The Freshwater Biological Association at Wray Castle: Recollections of its first director

In 1937 the Development Commission provided an annual grant to the Freshwater Biological Association to pay for a director and secretary. The author moved to the Lake District in the same year, and at that time T.T. Macan was working on invertebrates; K.R. Allen on fish; C.H. Mortimer on chemistry and physics of the aquatic environment, and Marie Rosenberg on phytoplankton. They were backed by George Thompson as laboratory assistant and Rosa Bullen as secretary. The work of the Association continued and expanded throughout the Second World War with some far-reached discoveries made. For example, the recovery of lake sediment cores and the examination of diatom remains, so starting the discipline of archaeo-limnology. Also, a hydrological survey of the Windermere catchment area found significant traces of sulphuric acid in rain gauges. This was more than 30 years before "acid rain" became fashionable.

An analysis of salmon rod catch data from castle fisheries, River Derwent, 1923-1989.

The aim of this study was to investigate the historical catch record from the Castle Fishery on the River Derwent over the period 1923 - 1989, to determine if changes had taken place in the composition of the catch and to examine the influence of flow on the performance of the fishery. The River Derwent is situated in West Cumbria, North West England. It flows from its source on Scafell Pike (NGR NY 229 089) westwards discharging into the Irish sea at Workington, a distance of 52 km. Over its length it receives water from an additional 214 km of stream, 5 large lakes and approximately 30 small tarns. The catchment drains a total area of 663 km2. The study concludes that through the time period there was considerable variation in catch between years. The trend was for the catch to increase steadily over the period 1923 - 1958, declining rapidly in 1959, after which catches increased steadily reaching a peak in the mid-sixties, before declining towards the end of the decade. During the seventies and eighties catches remained relatively stable at between 300 - 600 salmon per year until 1988 when over 2000 salmon were reported caught, the greatest number in any year over the study period.

The economic importance of marine angler expenditures in the United States.

In 1998, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) began a series of marine angler expenditure surveys in the coastal regions of the United States (U.S.) to evaluate marine recreational fishing expenditures and the financial impacts of these expenditures in each region and the U.S. as a whole. In this report, we use the previously estimated expenditure estimates to assess the total financial impact of anglers’ saltwater expenditures. Estimates are provided for sales, income, employment, and tax impacts for each coastal state in the U.S. Aggregate estimates are also provided for the entire U.S., excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and Texas. Direct, indirect, and induced effects associated with resident and non-resident angler expenditures were estimated using a regional input-output modeling system called IMPLAN Pro. Nationwide, recreational saltwater fishing generated over $30.5 billion in sales in 2000, nearly $12.0 billion in income, and supported nearly 350,000 jobs. Approximately 89 cents of every dollar spent by saltwater anglers was estimated to remain within the U.S. economy. At the state level, many of the goods anglers purchased were imports, and, as such, as little as 44 cents of every dollar stayed in Rhode Island and as much as 80 cents of every dollar stayed in Georgia. In the Northeast, the highest impacts were generated in New Jersey, even though recreational fishing expenditures in Massachusetts and Maryland were considerably higher. In the Southeast, the highest impacts were generated in Florida, and on the Pacific Coast, the highest impacts were generated in California. Expenditures on boat maintenance/expenses generated more impacts than any other expenditure category in the U.S. Expenditures on rods and reels was the single most important expense category in terms of generating impacts in most of the Northeast states. Expenditures on boat expenses generated the highest in most Southeast states, and expenditures for boat accessories produced the highest impacts in most Pacific Coast states.(PDF file contains 184 pages.)

2005: Rekord-Anlandungen an Nordseegarnelen (Crangon crangon L.) in Europa

Brown shrimp (C. crangon) landings are an important factor and ranked third in landings value of North Sea Fisheries. Landings data are gathered by country and kept separately. However, the Working Group on Crangon Fisheries and Life History (WGCRAN) of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) compiles statistical as well as biological data on brown shrimp. This group has met in Ijmuiden end of May 2006 and found new record landings in 2005 for all three major producers: Germany, The Netherlands and Denmark, summing up with The United Kingdom, Belgium and France to more than 38 000 tonnes of con-sumption shrimp, the highest landings ever recorded.

Die Fangmengen an Nordseegarnelen und fischereilicher Aufwand im europäischen Vergleich - Langzeitserien und saisonale Übersicht

Among other tasks the “Working Group on Crangon Fisheries and Life Cycle” of the “International Council for the Exploration of the Sea” collects data on landings and effort in the North Sea brown shrimp fisheries by country. Landings per unit effort data are calculated and all are compared on basis of long-term series as well as on seasonal basis. The development for each country is described and compared for the year 2001 to the ten-year average from 1992 to 2001 were possible, as some data are missing especially for the Netherlands. While the Dutch and British fleets increased their landings substantially in 2001 compared to the previous years, Danish,German and Belgian fishermen had reduced landings. There are regional differences in fishing pattern between the countries, especially Denmark versus the rest of Europe. Effort measures remain incomparable between the countries, and fluctuations in landings per unit effort data seem to be in a normal biological range, giving no reason for concern at present for the situation of brown shrimp stocks in the North Sea. An improvement of the data basis is required and possibly achievable by the EU logbook system being in force for brown shrimp fisheries as well.

Aktuelle Planungen zur Regelung der Beifangproblematik in der Krabbenfischerei

At present the fishery for the brown shrimp (Crangon crangon L.) is one of the most economically rewarding fisheries in Europe. Due to the small size of the target objects this fishery has to be carried out with rather small meshes. As it is, however, performed on the nursing grounds of important fish species it encounters a severe bycatch problem. On this basis, EU Council regulation 850/98 demands the use of either sieve nets or sorting grids from 1 July, and to pass pertaining national bye-laws. Germany discusses to use either sieve nets of 70 mm mesh opening or sorting grids of 20 mm bar distance, and tries to achieve a harmonization of the byelaw with neighbouring countries of The Netherlands and Denmark to ensure equal conditions on the same fishing grounds.

Die europäischen Krabbenanlandungen der letzten Jahre: Deutschland Nr. 1

Fishery on brown shrimp has developed towards one of the most important fisheries in the North Sea area in economic terms. Statistical data on European wide landings have been gathered by a working group of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. They show relatively stable shares of approximately 50% for Germany, 38% for the Netherlands and 8% for Denmark. Further production originates from Great Britain, France and Belgium. The new log-book regulation of the EU will give similar data improved by better information on fishing areas and fishing effort.

Winterfischerei auf Garnelen. Die Anteile der europäischen Garnelenflotten an den Anlandungen von Crangon crangon im Zeitraum Januar bis März der Jahre 1990 bis 1999

„Winter fishery“ on brown shrimp does not imply a special type of fishery. It merely means the continuation of the standard fishing procedure of parts of the fleet during wintertime, when the majority of the mostly smaller vessels stay in harbour due to generally unfavourable weather conditions for their activity. During 1990 to 1999 mean European wide landings in January and February summedup to 854 tonnes making up to only 4 % of the mean annual landings (21 805 t). While German vessels landed0.7 % (68.7 t) of their mean annual landings during that period, the other countries caught about 7 % of their individual, mean annual landings at the same time. The Netherlands and Denmark contributed highest tonnages of 580and 110 tonnes, respectively, to the total European landings, making up 81 % of them. As about 70 % of brown shrimp may carry eggs in January, the winter fishery took a mean total of about 2.15 x 1012brown shrimp eggs out of the stocks in that period annually. As there is no reliable assessment available concerning the brown shrimp stocks, it is despite of these high losses of eggs not possible to trace a negative effect of the winter fishery in scientific terms. However, precautional catch reductions in winter would be in favour of higher survival rates of eggs, which are the carrying source for the recruitment of brown shrimp stocks and catches in forthcoming summer and autumn seasons according to Dutch investigations.

Neues aus der Selektionsforschung am Ostseedorsch

In account of the decision of the IBSFC (International Baltic Sea Fisheries Commission) to admit alternative codend constructions to the presently legal of diamond meshes with 120 mm mesh opening, since seven years a vivid research activity is encouraged at the fishing technology institutions around the Baltic. Though a center of gravity in this field of research lies in the EUproject BACOMA (participants Finland Sweden, Denmark) also the corresponding national institutes of other Baltic countries (Germany, Poland, Russia) have been active with similar investigations. German experiments in 1999 dealt with the effect of the use of netting made of double instead of single yarn on the selectivity. Further research was done on modifications of codends made from netting turned 90° from its original orientation and on simplified versions of the so-called Multipanel codend which consists of three equal diamond and three square mesh panels. The experiments demonstrated on the one hand a definite deterioration of the selective properties in a codend made from double instead of single yarn. Constructional changes in codends made from netting turned 90° on the other hand brought a further improvement of the selectivity of such codends. Finally, the investigations on the Multipanel codend revealed the overwhelming influence of the square mesh panels on the selectivity success. If in a conventional diamond codend three windows are cut out starting 50 cm from the real end of the codend in such a way that the remaining parts have the same breadth as the square mesh panels to insert, the selective effect of such a codend is remarkably improved. According to further preliminary tests this seems to be nearly independent from the type of material used.

