Proceedings of the Eighteenth International Sea Turtle Symposium, 3-7 March 1998, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico

For the first time in its history, the International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation migrated to a site outside of the United States. Thus the Eighteenth edition was hosted by the Mazatlán Research Unit of the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología of the Mexican National Autonomous University (UNAM) in Mazatlán, Sinaloa (Mexico) where it was held from 3-7, March, 1998. Above all, our symposium is prominent for its dynamism and enthusiasm in bringing together specialists from the world´s sea turtle populations. In an effort to extend this philosophy, and fully aware of how fast the interest in sea turtles has grown, the organizers paid special attention to bring together as many people as possible. With the tremendous efforts of the Travel Committee and coupled with a special interest by the Latin American region´s devotees, we managed to get 653 participants from 43 countries. The number of presentations increased significantly too, reaching a total of 265 papers, ranging from cutting-edge scientific reports based on highly sophisticated methods, to the experiences and successes of community-based and environmental education programs. A priority given by this symposium was the support and encouragement for the construction of "bridges" across cultural and discipline barriers. We found success in achieving a multinational dialogue among interest groups- scientists, resource managers, decision makers, ngo's, private industry. There was a broad representation of the broad interests that stretch across these sectors, yet everyone was able to listen and offer their own best contribution towards the central theme of the Symposium: the conservation of sea turtles and the diversity of marine and coastal environments in which they develop through their complicated and protracted life cycle. Our multidisciplinary approach is highly important at the present, finding ourselves at a cross roads of significant initiatives in the international arena of environmental law, where the conservation of sea turtles has a key role to play. Many, many people worked hard over the previous 12 months, to make the symposium a success. Our sincerest thanks to all of them: Program committee: Laura Sarti (chair), Ana Barragán, Rod Mast, Heather Kalb, Jim Spotilla, Richard Reina, Sheryan Epperly, Anna Bass, Steve Morreale, Milani Chaloupka, Robert Van Dam, Lew Ehrhart, J. Nichols, David Godfrey, Larry Herbst, René Márquez, Jack Musick, Peter Dutton, Patricia Huerta, Arturo Juárez, Debora Garcia, Carlos Suárez, German Ramírez, Raquel Briseño, Alberto Abreu; Registration and Secretary: Jane Provancha (chair), Lupita Polanco; Informatics: Germán Ramírez, Carlos Suárez; Cover art: Blas Nayar; Designs: Germán Ramírez, Raquel Briseño, Alberto Abreu. Auction: Rod Mast; Workshops and special meetings: Selina Heppell; Student prizes: Anders Rhodin; Resolutions committee: Juan Carlos Cantú; Local organizing committee: Raquel Briseño, Jane Abreu; Posters: Daniel Ríos and Jeffrey Semminoff; Travel committee: Karen Eckert (chair), Marydele Donnelly, Brendan Godley, Annette Broderick, Jack Frazier; Student travel: Francisco Silva and J. Nichols; Vendors: Tom McFarland and J. Nichols; Volunteer coordination: Richard Byles; Latin American Reunión: Angeles Cruz Morelos; Nominations committee: Randall Arauz, Colleen Coogan, Laura Sarti, Donna Shaver, Frank Paladino. Once again, Ed Drane worked his usual magic with the Treasury of the Symposium Significant financial contributions were generously provided by government agencies. SEMARNAP (Mexico´s Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries) through its central office, the Mazatlán Regional Fisheries Research Center (CRIP-Mazatlán) and the National Center for Education and Capacity Building for Sustainable Development (CECADESU) contributed to the logistics and covered the costs of auditoria and audiovisual equipment for the Symposium, teachers and their hotels for the Community Development and Environmental Education workshop in the 5th Latin American Sea Turtle Specialists; DIF (Dept of Family Affairs) provided free accomodation and food for the more than 100 participants in the Latin American Reunion. In this Reunion, the British Council-Mexico sponsored the workshop on the Project Cycle. The National Chamber of the Fisheries Industry (CANAINPES) kindly sponsored the Symposium´s coffee breaks. Personnel from the local Navy (Octave Zona Naval) provided invaluable aid in transport and logistics. The Scientific Coordination Office from UNAM (CICUNAM) and the Latin American Biology Network (RELAB) also provided funding. Our most sincere recognition to all of them. In the name of this Symposium´s compilers, I would like to also express our gratitude to Wayne Witzell, Technical Editor for his guidance and insights and to Jack Frazier for his help in translating and correcting the English of contributions from some non-native English speakers. Many thanks to Angel Fiscal and Tere Martin who helped with the typing in the last, last corrections and editions for these Proceedings. To all, from around the world, who generously helped make the 18th Symposium a huge success, shared their experiences and listened to ours, our deepest gratitude! (PDF contains 316 pages)

