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."

Distribution of ommastrephid paralarvae in the eastern tropical Pacific

Jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) and purpleback squid (Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis) (Teuthida: Ommastrephidae) are thought to spawn in the eastern tropical Pacific. We used 10 years of plankton tow and oceanographic data collected in this region to examine the reproductive habits of these 2 ecologically important squid. Paralarvae of jumbo squid and purpleback squid were found in 781 of 1438 plankton samples from surface and oblique tows conducted by the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA) in the eastern tropical Pacific over the 8-year period of 1998–2006. Paralarvae were far more abundant in surface tows (maximum: 1588 individuals) than in oblique tows (maximum: 64 individuals). A generalized linear model analysis revealed sea-surface temperature as the strongest environmental predictor of paralarval presence in both surface and oblique tows; the likelihood of paralarval presence increases with increasing temperature. We used molecular techniques to identify paralarvae from 37 oblique tows to species level and found that the purpleback squid was more abundant than the jumbo squid (81 versus 16 individuals).

A survey of deep-water coral and sponge habitats along the west coast of the US using a remotely operated vehicle: NOAA Fisheries Survey Vessel (FSV)'Bell M. Shimada', November 1-5, 2010

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys were conducted from NOAA’s state-of-the-art Fisheries Survey Vessel (FSV) Bell M. Shimada during a six-day transit November 1-5, 2010 between San Diego, CA and Seattle, WA. The objective of this survey was to locate and characterize deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems at several recommended sites in support of NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program. Deep-sea corals and sponges were photographed and collected whenever possible using the Southwest Fisheries Science Center���s (SWFSC) Phantom ROV ‘Sebastes’ (Fig. 1). The surveyed sites were recommended by National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) scientists at Monterey Bay NMS, Gulf of the Farallones NMS, and Olympic Coast NMS (Fig. 2). The specific sites were: Sur Canyon, The Football, Coquille Bank, and Olympic Coast NMS. During each dive, the ROV collected digital still images, video, navigation, and along-track conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD), and optode data. Video and high-resolution photographs were used to quantify abundance of corals, sponges, and associated fishes and invertebrates to the lowest practicable taxonomic level, and also to classify the seabed by substrate type. A reference laser system was used to quantify area searched and estimate the density of benthic fauna.

Draft U.S. Pacific Marine Mammal Stock Assessments: 2009

Under the 1994 amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are required to publish Stock Assessment Reports for all stocks of marine mammals within U.S. waters, to review new information every year for strategic stocks and every three years for non-strategic stocks, and to update the stock assessment reports when significant new information becomes available. This report presents stock assessments for 13 Pacific marine mammal stocks under NMFS jurisdiction, including 8 “strategic” stocks and 5 “non-strategic” stocks (see summary table). A new stock assessment for humpback whales in American Samoa waters is included in the Pacific reports for the first time. New or revised abundance estimates are available for 9 stocks, including Eastern North Pacific blue whales, American Samoa humpback whales, five U.S. west coast harbor porpoise stocks, the Hawaiian monk seal, and southern resident killer whales. A change in the abundance estimate of Eastern North Pacific blue whales reflects a recommendation from the Pacific Scientific Review Group to utilize mark-recapture estimates for this population, which provide a better estimate of total population size than the average of recent line-transect and mark-recapture estimates. The ‘Northern Oregon/Washington Coast Stock’ harbor porpoise stock assessment includes a name change (‘Oregon’ is appended to ‘Northern Oregon’) to reflect recent stock boundary changes. Changes in abundance estimates for the two stocks of harbor porpoise that occur in Oregon waters are the result of these boundary changes, and do not reflect biological changes in the populations. Updated information on the three stocks of false killer whales in Hawaiian waters is also included in these reports. Information on the remaining 50 Pacific region stocks will be reprinted without revision in the final 2009 reports and currently appears in the 2008 reports (Carretta et al. 2009). Stock Assessments for Alaskan marine mammals are published by the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) in a separate report. Pacific region stock assessments include those studied by the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC, La Jolla, California), the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC, Honolulu, Hawaii), the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML, Seattle, Washington), and the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC, Seattle, WA). Northwest Fisheries Science Center staff prepared the report on the Eastern North Pacific Southern Resident killer whale. National Marine Mammal Laboratory staff prepared the Northern Oregon/Washington coast harbor porpoise stock assessment. Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center staff prepared the report on the Hawaiian monk seal. Southwest Fisheries Science Center staff prepared stock assessments for 9 stocks. The stock assessment for the American Samoa humpback whale was prepared by staff from the Center for Coastal Studies, Hawaiian Islands Humpback National Marine Sanctuary, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Draft versions of the stock assessment reports were reviewed by the Pacific Scientific Review Group at the November 2008, Maui meeting. The authors also wish to thank those who provided unpublished data, especially Robin Baird and Joseph Mobley, who provided valuable information on Hawaiian cetaceans. Any omissions or errors are the sole responsibility of the authors. This is a working document and individual stock assessment reports will be updated as new information on marine mammal stocks and fisheries becomes available. Background information and guidelines for preparing stock assessment reports are reviewed in Wade and Angliss (1997). The authors solicit any new information or comments which would improve future stock assessment reports. These Stock Assessment Reports summarize information from a wide range of sources and an extensive bibliography of all sources is given in each report. We strongly urge users of this document to refer to and cite original literature sources rather than citing this report or previous Stock Assessment Reports. If the original sources are not accessible, the citation should follow the format: [Original source], as cited in [this Stock Assessment Report citation].