Creation of temporary ponds for amphibians in northern and central Europe

More than 4000 ponds have been created or restored in Denmark since 1985 as part of a large-scale pond-digging programme to protect endangered amphibians in particular and pond flora and fauna in general. Most ponds are created on private land with public financing. The programme was triggered by, among other factors, a drastic decline in amphibian populations in Denmark between 1940 and 1980. However, in recent years there has been an increased awareness in Denmark that temporary ponds are important for the conservation of some of the most rare amphibian species, such as fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina, natterjack toad Bufo calamita and green toad Bufo viridis. Other rare species such as moor frog Rana arvalis and European tree frog Hyla arborea also benefit from temporary ponds. The last 15 years of work on the conservation of endangered species and their habitats has resulted in a last-minute rescue and a subsequent growth in the size of most Danish populations of fire-bellied toad and green toad; some populations of the relatively more common natterjack toad have also increased. The creation of temporary ponds plays an important role in the success of these three species. The creation of ponds to help restore viable populations of the most rare amphibians has not been easy. To study the conditions that may need to be created, Danish herpetologists searched for areas with temporary ponds that had good water quality, natural hydrological conditions and a management regime influenced by traditional agricultural methods. The paper gives an overview of pond creation and restoration projects in Denmark and Poland and their significance for amphibian diversity.

The growth of brown trout

An article discussing the factors affecting the rate of growth of brown trout, detailing the research udnertaken at Wray Castle, designed to clarify the influencing factors in different waters and investigate what would be required to increase their size. The article considers factors such as alkalinity, total hardness, the presence of coarse fish in the waterbodies and competition for food. Previous work undertaken on brown trout in Ireland by other authors is reviewed. A figure showing average growth rate of brown trout in five lakes, as determined from their scales (Lough Derg, Windermere, Loch Leven, Ullswater, Haweswater).

Comparison of six tag types in sea-trout tagging experiments in the Baltic Sea

In the international Baltic Sea trout tagging experiment 27 753 hatchery reared sea trout smolts were tagged in Denmark, Finland, Poland and Sweden in 1979 and 1980. The fish were tagged with the original Carlin tag, two modified Carlin tag types (Canadian and Finnish polythene), streamer and Floy tags and Polish tags attached with Monel metal wire. The tag returns were affected by the place of release and smolt quality. The best results were obtained in the case of tags attached with double wire or thread -original Carlin, Canadian and Finnish polythene. The poorest results were obtained with streamer tags.

The Programme for Integrated Development of Artisanal Fisheries in West Africa

The Programme for Integrated Development of Artisanal Fisheries in West Africa (IDAF) was initiated in 1983 to help some 20 coastal states from Mauritiana to Angola which wished to develop and manage their artisanal fisheries through participatory and integrated approaches. IDAF was initially financed by Denmark and Norway. The second phase of the programme which started in January 1989 and its third phase, July 1984 are entirely financed by Denmark through the Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA). IDAF objectives and activities to meet its goals are briefly discussed together with its beneficiaries and accomplishments.

Decline in sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations along the Alaska Peninsula, 1986–2001

During the 1990s, sea otter (Enhydra lutris) counts in the Aleutian archipelago decreased by 70% throughout the archipelago between 1992 and 2000. Recent aerial surveys in the Aleutians did not identify the eastward extent of the decline; therefore we conducted an aerial survey along the Alaska Peninsula for comparison with baseline information. Since 1986, abundance estimates in offshore habitat have declined by 27– 49% and 93 –94% in northern and southern Alaska Peninsula study areas, respectively. During this same time period, sea otter density has declined by 63% along the island coastlines within the south Alaska Peninsula study area. Between 1989 and 2001, sea otter density along the southern coastline of the Alaska Peninsula declined by 35% to the west of Castle Cape but density increased by 4% to the east, which may indicate an eastward extent of the decline. In all study areas, sea otters were primarily concentrated in bays and lagoon, whereas historically, large rafts of otters had been distributed offshore. The population declines observed along the Alaska Peninsula occurred at roughly the same time as declines in the Aleutian islands to the east and the Kodiak archipelago to the west. Since the mid-1980s, the sea otter population throughout southwest Alaska has declined overall by an estimated 56–68%, and the decline may be one of the most significant sea otter conservation issues in our time.