Harmful algal research and response: A human dimensions strategy

Harmful Algal Research and Response: A Human Dimensions Strategy (HARR-HD) justifies and guides a coordinated national commitment to human dimensions research critical to prevent and respond to impacts of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Beyond HABs, it serves as a framework for developing hu-man dimensions research as a cross-cutting priority of ecosystem science supporting coastal and ocean management, including hazard research and mitigation planning. Measuring and promoting commu-nity resilience to hazards require human dimensions research outcomes such as effective risk commu-nication strategies; assessment of community vulnerability; identification of susceptible populations; comprehensive assessment of environmental, sociocultural, and economic impacts; development of effective decision support tools; and improved coordination among agencies and stakeholders. HARR-HD charts a course for human dimensions research to achieve these and other priorities through co-ordinated implementation by the Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (JSOST) In-teragency Working Group on HABs, Hypoxia and Human Health (IWG-4H); national HAB funding programs; national research and response programs; and state research and monitoring programs. (PDF contains 72 pages)

EcoGIS – GIS tools for ecosystem approaches to fisheries management

Executive Summary: The EcoGIS project was launched in September 2004 to investigate how Geographic Information Systems (GIS), marine data, and custom analysis tools can better enable fisheries scientists and managers to adopt Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries Management (EAFM). EcoGIS is a collaborative effort between NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and four regional Fishery Management Councils. The project has focused on four priority areas: Fishing Catch and Effort Analysis, Area Characterization, Bycatch Analysis, and Habitat Interactions. Of these four functional areas, the project team first focused on developing a working prototype for catch and effort analysis: the Fishery Mapper Tool. This ArcGIS extension creates time-and-area summarized maps of fishing catch and effort from logbook, observer, or fishery-independent survey data sets. Source data may come from Oracle, Microsoft Access, or other file formats. Feedback from beta-testers of the Fishery Mapper was used to debug the prototype, enhance performance, and add features. This report describes the four priority functional areas, the development of the Fishery Mapper tool, and several themes that emerged through the parallel evolution of the EcoGIS project, the concept and implementation of the broader field of Ecosystem Approaches to Management (EAM), data management practices, and other EAM toolsets. In addition, a set of six succinct recommendations are proposed on page 29. One major conclusion from this work is that there is no single “super-tool” to enable Ecosystem Approaches to Management; as such, tools should be developed for specific purposes with attention given to interoperability and automation. Future work should be coordinated with other GIS development projects in order to provide “value added” and minimize duplication of efforts. In addition to custom tools, the development of cross-cutting Regional Ecosystem Spatial Databases will enable access to quality data to support the analyses required by EAM. GIS tools will be useful in developing Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEAs) and providing pre- and post-processing capabilities for spatially-explicit ecosystem models. Continued funding will enable the EcoGIS project to develop GIS tools that are immediately applicable to today’s needs. These tools will enable simplified and efficient data query, the ability to visualize data over time, and ways to synthesize multidimensional data from diverse sources. These capabilities will provide new information for analyzing issues from an ecosystem perspective, which will ultimately result in better understanding of fisheries and better support for decision-making. (PDF file contains 45 pages.)

Maintaining the "public good" nature of improved fish strains: dissemination of knowledge and materials

Many sources of information that discuss currents problems of food security point to the importance of farmed fish as an ideal food source that can be grown by poor farmers, (Asian Development Bank 2004). Furthermore, the development of improved strains of fish suitable for low-input aquaculture such as Tilapia, has demonstrated the feasibility of an approach that combines “cutting edge science” with accessible technology, as a means for improving the nutrition and livelihoods of both the urban poor and poor farmers in developing countries (Mair et al. 2002). However, the use of improved strains of fish as a means of reducing hunger and improving livelihoods has proved to be difficult to sustain, especially as a public good, when external (development) funding sources devoted to this area are minimal1. In addition, the more complicated problem of delivery of an aquaculture system, not just improved fish strains and the technology, can present difficulties and may go explicitly unrecognized (from Sissel Rogne, as cited by Silje Rem 2002). Thus, the involvement of private partners has featured prominently in the strategy for transferring to the public technology related to improved Tilapia strains. Partnering with the private sector in delivery schemes to the poor should take into account both the public goods aspect and the requirement that the traits selected for breeding “improved” strains meet the actual needs of the resource poor farmer. Other dissemination approaches involving the public sector may require a large investment in capacity building. However, the use of public sector institutions as delivery agents encourages the maintaining of the “public good” nature of the products.

If the tide is rising, who pays for the ark?

Two common goals of this meeting are to arrest the effects of sea level rise and other phenomena caused by Greenhouse Gases from anthropogenic sources ("GHG",) and to mitigate the effects. The fundamental questions are: (1) how to get there and (2) who should shoulder the cost? Given Washington gridlock, states, NGO's and citizens such as the Inupiat of the Village of Kivalina have turned to the courts for solutions. Current actions for public nuisance seek (1) to reduce and eventually eliminate GHG emissions, (2) damages for health effects and property damage—plus hundreds of millions in dollars spent to prepare for the foregoing. The U.S. Court of Appeals just upheld the action against the generators of some 10% of the CO2 emissions from human activities in the U.S., clearing the way for a trial featuring the state of the art scientific linkage between GHG production and the effects of global warming. Climate change impacts on coastal regions manifest most prominently through sea level rise and its impacts: beach erosion, loss of private and public structures, relocation costs, loss of use and accompanying revenues (e.g. tourism), beach replenishment and armoring costs, impacts of flooding during high water events, and loss of tax base. Other effects may include enhanced storm frequency and intensity, increased insurance risks and costs, impacts to water supplies, fires and biological changes through invasions or local extinctions (IPCC AR4, 2007; Okmyung, et al., 2007). There is an increasing urgency for federal and state governments to focus on the local and regional levels and consistently provide the information, tools, and methods necessary for adaptation. Calls for action at all levels acknowledge that a viable response must engage federal, state and local expertise, perspectives, and resources in a coordinated and collaborative effort. A workshop held in December 2000 on coastal inundation and sea level rise proposes a shared framework that can help guide where investments should be made to enable states and local governments to assess impacts and initiate adaptation strategies over the next decade. (PDF contains 5 pages)

Chrysosphaerella and the phytoplankton of the Little Sea, Dorset

The Little Sea is an 80-acre, shallow freshwater lake formed about a hundred years ago by sand-dunes cutting off a sea-inlet at Studland Bay, near Swanage. This work presents a general survey of the phytoplankton in the lake from October 1990 to December 1993. Many species were present throughout the year; others showed seasonal variations. Numerically, the diatoms, Monoraphidium and sometimes Rhodomonas, were the main constituents of the phytoplankton. One species of alga in the lake of particular interest is Chrysosphaerella longispina Lauterb. which, up to 1991, had only been recorded from five localities in Britain.

Plant nutrients and major ions in the Little Sea, Studland, Dorset

This short paper records some measurements made on the Little Sea, a shallow, coastal, acidic lake on Studland Heath, Dorset. The lake, formed about 100 years ago by dunes cutting off a sea inlet, has not received any input of agricultural fertilizers or other waste products for at least the last 30 years. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Samples of surface water were taken from the northern and southern ends of the lake at 3-monthly intervals, from July 1995 to April 1996. The first samples in July 1995 were taken during a period of drought; rain, sometimes very heavy, came in late September. With the exception of silicate, potassium and phosphate, there were no large changes in plant nutrient concentrations during the year. The concentration of nitrate-nitrogen was very low (close to the limits of analytical detection), but total phosphorus at ca. 30 mu g per litre was similar to concentrations found in some of the Cumbrian eutrophic lakes. The large number of algal species at low cell/colony concentrations suggested that the lake is mesotrophic. Sodium, chloride and magnesium in the lake water were close to the same proportions as those found in sea water. Dry and wet deposition of sea-salts on the lake surface and its catchment area probably is the major source of sodium, magnesium and chloride ions in the lake, and also accounts for about half of the mean potassium and sulphate concentrations.

Aspects of the washout of salmonid eggs. 2. Effects of drifting on development and survival of eggs of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.)

At high stream discharges salmonid eggs can he displaced from the gravel and may drift downstream. It has been suggested that developing salmonid eggs may be killed by ”physical shock”, especially during the period before ”eyeing”. Similarly, a progress report by the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission (1966) states that salmonid eggs are most sensitive during the period between fertilisation and blastopore closure. However, it would seem unlikely that this sensitivity actually begins at the time of fertilisation because, in nature, a period, perhaps measured in hours, must occur during which the newly-fertilised eggs are exposed to physical shock during the deposition of gravel over them as a result of the cutting activity of the female fish. The present report describes simple channel experiments designed to answer the two questions: 1. After release of eggs from the gravel, does the process of drifting downstream, which implies some physical shock through movement and impact, decrease the survival of salmonid eggs? 2. Is the survival rate-influenced by the stage of development of the eggs?

