of existing and future coral communities, coral reef biodiversity (bottom-up effect) and therefore coral reef resilience. This process has been used as an indirect measure of individual reproductive success (fitness) and is the final stage of larval dispersal leading to population connectivity. As a result, recruitment has been proposed as an indicator of coral-reef health in marine protected areas, as well as a central aspect of the decision-making process concerning management and conservation. The creation of management plans to promote impact mitigation,rehabilitation and conservation of the Colombian coral reefs is a necessity that requires firstly, a review and integration of existing literature on scleractinian coral recruitment in Colombia and secondly, larger scale field studies. This motivated us to summarize and analyze all existing information on coral recruitment to determine the state of knowledge, isolate patterns, identify gaps, and suggest future lines of research.

Investigação de recursos de tunideos em Moçambique de 1975 a 1984

After 1975 a large inventory work of fisheries resources began in Mozambican waters. The tuna stocks, for instance, were virtually unexplored. After 10 years roughly, the oceanographic investigations led to the temporary localization of the most favorable areas for longline fishing or surface gears.

O desenvolvimento pesqueiro mundial, a variabilidade dos recursos e a gestão

FAO regularly releases studies on the state of fish resources exploitation (The state of world fisheries and aquaculture)and the development of fisheries by geographic areas. The 1983 and 1985 editions provided interesting discussions on fisheries development trends in the world: the majority of sea-facing countries adopted legislation that extends the national jurisdiction on the waters off their coasts (usually indicated within 200 miles) and establishes exclusive economic zones (EEZs). The huge fluctuations in the abundance of some fish stocks are obstacles to fisheries development. This issue, as well as the need to improve research activities and management of fish stocks is also analyzed in this work. The author highlighted the situation of fisheries in the Western Indian Ocean, with particular attention to tuna fisheries and to inland water resources of Mozambique.

Recursos marinhos de Moçambique

This work aims to be a systematic description of marine fisheries of Mozambique, analysing old and new data. The various fish resources were divided in crustaceans, fish and other resources. The latest revision was presented during the Mozambique/NORAD Seminar on marine resources (1984), which also included fishing potential estimates. Mozambique does not have a national system of statistical data collection that covers all fisheries and this affects in particular the artisanal sector. The industrial and semi-industrial fisheries, however, are well covered and produce reliable data on catch and effort for resources evaluation.

Os recursos de algas marinhas de importáncia económica na República popular de Moçambique com especial referéncia para Euchema (Florideae) em Cabo Delgado

Composition, abundance and environmental characteristics of the sea-weed resources of Mozambique were investigated along the whole Mozambican sea shore between May, 1979 and November, 1980. The limits of distribution of tropical algae were identified and located close to parallel 21 degree 00'S. Important concentrations of sea-weeds were found in the southern region, but only the Euchema resource in the coast of Cabo Delgado looked promising for commercial exploitation. Biological studies of Euchema were undertaken, the results of which permit the recommendation of a strategy for immediate harvesting which could yield 400-500 tons annually. Further proposals for the culture of sea-weeds are also included.

Avaliaçāo preliminar dos recursos de camarāo de profundidade em Moçambique

Although it is known enough of the biology of shallow+ waters shrimps, knowledge of the deep-waters shrimp is still limited. This is due to the fact that: these resources are relatively new and the study of deep waters species is more difficult and expensive. Some biological informations on the main species of shrimp in depth of Mozambique have been collected during investigation cruises (Sports et al., Pacule, 1987) and through sampling carried out on board commercial vessels (DDR fleet) between 1983 and 1986.