U.S. Pacific Marine Mammal Stock Assessments

Under the 1994 amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) were required to produce stock assessment reports for all marine mammal stocks in waters within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. This document contains the stock assessment reports for the U.S. Pacific marine mammal stocks under NMFS jurisdiction. Marine mammal species which are under the management jurisdiction of the USFWS are not included in this report. A separate report containing background, guidelines for preparation, and .a summary of all stock assessment reports is available from the NMFS Office of Protected Resources. This report was prepared by staff of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NMFS and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS. The information presented here was compiled primarily from published sources, but additional unpublished information was included where it contributed to the assessments. The authors wish to thanks the members of the Pacific Scientific Review Group for their valuable contributions and constructive criticism: Hannah Bernard, Robin Brown, Mark Fraker, Doyle Hanan, John Heyning, Steve Jeffries, Katherine Ralls, Michael Scott, and Terry Wright. Their comments greatly improved the quality of these reports, We also thanks the Marine Mammal Commission, The Humane Society of the United States, The Marine Mammal Center, The Center for Marine Conservation, and Friends of the Sea Otter for their careful reviews and thoughtful comments. Special thanks to Paul Wade of the Office of Protected Resources for his exhaustive review and comments, which greatly enhanced the consistency and technical quality of the reports. Any ommissions or errors are the sole responsibility of the authors. This is a working document and individual stock assessment reports will be updated as new information becomes available and as changes to marine mammal stocks and fisheries occur; therefore, each stock assessment report is intended to be a stand alone document. The authors solicit any new information or comments which would improve future stock assessment reports. This is Southwest Fisheries Science Center Technical Memorandum NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC- 219, July 1995. 111

Resource survey of Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, 1983

Forward: Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary (LKNMS) was designated in 1981 to protect and promote the study, teaching, and wise use of the resources of Looe Key Sanctuary (Plate A). In order to wisely manage this valuable resource, a quantitative resource inventory was funded by the Sanctuary Programs Division (SPD), Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in cooperation with the Southeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA; the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS), University of Miami; the Fisher Island Laboratory, United States Geological Survey; and the St. Petersburg Laboratory, State of Florida Department of Natural Resources. This report is the result of this cooperative effort. The objective of this study was to quantitatively inventory selected resources of LKNMS in order to allow future monitoring of changes in the Sanctuary as a result of human or natural processes. This study, referred to as Phase I, gives a brief summary of past and present uses of the Sanctuary (Chapter 2); and describes general habitat types (Chapter 3), geology and sediment distribution (Chapter 4), coral abundance and distribution (Chapter 5), the growth history of the coral Montastraea annularis (Chapter 6), reef fish abundance and distribution (Chapter 7), and status of selected resources (Chapter 8). An interpretation of the results of the survey are provided for management consideration (Chapter 9). The results are expected to provide fundamental information for applied management, natural history interpretation, and scientific research. Numerous photographs and illustrations were used to supplement the report to make the material presented easier to comprehend (Plate B). We anticipate the information provided will be used by managers, naturalists, and the general public in addition to scientists. Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs were taken at Looe Key Reef by Dr. James A. Bohnsack. The top photograph in Plate 7.8 was taken by Michael C. Schmale. Illustrations were done by Jack Javech, NMFS. Field work was initiated in May 1983 and completed for the most part by October 1983 thanks to the cooperation of numerous people and organizations. In addition to the participating agencies and organizations we thank the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute and the Division of Parks and Recreation, State of Florida Department of Natural Resources for their logistical support. Special thanks goes to Billy Causey, the Sanctuary Manager, for his help, information, and comments. We thank in alphabetical order: Scott Bannerot, Margie Bastian, Bill Becker, Barbara Bohnsack, Grant Beardsley, John Halas, Raymond Hixon, Irene Hooper, