A review of IATTC research on the early life history and reproductive biology of scombrids conducted at the Achotines Laboratory from 1985 to 2005

English: For nearly a century, fisheries scientists have studied marine fish stocks in an effort to understand how the abundances of fish populations are determined. During the early lives of marine fishes, survival is variable, and the numbers of individuals surviving to transitional stages or recruitment are difficult to predict. The egg, larval, and juvenile stages of marine fishes are characterized by high rates of mortality and growth. Most marine fishes, particularly pelagic species, are highly fecund, produce small eggs and larvae, and feed and grow in complex aquatic ecosystems. The identification of environmental or biological factors that are most important in controlling survival during the early life stages of marine fishes is a potentially powerful tool in stock assessment. Because vital rates (mortality and growth) during the early life stages of marine fishes are high and variable, small changes in those rates can have profound effects on the properties of survivors and recruitment potential (Houde 1989). Understanding and predicting the factors that most strongly influence pre-recruit survival are key goals of fisheries research programs. Spanish: Desde hace casi un siglo, los científicos pesqueros han estudiado las poblaciones de peces marinos en un intento por entender cómo se determina la abundancia de las mismas. Durante la vida temprana de los peces marinos, la supervivencia es variable, y el número de individuos que sobrevive hasta las etapas transicionales o el reclutamiento es difícil de predecir. Las etapas de huevo, larval, y juvenil de los peces marinos son caracterizadas por tasas altas de mortalidad y crecimiento. La mayoría de los peces marinos, particularmente las especies pelágicas, son muy fecundos, producen huevos y larvas pequeños, y se alimentan y crecen en ecosistemas acuáticos complejos. La identificación los factores ambientales o biológicos más importantes en el control de la supervivencia durante las etapas tempranas de vida de los peces marinos es una herramienta potencialmente potente en la evaluación de las poblaciones. Ya que las tasas vitales (mortalidad y crecimiento) durante las etapas tempranas de vida de los peces marinos son altas y variables, cambios pequeños en esas tasas pueden ejercer efectos importantes sobre las propiedades de los supervivientes y el potencial de reclutamiento (Houde 1989). Comprender y predecir los factores que más afectan la supervivencia antes del reclutamiento son objetivos clave de los programas de investigación pesquera.

Marine Fisheries History: The 50th Anniversay Issue of the Marine Fisheries Review

The 1980's seems to have been the decade for conservation anniversaries. Celebrating centennials have been the U.S. Fishery Bulletin (1981), NMFS Woods Hole Laboratory (1985), Journal of the Marine Biological Association (1987) and the Association itself (1984), Pacific halibut fishery (1988), Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass. (1988), and England's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (1989). While the U. S. Department of Commerce turned 75 (1988), 50th anniversaries were nlarked by the NMFS Northwest and Alaska Fisheries Center (1981), The Wildlife Society and its Journal ofWildlife Management (1987), National Wildlife Federation (1986), International Game Fish Association (1989), and, of course, the Marine Fisheries Review (1988), which provided the raison d'etre for this special issue being devoted to "Marine Fisheries History."

Life history of prawns: a review of recent studies with special reference to Indian species

The paper contains a brief review of the studies on the life histories of Indian species of prawns chiefly belonging to the family Penaeidae. References to similar work carried out outside India are furnished where significant variations have been observed. The three main larval stages viz., Nauplius, Protozoea and Zoea (Mysis) and their important characteristics, including modes of locomotion, are described. The post-larval development of one species that has been studied in detail (Metapenaeus dobsoni) is indicated in outline. Some aspects of the bionomics of these prawns, especially breeding and migration, are also briefly dealt with in view of their relevance in their life cycle. An outline of the life histories of some Palaemonid prawns of both fresh water and marine habitats is added at the end and the need for well- planned investigations in regard to species of such economic value as Palaemon carcinus (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) is indicated.

Preliminary guide to the indentification of the early life history stages of Callionymid fishes of the Western Central Atlantic

Callionymidae, along with the Draconettidae and Gobiesocidae, previously were placed in the order Gobiesociformes (Allen, 1984). Recently, Nelson (1994) placed the Callionymidae and Draconettidae in the percifonn suborder Callionymoidei. The family is represented by three species in the western central North Atlantic Ocean, Diplogrammus pauciradiatus, Paradiplogrammus bairdi and Foetorepus agassizi (Davis, 1966; Robins and Ray, 1986). A detailed review ofthe family including early life history infonnation is given by Houde (1984) and Watson (1996). (PDF contains 11 pages)

The Windermere perch and pike project: an historical review

This paper is an attempt to set the background, provide a brief history, review some of the Windermere perch and pike project's scientific achievements, note current developments and hopes for the future, and comment on some aspects of such long-term projects. The project was originally started in 1939 in order to provide fish in freshwater lakes which might be harvested to enhance the supplies of food in a country subject to blockade. Pike traps and gill-netting were trialed as fishing methods. Catch statistics are available from 1939 which can be used to study population dynamics or for modelling purposes. The author provides an overview of changes in the population dynamics of perch and pike but covers briefly other species like arctic charr and brown trout. Also covered are several aspects of the basic biology and ecology of the principal species involved.

Review of investigation on the feeding of the European grayling [Translation from: Flora Slodkowodna Polski. Tom 2. Cyanophyta, Glaucophyta (ed. K. Starmach) p350-352. Warsaw, Polska Academia Nauk, 1966]

The composition of the food of the European grayling and the character of its feeding has been studied fully enough, but this knowledge is scattered in the literature and often contradictory. rare exceptions, analysis of the results of different investigations. Therefore the proposed short outline of the history of the study of the problem with a description of the basic data on the feeding of the grayling in different geographical areas is presented as expedient and opportune, primarily in relation to the determination of immediate problems and the trend of research.

History of Molluscan Fishery Regulations and the Shellfish Officer Service in Massachusetts

Oysters, Crassostrea virginica, and softshell clams, Mya arenaria, along the Massachusetts coast were harvested by European colonists beginning in the 1600’s. By the 1700’s, official Commonwealth rules were established to regulate their harvests. In the final quarter of the 1800’s, commercial fishermen began harvesting northern quahogs, Mercenaria mercenaria, and northern bay scallops, Argopecten irradians irradians, and regulations established by the Massachusetts Legislature were applied to their harvests also. Constables (also termed wardens), whose salaries were paid by the local towns, enforced the regulations, which centered on restricting harvests to certain seasons, preventing seed from being taken, and personal daily limits on harvests. In 1933, the Massachusetts Legislature turned over shellfisheries management to individual towns. Local constables (wardens) enforced the rules. In the 1970’s, the Massachusetts Shellfish Officers Association was formed, and was officially incorporated in 2000, to help the constables deal with increasing environmental problems in estuaries where fishermen harvest mollusks. The constables’ stewardship of the molluscan resources and the estuarine environments and promotion of the fisheries has become increasingly complex.

Review of the California Trawl Fishery for Pacific Ocean Shrimp, Pandalus jordani, from 1992 to 2007

The commercial bottom trawl fishery for Pacific ocean shrimp, Pandalus jordani, or pink shrimp, operates mostly off the west coast of the contiguous United States. The California portion of the fishery has not been thoroughly documented or reviewed since the 1991 fishing season, despite its fluctuating more during the last 16 years (1992–2007) than at any other period in its 56-year history. We used fishery-dependent data, California Department of Fish and Game commercial landing receipts and logbook data, to analyze trends and review the California pink shrimp trawl fishery from 1992 to 2007. In particular, we focus on the most recent years of the fishery (2001–07) to highlight the gear developments and key management measures implemented in the fishery. The fishery is primarily driven by market conditions and is highly regulated by both state and Federal management agencies. Several key regulatory measures implemented during this decade have had significant effects on the fishery. For example, the requirement of a Bycatch Reduction Device on trawl nets targeting pink shrimp was approved in 2001 and has greatly reduced levels of finfish bycatch. Fishery production has declined, particularly in recent years, and may be attributed to decreased market prices, followed by reduced fishermen participation; both of which are related to changes in the processing sector and demand for the product.

History of Alaska Red King Crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, Bottom Trawl Surveys, 1940–61

Thirteen bottom trawl surveys conducted in Alaska waters for red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, during 1940–61 are largely forgotten today even though they helped define our current knowledge of this resource. Government publications on six exploratory surveys (1940–49, 1957) included sample locations and some catch composition data, but these documents are rarely referenced. Only brief summaries of the other seven annual (1955–61) grid-patterned trawl surveys from the eastern Bering Sea were published. Although there have been interruptions in sampling and some changes in the trawl survey methods, a version of this grid-patterned survey continues through the present day, making it one of the oldest bottom-trawl surveys in U.S. waters. Unfortunately, many of the specific findings made during these early efforts have been lost to the research community. Here, we report on the methods, results, and significance of these early surveys, which were collated from published reports and the unpublished original data sheets so that researchers might begin incorporating this information into stock assessments, ecosystem trend analyses, and perhaps even revise the baseline population distribution and abundance estimates.

History of the Bay Scallop, Argopecten irradians, Fisheries and Habitats in eastern North America, Massachusetts through northeastern Mexico

This is a broad historical overview of the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians, fishery on the East and Gulf Coasts of North America (Fig. 1). For a little over a century, from about the mid 1870’s to the mid 1980’s, bay scallops supported large commercial fisheries mainly in the U.S. states of Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina and on smaller scales in the states in between and in western Florida. In these states, the annual harvests and dollar value of bay scallops were far smaller than those of the other important commercial mollusks, the eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, and northern quahogs, Mercenaria mercenaria, but they were higher than those of softshell clams, Mya arenaria (Table 1). The fishery had considerable economic importance in the states’ coastal towns, because bay scallops are a high-value product and the fishery was active during the winter months when the economies in most towns were otherwise slow. The scallops also had cultural importance as a special food, an ornament owing to its pretty shell design, and an interesting biological component of

The Bay Scallop, Argopecten irradians, Massachusetts Through North Carolina: Its Biology and the History of Its Habitats and Fisheries

This article covers the biology and the history of the bay scallop habitats and fishery from Massachusetts to North Carolina. The scallop species that ranges from Massachusetts to New York is Argopecten irradians irradians. In New Jersey, this species grades into A. i. concentricus, which then ranges from Maryland though North Carolina. Bay scallops inhabit broad, shallow bays usually containing eelgrass meadows, an important component in their habitat. Eelgrass appears to be a factor in the production of scallop larvae and also the protection of juveniles, especially, from predation. Bay scallops spawn during the warm months and live for 18–30 months. Only two generations of scallops are present at any time. The abundances of each vary widely among bays and years. Scallops were harvested along with other mollusks on a small scale by Native Americans. During most of the 1800’s, people of European descent gathered them at wading depths or from beaches where storms had washed them ashore. Scallop shells were also and continue to be commonly used in ornaments. Some fishing for bay scallops began in the 1850’s and 1860’s, when the A-frame dredge became available and markets were being developed for the large, white, tasty scallop adductor muscles, and by the 1870’s commercial-scale fishing was underway. This has always been a cold-season fishery: scallops achieve full size by late fall, and the eyes or hearts (adductor muscles) remain preserved in the cold weather while enroute by trains and trucks to city markets. The first boats used were sailing catboats and sloops in New England and New York. To a lesser extent, scallops probably were also harvested by using push nets, picking them up with scoop nets, and anchor-roading. In the 1910’s and 1920’s, the sails on catboats were replaced with gasoline engines. By the mid 1940’s, outboard motors became more available and with them the numbers of fishermen increased. The increases consisted of parttimers who took leaves of 2–4 weeks from their regular jobs to earn extra money. In the years when scallops were abundant on local beds, the fishery employed as many as 10–50% of the towns’ workforces for a month or two. As scallops are a higher-priced commodity, the fishery could bring a substantial amount of money into the local economies. Massachusetts was the leading state in scallop landings. In the early 1980’s, its annual landings averaged about 190,000 bu/yr, while New York and North Carolina each landed about 45,000 bu/yr. Landings in the other states in earlier years were much smaller than in these three states. Bay scallop landings from Massachusetts to New York have fallen sharply since 1985, when a picoplankton, termed “brown tide,” bloomed densely and killed most scallops as well as extensive meadows of eelgrass. The landings have remained low, large meadows of eelgrass have declined in size, apparently the species of phytoplankton the scallops use as food has changed in composition and in seasonal abundance, and the abundances of predators have increased. The North Carolina landings have fallen since cownose rays, Rhinoptera bonsais, became abundant and consumed most scallops every year before the fishermen could harvest them. The only areas where the scallop fishery remains consistently viable, though smaller by 60–70%, are Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Mass., and inside the coastal inlets in southwestern Long Island, N.Y.

Age, Growth, Life History, and Fisheries of the Sand Sole, Psettichthys melanostictus

Sand sole, Psettichthys melanostictus, is a small but important part of the west coast groundfish fishery. It has never been assessed and there is a limited amount of biological data for the species. We provide the first estimates of age and growth for California populations and compare them with studies from other areas. We found that sand sole is a rapidly growing species which may show a strong latitudinal gradient in growth rate. We also found evidence of a recent, strong cohortrelated shift in the sex ratio of the population towards fewer females. In addition we examined data from the Washington, Oregon, and California commercial fishery to make an initial determination of population status. We found that catch per unit of effort in commercial trawls experienced a decline over time but has rebounded in recent years, except central California (the southern part of its commercial range), where the decline has not reversed.

History of the Atlantic Pearl-Oyster, Pinctata imbricata, Industry in Venezuela and Colombia, with Biological and Ecological Observations

In the 1500’s, the waters of Venezuela and to a lesser extent Colombia produced more natural pearls than any place ever produced in the world in any succeeding century. Atlantic pearl-oysters, Pinctata imbricata Röding 1798, were harvested almost entirely by divers. The pearls from them were exported to Spain and other European countries. By the end of the 1500’s, the pearl oysters had become much scarcer, and little harvesting took place during the 1600’s and 1700’s. Harvesting began to accelerate slowly in the mid 1800’s and has since continued but at a much lower rate than in the 1500’s. The harvesting methods have been hand collecting by divers until the early 1960’s, dredging from the 1500’s to the present, and hardhat diving from 1912 to the early 1960’s. Since the mid 1900’s, Japan and other countries of the western Pacific rim have inundated world markets with cultured pearls that are of better quality and are cheaper than natural pearls, and the marketing of natural pearls has nearly ended. The pearl oyster fishery in Colombia ended in the 1940’s, but it has continued in Venezuela with the fishermen selling the meats to support themselves; previously most meats had been discarded. A small quantity of pearls is now taken, and the fishery, which comprised about 3,000 fishermen in 1947, comprised about 300 in 2002.