Regional Fisheries Advisory Committee 21st July, 1975

This is the report from the Regional Fisheries Advisory Committee meeting, which was held on the 21st July 1975. The report contains information on the appointment of the Regional Fisheries Advisory Committee (1975-1976), the appointment of the Local Fisheries Advisory Committee (1975-1976), and the land drainage representation on Local Fisheries Committees. Also included in the report is information on fishery byelaws, fishing at Jumble Reservoir and a progress report on a proposed Coarse Fish Unit and coarse fish stock pools. Licence duties, long term angling leases on Authority Waters and radio equipment for Bailiffting Staff are also covered. The Fisheries Advisory Committee was part of the Regional Water Authorities, in this case the North West Water Authority. This preceded the Environment Agency which came into existence in 1996.

View of Paraiso Yard showing dredging equipment, Panama Canal. (ca. 1914)

Leonard Carpenter Panama Canal Collection. Photographs: Dredging, Soldiers, and Ships. [Box 1] from the Special Collections & Area Studies Department, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida.

U.S. Caribbean fish trap fishery costs and earnings study

Executive Summary: This study describes the socio-economic characteristics of the U.S. Caribbean trap fishery that encompasses the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands. In-person interviews were administered to one hundred randomly selected trap fishermen, constituting nearly 25% of the estimated population. The sample was stratified by geographic area and trap tier. The number of traps owned or fished to qualify for a given tier varied by island. In Puerto Rico, tier I consisted of fishermen who had between 1-40 fish traps, tier II was made up of fishermen who possessed between 41 and 100 fish traps, and tier III consisted of fishermen who held in excess of 100 fish traps. In St. Thomas and St. John, tier I was composed of fishermen who held between 1 and 50 fish traps, tier II consisted of fishermen who had between 51-150 fish traps and tier III was made up of fishermen who had in excess of 150 fish traps. Lastly, in St. Croix, tier I was made up of fishermen who had less than 20 fish traps and tier II consisted of fishermen who had 20 or more fish traps. The survey elicited information on household demographics, annual catch and revenue, trap usage, capital investment on vessels and equipment, fixed and variable costs, behavioral response to a hypothetical trap reduction program and the spatial distribution of traps. The study found that 79% of the sampled population was 40 years or older. The typical Crucian trap fisherman was older than their Puerto Rican and St. Thomian and St. Johnian counterparts. Crucian fishermen’s average age was 57 years whereas Puerto Rican fishermen’s average age was 51 years, and St. Thomian and St. Johnian fishermen’s average age was 48 years. As a group, St. Thomian and St. Johnian fishermen had 25 years of fishing experience, and Puerto Rican and Crucian fishermen had 30, and 29 years, respectively. Overall, 90% of the households had at least one dependent. The average number of dependents across islands was even, ranging between 2.8 in the district of St. Thomas and St. John and 3.4 in the district of St. Croix. The percentage utilization of catch for personal or family use was relatively low. Regionally, percentage use of catch for personal or family uses ranged from 2.5% in St. Croix to 3.8% in the St. Thomas and St. John. About 47% of the respondents had a high school degree. The majority of the respondents were highly dependent on commercial fishing for their household income. In St. Croix, commercial fishing made up 83% of the fishermen’s total household income, whereas in St. Thomas and St. John and Puerto Rico it contributed 74% and 68%, respectively. The contribution of fish traps to commercial fishing income ranged from 51% in the lowest trap tier in St. Thomas and St. John to 99% in the highest trap tier in St. Croix. On an island basis, the contribution of fish traps to fishing income was 75% in St. Croix, 61% in St. Thomas and St. John, and 59% in Puerto Rico. The value of fully rigged vessels ranged from $400 to $250,000. Over half of the fleet was worth $10,000 or less. The St. Thomas and St. John fleet reported the highest mean value, averaging $58,518. The Crucian and Puerto Rican fleets were considerably less valuable, averaging $19,831 and $8,652, respectively. The length of the vessels ranged from 14 to 40 feet. Fifty-nine percent of the sampled vessels were at least 23 feet in length. The average length of the St. Thomas and St. John fleet was 28 feet, whereas the fleets based in St. Croix and Puerto Rico averaged 21 feet. The engine’s propulsion ranged from 8 to 400 horsepower (hp). The mean engine power was 208 hp in St. Thomas and St. John, 108 hp in St. Croix, and 77 hp in Puerto Rico. Mechanical trap haulers and depth recorders were the most commonly used on-board equipment. About 55% of the sampled population reported owning mechanical trap haulers. In St. Thomas and St. John, 100% of the respondents had trap haulers compared to 52% in Puerto Rico and 20% in St. Croix. Forty-seven percent of the fishermen surveyed stated having depth recorders. Depth recorders were most common in the St. Thomas and St. John fleet (80%) and least common in the Puerto Rican fleet (37%). The limited presence of emergency position indication radio beacons (EPIRBS) and radar was the norm among the fish trap fleet. Only 8% of the respondents had EPIRBS and only 1% had radar. Interviewees stated that they fished between 1 and 350 fish traps. Puerto Rican respondents fished on average 39 fish traps, in contrast to St. Thomian and St. Johnian and Crucian respondents, who fished 94 and 27 fish traps, respectively. On average, Puerto Rican respondents fished 11 lobster traps, and St. Thomian and St. Johnian respondents fished 46 lobster traps. None of the Crucian respondents fished lobster traps. The number of fish traps built or purchased ranged between 0 and 175, and the number of lobster traps built or bought ranged between 0 and 200. Puerto Rican fishermen on average built or purchased 30 fish traps and 14 lobster traps, and St. Thomian and St. Johnian fishermen built or bought 30 fish traps and 11 lobster traps. Crucian fishermen built or bought 25 fish traps and no lobster traps. As a group, fish trap average life ranged between 1.3 and 5 years, and lobster traps lasted slightly longer, between 1.5 and 6 years. The study found that the chevron or arrowhead style was the most common trap design. Puerto Rican fishermen owned an average of 20 arrowhead traps. St. Thomian and St. Johnian and Crucian fishermen owned an average of 44 and 15 arrowhead fish traps, respectively. The second most popular trap design was the square trap style. Puerto Rican fishermen had an average of 9 square traps, whereas St. Thomian and St. Johnian fishermen had 33 traps and Crucian fishermen had 2 traps. Antillean Z (or S) -traps, rectangular and star traps were also used. Although Z (or S) -traps are considered the most productive trap design, fishermen prefer the smaller-sized arrowhead and square traps because they are easier and less expensive to build, and larger numbers of them can be safely deployed. The cost of a fish trap, complete with rope and buoys, varied significantly due to the wide range of construction materials utilized. On average, arrowhead traps commanded $94 in Puerto Rico, $251 in St. Thomas and St. John, and $119 in St. Croix. The number of trips per week ranged between 1 and 6. However, 72% of the respondents mentioned that they took two trips per week. On average, Puerto Rican fishermen took 2.1 trips per week, St. Thomian and St. Johnian fishermen took 1.4 trips per week, and Crucian fishermen took 2.5 trips per week. Most fishing trips started at dawn and finished early in the afternoon. Over 82% of the trips lasted 8 hours or less. On average, Puerto Rican fishermen hauled 27 fish traps per trip whereas St. Thomian and St. Johnian fishermen and Crucian fishermen hauled 68 and 26 fish traps per trip, respectively. The number of traps per string and soak time varied considerably across islands. In St. Croix, 84% of the respondents had a single trap per line, whereas in St. Thomas and St. John only 10% of the respondents had a single trap per line. Approximately, 43% of Puerto Rican fishermen used a single trap line. St. Thomian and St. Johnian fishermen soaked their traps for 6.9 days while Puerto Rican and Crucian fishermen soaked their traps for 5.7 and 3.6 days, respectively. The heterogeneity of the industry was also evidenced by the various economic surpluses generated. The survey illustrated that higher gross revenues did not necessarily translate into higher net revenues. Our analysis also showed that, on average, vessels in the trap fishery were able to cover their cash outlays, resulting in positive vessel income (i.e., financial profits). In Puerto Rico, annual financial profits ranged from $4,760 in the lowest trap tier to $32,467 in the highest tier, whereas in St. Thomas and St. John annual financial profits ranged from $3,744 in the lowest tier to $13,652 in the highest tier. In St. Croix, annual financial profits ranged between $9,229 and $15,781. The survey also showed that economic profits varied significantly across tiers. Economic profits measure residual income after deducting the remuneration required to keep the various factors of production in their existing employment. In Puerto Rico, annual economic profits ranged from ($9,339) in the lowest trap tier to $ 8,711 in the highest trap tier. In St. Thomas and St. John, annual economic profits ranged from ($7,920) in the highest tier to ($18,486) in the second highest tier. In St. Croix, annual economic profits ranged between ($7,453) to $10,674. The presence of positive financial profits and negative economic profits suggests that higher economic returns could be earned from a societal perspective by redirecting some of these scarce capital and human resources elsewhere in the economy. Furthermore, the presence of negative economic earnings is evidence that the fishery is overcapitalized and that steps need to be taken to ensure the long-run economic viability of the industry. The presence of positive financial returns provides managers with a window of opportunity to adopt policies that will strengthen the biological and economic performance of the fishery while minimizing any adverse impacts on local fishing communities. Finally, the document concludes by detailing how the costs and earnings information could be used to develop economic models that evaluate management proposals. (PDF contains 147 pages)

