Spatial and temporal variability in the relative contribution of king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla) stocks to winter mixed fisheries off South Florida

King mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla) are ecologically and economically important scombrids that inhabit U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic). Separate migratory groups, or stocks, migrate from eastern GOM and southeastern U.S. Atlantic to south Florida waters where the stocks mix during winter. Currently, all winter landings from a management-defined south Florida mixing zone are attributed to the GOM stock. In this study, the stock composition of winter landings across three south Florida sampling zones was estimated by using stock-specific otolith morphological variables and Fourier harmonics. The mean accuracies of the jackknifed classifications from stepwise linear discriminant function analysis of otolith shape variables ranged from 66−76% for sex-specific models. Estimates of the contribution of the Atlantic stock to winter landings, derived from maximum likelihood stock mixing models, indicated the contribution was highest off southeastern Florida (as high as 82.8% for females in winter 2001−02) and lowest off southwestern Florida (as low as 14.5% for females in winter 2002−03). Overall, results provided evidence that the Atlantic stock contributes a certain, and perhaps a significant (i.e., ≥50%), percentage of landings taken in the management-defined winter mixing zone off south Florida, and the practice of assigning all winter mixing zone landings to the GOM stock should

Life history characteristics for silvergray rockfish (Sebastes brevispinis) in British Columbia waters and the implications for stock assessment and management

We summarize the life history characteristics of silvergray rockfish (Sebastes brevispinis) based on commercial fishery data and biological samples from British Columbia waters. Silvergray rockfish occupy bottom depths of 100−300 m near the edge of the continental shelf. Within that range, they appear to make a seasonal movement from 100−200 m in late summer to 180−280 m in late winter. Maximum observed age in the data set was 81 and 82 years for females and males, respectively. Maximum length and round weight was 73 cm and 5032 g for females and 70 cm and 3430 g for males. The peak period of mating lasted from December to February and parturition was concentrated from May to July. Both sexes are 50% mature by 9 or 10 years and 90% are mature by age 16 for females and age 13 years for males. Fecundity was estimated from one sample of 132 females and ranged from 181,000 to 1,917,000 oocytes and there was no evidence of batch spawning. Infection by the copepod parasite Sarcotaces arcticus appears to be associated with lower fecundity. Sexual maturation appears to precede recruitment to the trawl fishery; thus spawning stock biomass per recruit analysis (SSB/R) indicates that a F50% harvest target would correspond to an F of 0.072, 20% greater than M (0.06). Fishery samples may bias estimates of age at maturity but a published meta-data analysis, in conjunction with fecundity data, independently supports an early age of maturity in relation to recruitment. Although delayed recruitment to the fishery may provide more resilience to exploitation, managers may wish to forego maximizing economic yield from this species. Silvergray rockfish are a relatively minor but unavoidable part of the multiple species trawl catch. Incorrectly “testing” the resilience of one species may cause it to be the weakest member of the specie

Forty Years of Winter: Cetaceans Observed During the Southbound Migration of Gray Whales, Eschrichtius robustus, Near Granite Canyon, Central California

From December to February in most years from 1967 to 2007, observers counted gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus, from shore sites south of Carmel in central California. In addition to gray whales, other cetacean species were also recorded. These observations were summarized and compared among survey platforms and to ocean conditions. Eleven cetacean species were identified including eight odontocete species (killer whale, Orcinus orca; Pacific white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens; common dolphin, Delphinus spp.; bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, northern right whale dolphin, Lissodelphis borealis; Risso’s dolphin, Grampus griseus; Dall’s porpoise, Phocoenoides dalli; and harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena) and three mysticete species (humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae; minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata; and blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus). As expected, the detection of certain species among survey platforms (shore-based census watches, 25-power “Big Eye” binocular watches, and aerial surveys) was limited by species surfacing behavior and/or bathymetric preference. Comparisons among the shore-based census efforts showed a significant difference in sightings rates from 1967–84 (n = 14, mean = 0.11, SD = 0.11) to 1985–2007 (n = 11, mean = 1.48, SD = 0.47; t-Test: p < 0.001, df = 23). The warm period observed during the 1990’s may partially explain the increase in sighting rates and diversity of species observed at the census site compared to the much cooler temperatures of the 1970’s.

Biographical Sketch of Spencer Fullerton Baird

Spencer Fullerton Baird was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, February 3, 1823. In 1834 he was sent to a Quaker boarding-school kept by Dr. McGraw, at Port Deposit, Maryland, and the year following to the Reading Grammar School. In 1836 he entered Dickinson College, and was graduated at the age of seventeen. After leaving college, his time for several years was devoted to studies in general natural history, to long pedestrian excursions for the purpose of observing animals and plants and collecting specimens, and to the organization of a private cabinet of natural history, which a few years later became the nucleus of the museum of the Smithsonian Institution. During this period he published a number of original papers on natural history. He also read medicine with Dr. Middleton Goldsmith, attending a winter course of lectures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York, in 1842. His medical course was never formally completed, although in 1848 he received the degree of M. D., honoris causa, from the Philadelphia Medical College. In 1845 he was chosen professor of natural history in Dickinson College, and in 1846 his duties and emoluments were increased by election to the chair of natural history and chemistry in the same institution. In 1848 he declined a call to the professorship of natural science in the University of Vermont. In 1849 he undertook his first extensive literary work, translating and editing the text for the "Iconographic Encyclopedia," an English version of Heck's Bilder Atlas, published in connection with Brockhaus's Conversations Lexikon.

Yellowfin Sole, Pleuronectes asper, of the Eastern Bering Sea: Biological Characteristics, History of Exploitation, and Management

Yellowfin sole, Pleuronectes asper, is the second most abundant flatfish in the North Pacific Ocean and is most highly concentrated in the eastern Bering Sea. It has been a target species in the eastern Bering Sea since the mid-1950's, initially by foreign distant-water fisheries but more recently by U.S. fisheries. Annual commercial catches since 1959 have ranged from 42,000 to 554,000 metric tons (t). Yellowfin sole is a relatively small flatfish averaging about 26 cm in length and 200 g in weight in commercial catches. It is distributed from nearshore waters to depths of about 100 m in the eastern Bering Sea in summer, but moves to deeper water in winter to escape sea ice. Yellowfin sole is a benthopelagic feeder. It is a longlived species (>20 years) with a correspondingly low natural mortality rate estimated at 0.12. After being overexploited during the early years of the fishery and suffering a substantial decline in stock abundance, the resource has recovered and is currently in excellent condition. The biomass during the 1980's may have been as high as, if not higher than, that at the beginning of the fishery. Based on results of demersal trawl surveys and two age structured models, the current exploitable biomass has been estimated to range between 1.9 and 2.6 million t. Appropriate harvest strategies were investigated under a range of possible recruitment levels. The recommended harvest level was calculated by multiplying the yield derived from the FOI harvest level (161 g at F = 0.14) hy an average recruitment value resulting in a commercial harvest of 276,900 t, or about 14% of the estimated exploitable biomass.

O pragmatismo antiteórico de Richard A. Posner e as respostas da teoria moral para a decisão judicial

Este trabalho apresenta uma análise crítica à forma de se abordar casos jurídicos e proferir decisões judiciais denominada abordagem judicial pragmática, disseminada pelo magistrado e professor norte-americano Richard A. Posner. O objetivo é explicitar suas principais características e contornos, bem como sua repulsa pela teorização abstrata e pelos debates e argumentos morais na decisão judicial. A partir disso, pretende-se refutar parte dessa abordagem pragmática, por meio de argumentos levantados por filósofos morais e profissionais do direito a saber: Ronald Dworkin, Charles Fried, Anthony Kronman, John T. Noonan Jr e Martha C. Nussbaum - em defesa de uma abordagem que prega a inevitável utilização do raciocínio teórico, assim como a argumentação e reflexão moral na resolução de casos difíceis relacionados ao direito. Também será destacado como a repulsa pragmática pela teoria moral e abstrata é incompatível com a conjuntura justeórica contemporânea e como a análise de alguns casos difíceis expõe a falibilidade, ainda que parcial, desse estilo de abordagem pregado por Posner.

PICES Press, Vol. 18, No. 1, Winter 2010

•Major Outcomes from the 2009 PICES Annual Meeting: A Note from the Chairman (pp. 1-3, 8) •PICES Science – 2009 (pp. 4-8) •2009 PICES Awards (pp. 9-10) •New Chairmen in PICES (pp. 11-15) •PICES Interns (p. 15) •The State of the Western North Pacific in the First Half of 2009 (pp. 16-17, 27) •The State of the Northeast Pacific in 2009 (pp. 18-19) •The Bering Sea: Current Status and Recent Events (pp. 20-21) •2009 PICES Summer School on “Satellite Oceanography for the Earth Environment” (pp. 22-25) •2009 International Conference on “Marine Bioinvasions” (pp. 26-27) •A New PICES Working Group Holds Workshop and Meeting in Jeju Island (pp. 28-29) •The Second Marine Ecosystem Model Inter-comparison Workshop (pp. 30-32) •ICES/PICES/UNCOVER Symposium on “Rebuilding Depleted Fish Stocks – Biology, Ecology, Social Science and Management Strategies” (pp. 33-35) •2009 North Pacific Synthesis Workshop (pp. 36-37) •2009 PICES Rapid Assessment Survey (pp. 38-40)

PICES Press, Vol. 19, No. 1, Winter 2011

•2010 PICES Science: A Note from the Former Science Board Chairman (pp. 1-4) •2010 PICES Awards (pp. 5-7) •The First Year of FUTURE: A Progress Report (pp. 8-13) •New Chairmen in PICES (pp. 14-19) •Pacific Ocean Interior Carbon Data Synthesis, PACIFICA, in Progress (pp. 20-23) •2011 PICES Calendar (p. 23) •Ecosystems 2010: Global Progress on Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (pp. 24-26) •PICES 2010 Rapid Assessment Survey (pp. 27-29) •PICES Workshop on “An Introduction to Rapid Assessment Survey Methodologies for Application in Developing Countries” (pp. 30-31) •The State of the Western North Pacific in the First Half of 2010 (pp. 32-34) •PICES Interns (p. 34) •The State of the Bering Sea in 2010 (pp. 35-37) •The State of the Northeast Pacific in 2010 (pp. 38-40)

PICES Press, Vol. 20, No. 1, Winter 2012

•2011 PICES Science: A Note from the Science Board Chairman (pp. 1-6) •2011 PICES Awards (pp. 7-9) •Beyond the Terrible Disaster of the Great East Japan Earthquake (pp. 10-12) •A New Era of PICES-ICES Scientific Cooperation (p. 13) •New PICES Jellyfish Working Group Formed (pp. 14-15) •PICES Working Group on North Pacific Climate Variability (pp. 16-18) •Final U.S. GLOBEC Symposium and Celebration (pp. 19-25) •2011 PICES Rapid Assessment Survey (pp. 26-29) •Introduction to Rapid Assessment Survey Methodologies for Detecting Non-indigenous Marine Species (pp. 30-31) •The 7th International Conference on Marine Bioinvasions (pp. 32-33) •NOWPAP/PICES/WESTPAC Training Course on Remote Sensing Data Analysis (pp. 34-36) •PICES-2011 Workshop on “Trends in Marine Contaminants and their Effects in a Changing Ocean” (pp. 37-39) •The State of the Western North Pacific in the First Half of 2011 (pp. 40-42) •Yeosu Symposium theme sessions (p. 42) •The Bering Sea: Current Status and Recent Events (pp. 43-44) •News of the Northeast Pacific Ocean (pp. 45-47) •Recent and Upcoming PICES Publications (p. 47) •New leadership for the PICES Fishery Science Committee (p. 48)

PICES Press, Vol. 21, No. 1, Winter 2013

•2012 PICES Science: A Note from the Science Board Chairman (pp. 1-6) ◾2012 PICES Awards (pp. 7-9) ◾GLOBEC/PICES/ICES ECOFOR Workshop (pp. 10-15) ◾ICES/PICES Symposium on “Forage Fish Interactions” (pp. 16-18) ◾The Yeosu Declaration, the Yeosu Declaration Forum and the Yeosu Project (pp. 19-23) ◾2013 PICES Calendar (p. 23) ◾Why Do We Need Human Dimensions for the FUTURE Program? (pp. 24-25) ◾New PICES MAFF-Sponsored Project on “Marine Ecosystem Health and Human Well-Being” (pp. 26-28) ◾The Bering Sea: Current Status and Recent Trends (pp. 29-31) ◾Continuing Cool in the Northeast Pacific Ocean (pp. 32, 35) ◾The State of the Western North Pacific in the First Half of 2012 (pp. 33-35) ◾New Leadership in PICES (pp. 36-39)

A sensitivity analysis of Southwestern climate [abstract and conclusions]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): We provide here an estimate of the extent that modern climate in the southwest US is sensitive to changes in several parameters that reflect global climatic changes. For the purposes of this study, we define modern climate as mean monthly values for the months of February and August (called winter and summer, respectively) of temperature and precipitation, at points representing the average of cells of dimension 7.5' on a side. The area studied surrounds the drainage basin of Death Valley, California.