Ecology and management of water plants in lowland streams

A review article which discusses the ecology and management of common water plants in lowland streams, with an introduction containing a review of previous studies on the subject. The article covers the significance of seasonal growth, the significance of stand structure (particularly in relation to hydraulic resistence), an assessment of current river management, improvements to plant management techniques (in relation to cutting), and alternatives to the traditional techniques of river plant management. There are a number of accompanying figures.

Ranunculus calcareus and its role in lowland streams

Ranunculus calcareus , a species of water crowfoot which occurs in clear, nutrient-rich chalk streams, was studied. Seasonal changes in its biomass, its annual production and its fragmentation (leading to downstream movement of the plant) were investigated. From an understanding of the growth rate and requirements of plants such as these, an indirect method of management can be devised, which does not have the undesirable consequences of the direct methods (such as cutting).

Management of mangrove areas in Calauag Bay, Quezon Province, Philippines

The findings are presented of a study conducted in Calauag Bay, Quezon Province, Philippines in order to estimate resource rent of mangrove areas converted to fishpond production. The rents were calculated based on the technology practised by the farmers and the prices of inputs and outputs that prevailed during the study period. The major causes of mangrove depletion are cutting of mangroves for fuelwood and charcoal and clearing for fishpond development. It was concluded that there is justification for the government to increase the feed which could be used to rehabilitate the inland-coastal fisheries to improve productivity and ensure sustainability of the ecosystem for future generations.

A High-Speed Fish Evisceration System (FES) for Bycatch and Underutilized Fish Stocks

Development of a high-speed and high-yield water-powered fish evisceration system (FES) to efficiently preprocess small fish and bycatch for producing minced fish meat is described. The concept of the system is propelling fish in a stream of water through an arrangement of cutting blades and brushes. Eviscerated fish are separated from the viscera and water stream in a dual screen rotary sieve. The FES processed head off fish, weighing 170–500 g, at the rate of 300 fish/min when used with an automatic heading machine. Yields of mince produced from walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma; and Pacific whiting, Merluccius productus; processed by the FES ranged between 43% and 58%. The maximum yield of minced muscle from fish weighing over 250 g was 52%, and the yield of 250 g was 58%. Test results indicated that surimi made from minced meat recovered from fish processed with the FES was comparable in quality to commercial grade surimi from conventional systems. Redesigned for commercial operation in the Faeroe Islands (Denmark), the system effectively processed North Atlantic blue whiting, Micromesistius poutassou, with an average weight of 110 g at a constant rate of 500–600 fish/min, producing deboned mince feeding a surimi processing line at a rate of 2.0 t/h. Yields of mince ranged from 55% to 63% from round fish. Surimi made from the blue whiting mince meat produced by the FES was comparable to surimi commercially produced from blue whiting by Norway and France and sold into European markets.