Radio broadcasting for fisheries development in Nigeria: Kainji Lake experience

The impact of radio as a medium of communication in all human endeavours cannot be over emphasized. It is the cheapest means of reaching large number of people in illiterate society. Thus, the Kainji Lake Fisheries Promotion Project used radio in reaching fishers around Kainji Lake basin (Nigeria). Two radio stations namely Radio Niger (Koro station in New Bussa) and Federal Radio Corporation (FRCN), Kaduna were used. Open broadcast using Hausa language, which is commonly spoken among the target group, was used for the broadcast.A total of 152 programmes were produced and broadcasted 720 times.After five years of broadcast, impact assessment studies were carried out using focus group discussion method in 25 randomly selected fishing villages out of 309 villages. The paper reports the result of the impact of the radio broadcast on fishing and related activities and how this affects management strategies adopted by the Project

Impact of radio broadcast on fish production and conservation in Kainji Lake basin

The decline in fishermen catches of Lake kainji, which went down from 28,639.6t in 1970 to 6.048t in 1974 (Ita 1982) prompted the promulgation of fisheries edict banning beach seines and other obnoxious fishing gear by Kebbi and Niger State governments in 1997 as a measure to prevent depletion of fisheries resources in the lake. Radio as a medium of communication was adopted as the method to disseminate information in the fisheries edict to the fisherfolks in order to bring about positive changes. Radio Niger, Koro station, was involved in the broadcast. Fisherfolk listened to the broadcast 32 times a week. Frame survey data and radio impact assessment studies were used to assess the effect of the broadcast on the number of beach seines and other obnoxious fishing gears on the lake which were banned in the fisheries edicts. It was revealed that the number of beach decreased drastically from 582 in 1997 to 122 in 1999 and to only 17 in 2001

Fish tracking technology development. Phases 1 and 2, project definition desk study and equipment

The document reports on the major findings from a definition study to appraise the options to develop fish tracking equipment, in particular tags and data logging systems, in order to improve the effeciency of the Agency tracking studies and to obtain a greater understanding of fish biology. The definition study was in two parts. The first, Phase 1, collated and evaluated all the known tracking systems that may be suitable for studies of fish which are either produced commercially or have been constructed for specific in-house studies. Phase 2 was an evaluation of all the tracking equipment considered to merit further investigation in Phase 1. The deficiencies between existing and required technologies to improve the efficiency of Agency's tracking studies and to obtain a greater understanding of fish biology are also identified.

Fish tracking technology development. Phase 1 project definition desk study

The document reports on Phase 1 of a definition study to appraise the options to develop fish tracking equipment, in particular tags and data logging systems in order to improve the efficiency of the Environment Agency's tracking studies and to obtain a greater understanding of fish biology. Covered in this report are radio telemetry, audio telemetry, High Resolution Position Fixing, data storage and archival tags and other fish tracking systems such as biosonics.

An investigation into the effects of electric fishing equipment on salmon and sea trout within the area of the Lancashire River Board.

The report looks at experiments into electric fishing equipment and effects on salmon and trout within the Lancashire River Board. Experiments include obtaining information on voltage gradients, ascertaining what damage to fish of the larger size groups resulted from electric fishing, determining whether or not fractures could occur in coarse fish and brown trout,similar to those occurring in salmon and sea trout, and effects low temperatures have on electrofishing techniques.

Binding of radio-iodinated gonadotropin to the ovary of exotic carp (Cyprinus carpio Lin.)

Heterologous murrel gonadotropic hormone (m-GtH) binds to common carp oocyte plasma membrane and enhances steroid secretion. With increasing concentration of radio-labelled hormone the receptor binding is also found to increase linearly up to a certain concentration and then decrease. The [¹²⁵I] murrel GtH binding characteristics to a preparation of common carp ovarian plasma membrane shows saturability with high affinity. Scat chard plot analysis gave dissociation constant (Kd) of 0.81 X 10(super -9) M and maximum binding capacity (MBC) of 22.05 f mole/mg protein.

New food processing equipment

The article presents new food processing equipment for coating and frying. These are predusters, liquid enrobers and applicators for large-particle crumbs.