Initial formation of the U.S. Geological Survey hydroclimatic data network [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): The U.S. Geological Survey is working to define a hydroclimatic data network. The Geological Survey collects stream discharge data at more than 7000 sites throughout the United States. Many of these stations are operated to supply information about specific activities such as flood control, irrigation projects, or hydropower generation. As a beginning, the Geological Survey will attempt to identify stations that represent natural streamflow. Several lists of stations representing "natural" streamflow have been complied in the past. While there is some overlap among these lists, a consistent compilation is preferred. The present effort is to produce one list identifying those stations having periods of record which would be suitable for mesoscale climatic analyses.

Characterization of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic penaeid and rock shrimp fisheries based on observer data

In July 2007, a mandatory Federal observer program was implemented to characterize the U.S. Gulf of Mexico penaeid shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus, F. duorarum, and Litopenaeus setiferus) fishery. In June 2008, the program expanded to include the South Atlantic penaeid and rock shrimp, Sicyonia spp., fisheries. Data collected from 10,206 tows during 5,197 sea days of observations were analyzed by geographical area and target species. The majority of tows (~70%) sampled were off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. Based on total hours towed, the highest concentrated effort occurred off South Texas and southwestern Florida. Gear information, such as net characteristics, bycatch reduction devices, and turtle excluder devices were fairly consistent among areas and target species. By species categories, finfish comprised the majority (≥57%) of the catch composition in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic penaeid shrimp fisheries, while in the South Atlantic rock shrimp fishery the largest component (41%) was rock shrimp. Bycatch to shrimp ratios were lower than reported in previous studies for the Gulf of Mexico penaeid shrimp fishery. These decreased ratios may be attributed to several factors, notably decreased shrimp effort and higher shrimp catch per unit of effort (CPUE) in recent years. CPUE density surface plots for several species of interest illustrated spatial differences in distribution. Hot Spot Analyses for shrimp (penaeid and rock) and bycatch species identified areas with significant clustering of high or low CPUE values. Spatial and temporal distribution of protected species interactions were documented.

Marine Fisheries Stock Assessment Improvement Plan: report of the National Marine Fisheries Service National Task Force for Improving Fish Stock Assessments

This report argues for greatly increased resources in terms of data collection facilities and staff to collect, process, and analyze the data, and to communicate the results, in order for NMFS to fulfill its mandate to conserve and manage marine resources. In fact, the authors of this report had great difficulty defining the "ideal" situation to which fisheries stock assessments and management should aspire. One of the primary objectives of fisheries management is to develop sustainable harvest policies that minimize the risks of overfishing both target species and associated species. This can be achieved in a wide spectrum of ways, ranging between the following two extremes. The first is to implement only simple management measures with correspondingly simple assessment demands, which will usually mean setting fishing mortality targets at relatively low levels in order to reduce the risk of unknowingly overfishing or driving ecosystems towards undesirable system states. The second is to expand existing data collection and analysis programs to provide an adequate knowledge base that can support higher fishing mortality targets while still ensuring low risk to target and associated species and ecosystems. However, defining "adequate" is difficult, especially when scientists have not even identified all marine species, and information on catches, abundances, and life histories of many target species, and most associated species, is sparse. Increasing calls from the public, stakeholders, and the scientific community to implement ecosystem-based stock assessment and management make it even more difficult to define "adequate," especially when "ecosystem-based management" is itself not well-defined. In attempting to describe the data collection and assessment needs for the latter, the authors took a pragmatic approach, rather than trying to estimate the resources required to develop a knowledge base about the fine-scale detailed distributions, abundances, and associations of all marine species. Thus, the specified resource requirements will not meet the expectations of some stakeholders. In addition, the Stock Assessment Improvement Plan is designed to be complementary to other related plans, and therefore does not duplicate the resource requirements detailed in those plans, except as otherwise noted.

Land-sea characterization of the St. Croix East End Marine Park, U.S. Virgin Islands

The St. Croix East End Marine Park (STXEEMP) was established in 2003 as the first multi-use marine park managed by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources. It encompasses an area of approximately 155 km2 and is entirely within Territorial waters which extend up to 3 nautical miles from shore. As stated in the 2002 management plan, the original goals were to: protect and maintain the biological diversity and other natural values of the area; promote sound management practices for sustainable production purposes; protect the natural resource base from being alienated for other land use purposes that would be detrimental to the area’s biological diversity; and to contribute to regional and national development (The Nature Conservancy, 2002). At the time of its establishment, there were substantial data gaps in knowledge about living marine resources in the St. Croix, and existing data were inadequate for establishing baselines from which to measure the future performance of the various management zones within the park. In response to these data gaps, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, Biogeography Branch (CCMA-BB) worked with territorial partners to characterize and assess the status of the marine environment in and around the STXEEMP and land-based stressors that affect them. This project collected and analyzed data on the distribution, diversity and landscape condition of marine communities across the STXEEMP. Specifically, this project characterized (1) landscape and adjacent seascape condition relevant to threats to coral reef ecosystem health, and (2) the marine communities within STXEEMP zones to increase local knowledge of resources exposed to different regulations and stressors.

The state of coral reef ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2008

In the past decade, increased awareness regarding the declining condition of U.S. coral reefs has prompted various actions by governmental and non-governmental organizations. Presidential Executive Order 13089 created the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) in 1998 to coordinate federal and state/territorial activities (Clinton, 1998), and the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 provided Congressional funding for activities to conserve these important ecosystems, including mapping, monitoring and assessment projects carried out through the support of NOAA’s CRCP. Numerous collaborations forged among federal agencies and state, local, non-governmental, academic and private partners now support a variety of monitoring activities. This report shares the results of many of these monitoring activities, relying heavily on quantitative, spatially-explicit data that has been collected in the recent past and comparisons with historical data where possible. The success of this effort can be attributed to the dedication of over 270 report contributors who comprised the expert writing teams in the jurisdictions and contributed to the National Level Activities and National Summary chapters. The scope and content of this report are the result of their dedication to this considerable collaborative effort. Ultimately, the goal of this report is to answer the difficult but vital question: what is the condition of U.S. coral reef ecosystems? The report attempts to base a response on the best available science emerging from coral reef ecosystem monitoring programs in 15 jurisdictions across the country. However, few monitoring programs have been in place for longer than a decade, and many have been initiated only within the past two to five years. A few jurisdictions are just beginning to implement monitoring programs and face challenges stemming from a lack of basic habitat maps and other ecosystem data in addition to adequate training, capacity building, and technical support. There is also a general paucity of historical data describing the condition of ecosystem resources before major human impacts occurred, which limits any attempt to present the current conditions within an historical context and contributes to the phenomenon of shifting baselines (Jackson, 1997; Jackson et al., 2001; Pandolfi et al., 2005).

Recovery of the Gulf of Maine--Georges Bank Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) complex: perspectives based on bottom trawl survey data

NMFS bottom trawl survey data were used to describe changes in distribution, abundance, and rates of population change occurring in the Gulf of Maine–Georges Bank herring (Clupea harengus) complex during 1963–98. Herring in the region have fully recovered following severe overfishing during the 1960s and 1970s. Three distinct, but seasonally intermingling components from the Gulf of Maine, Nantucket Shoals (Great South Channel area), and Georges Bank appear to compose the herring resource in the region. Distribution ranges contracted as herring biomass declined in the late 1970s and then the range expanded in the 1990s as herring increased. Analysis of research survey data suggest that herring are currently at high levels of abundance and biomass. All three components of the stock complex, including the Georges Bank component, have recovered to pre-1960s abundance. Survey data support the theory that herring recolonized the Georges Bank region in stages from adjacent components during the late 1980s, most likely from herring spawning in the Gulf of Maine.

An interpretation of the data from "The effect of mesh size on the fishing efficiency of sardine gill nets"

The paper "The effect of mesh size on the fishing efficiency of sardine gill nets" [K.M. Joseph and A.V. Sebastian, Fish. Tech; 1(2), 180-182 (1964)] marks an important step in the progress of fisheries technology and biology in India.

The study of the sea state data collected from Bay of Bengal during 1964-65

The wave data collected on board Ins Kistna from Bay of Bengal during July to August, 1964 and January, February and April, 1965 are presented. The wave parameters are analyzed and given in a form most suitable for model testing of ships. The variation of wave height with Beaufort number is remarkable. Wave periods from 2 to 10 seconds are observed with maximum frequency in the range of 2 to 5 seconds. The heights and period obtained are compared with those obtained by previous workers for the North Atlantic region and Bay of Bengal. The influence of the wave period 2 to 5 seconds on the rolling, pitching and heaving periods of medium size vessels is also discussed.

A review of the fisheries of the Uganda waters of Lake Albert East Africa, 1928-1965/66, with catch data mainly from 1953

An historical account is given of the development of the Lake Albert fisheries since Worthington's survey in 1928. It is noted that the development of the fisheries was related to, and dependent upon, improvements in the type of gear and canoes, an incFease in the number of canoes and outboard engines in use, improved marketing facilities and better road communications. Summarized data, collected mainly since 1954, has been analysed and tabulated to show annual exports to the Congo, total annual catches 'and annual catches of individual species. A change in the relative abundance of the various species in the annual catches is described. It is noted that this change was caused by a change-over from large to small mesh size gill-nets, and that it was associated with an increased demand within Uganda for the smaller species of fish, such as Aleste's baremose and Hydrocynus forskahlii. A brief description of fish processing and marketing in the Lake Albert region is given, which emphasizes the suitability of salt-cured fish to the social and physical environment of the area. Finally, a summary of a recent survey of the potential fish resources of the lake is given in the discussion, and estimates of the 1965 catch at the north and south ends of the lake are compared with the findings of the survey. This showed that there is little danger of overfishing the Alestes baremose stocks of the Wanseko area at the 1965 rate of exploitation of the species, and that the total catch for 1965 at the south end of the lake was well below the estimated annual sustainable yield from the area.

Final report of the baseline data reconstruction for the Quality Assurance for Fish Marketing Project

A baseline survey for the project which had been conducted in 2009 had gaps that could not allow assessment of project performance in the outcome and impact indicators to be made. This study was, therefore, commissioned to reconstruct the baseline data, aligned to the impact and outcome indicators on the project logframe and results framework, against which project achievements could be assessed. The purpose and scope of the study was to reconstruct the baseline data and analysis describing the situation prior to QAFM Project inception, taking 2008 as the baseline year, which was aligned to the project logframe outcome and impact indicators; to collect data on current status to compare project outcome (and where possible impact) in improved fish handling sites in comparison with the baseline as well as with comparable non-improved fish landing sites as control group. The study was conducted through secondary data search from sources at NaFIRRI, DFR and ICEIDA. Field data collection was carried out using a sample survey covering 312 respondents including boat and gear owners, crew members, processors and traders at eight project and two control landing sites. Key Informant Interviews were conducted with DFOs and BMU leaders in the study districts and landing sites respectively.