Versuche zur Verringerung des Dorschbeifanges in Grundschleppnetzen

Bottom otter trawls with cut back upper panels were tested in the fischeries on Baltic Sea flounder and North Sea plaice to reduce cod by-catch. In a first series of experiments on board the fishing research cutter “Clupea” the cod-bycatch was reduced by 63 %. The catch of flounder was by 92 % higher in the cut back trawl. The same trawl with the same experimental set-up achieved aboard the fisching research vessel “Solea” on the other hand a reduction in cod-bycatch by 69 %. The catch of flounder was 23,3 % lesser in the topless trawl, which was in contrast to the “Clupea” trials. In the second series of experiments with the same cut back trawl the splits were shortened to reduce the net opening height from 0,9 m to 0,6 m previously. The cod-bycatch was reduced by 86 % and the catch of flounder was 81 % higher in comparison to the complete trawl. A prototype made of stronger net material but based on the cutting and rigging design of the tested cut back trawl with the shortened splits was tested with commercial twin trawlers. The cod-bycatch was reduced by 82,2 %, the catch of plaice by 43,3 % and the catch of dab by 44,6 % in the comparison to the commercial used trawl TV280. The flounder catch was in the topless trawl 10 % higher. In the North Sea in the comparison to a bottom trawl TV300 the cod by-catch was reduced by 89,8 %, but the catch of plaice and dab were 54 % and 58,7 % lesser. In the next step was a prototype of a normally in the North Sea plaice fisheries used trawl tested with a cut back of 2 m only. The cod catch was reduced by 16,9 % but the plaice catch, however , by 22,3 %. Kurzfassung Schleppnetze mit verkürzten Oberblättern wurden in der Fischerei auf Ostseeflunder und Nordseescholle zur Verringerung des Dorschbeifanges erprobt. In einer ersten Versuchsserie mit dem Forschungskutter „Clupea“ wurde der Dorschbeifang um 63 % reduziert. Die Fänge der Zielart Flunder waren im reduzierten Schleppnetz dagegen um 92 % höher. Das gleiche Schleppnetz mit gleichem Versuchsaufbau erzielte auf dem Fischereiforschungsschiff „Solea“ dagegen eine Reduktion des Dorschbeifanges um 69 %, wobei im Gegensatz zu den „Clupea“-Versuchen der Flunderfang um 23,3 % im reduzierten Netz geringer war. In der zweiten Versuchsserie wurden die Netzstander am reduzierten Schleppnetz verkürzt, um die Netzöffnungshöhe zu verringern. Dadurch wurde der Dorschbeifang in Versuchen mit dem Forschungskutter „Clupea“ um 86 % verringert und die Flunderfänge waren im reduzierten Schleppnetz 81 % höher. Basierend auf dem Zuschnitt des erprobten Schleppnetzes, jedoch aus stärkerem Netzmaterial gefertigt, wurde ein Prototyp auf kommerziellen Doppelnetz-Kuttern erprobt. In der Ostsee wurde in diesen Versuchen der Dorschbeifang um 82,2 %, der Schollenfang um 43,3 % und der Klieschenfang um 44,6 % mit dem im Oberblatt verkürztem Schleppnetz im Vergleich zum Kutterschleppnetz TV280 reduziert. Der Flunderfang war im reduzierten Schleppnetz 10 % höher. Auf der Nordsee wurde mit diesem Versuchsnetz im Vergleich zu einem TV 300 der Kabeljaubeifang um 89,8 % verringert, die Schollenfänge waren jedoch 54 % geringer und die Klieschenfänge 58,7 % geringer als im Vergleichsnetz. In einer weiteren Variante wurde ein in der Nordseeschollenfischerei verwendetes Grundschleppnetz mit 2 m geringfügig im Oberblatt zurückgeschnitten und mit dem Prototyp auf einem Doppelnetz-Heckschlepper verglichen. Der Kabeljaubeifang wurde dadurch um 16,9 % der Schollenfang aber um 22,3 % verringert

General principles of the design of trawl net

The classification and the principles of design and construction of trawls in general are described. The method of calculating the length of rope required at each part for mounting the net and the requirements of floats and sinkers are given. The cutting rates to tailor machine made webbing are also indicated.

Investigation of polymorphism by PCR-RFLP method in Cobia fish Rachycentron canadum in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea

Cobia is a native fish species in Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman and has a good internal and foreign market. This fish is a fast growing species and for this reason Iranian Fisheries is considering to go for it culture practices. To go for any utilization such as fishing from wild stocks or culture activities, needs a better understanding of its peculiarities and genetic characteristics of its natural resources. Therefore, this project was discribed and conducted. In this investigation, cuts 2 or 3 cm of fin tissue of  specimen of Cobia obtained from Sistan and Bluchestan, Hormozgan, Bushehr and Khuzestan water provinces, were collected. DNA was extracted by Phenol-chlorophorm method and produced PCR product in length of 1060 and 1450 base pair of two mitochondrial genes COI and NADH2. Using 13 cutting enzymes (4 enzymes were subscriber for both of genes), 205 base pair (from 2510 base pair, equal with %3.8 from gene regains) were directly investigated. But binding patterns of enzymatic digestion of PCR products of both COI and ND genes from electrophoresis were monomorph in all samples and no polymorphism was observed. This may be attributed to the unsuitable choice of COI and ND2 genes for showing of intra specific divergence. But in general non-existence of genetic diversity or noticeable decrease of that among individuals has been reported in regions were fish migration exist and they can freely move between two regions. Therefore, non-observation of polymorphism in the study area might be the case and indicates represents the area. On the other hand, some scientists believe that the distributions of populations in different regions are greatly affected by environmental and physical and ecological factors. Althoug Cobia is a migratory fish, but with regard to the fact that the environmental conditions are different (specially temperature and salinity) between east and west of Persian Gulf and Oman sea, there is a possibility that different genetic groups of this species exist in the regions. Of course It is clear that using more samples and enzymes from other genetically regions could produce better results. Since none of the two investigated genes didn’t show genetic divergence or polymorphism amongst the individuals of one region or between different regions, therefore, statistic analysis for estimating of haplotype diversity or nucleotide diversity and drawing of relationship tree among individuals using available softwares was not possible.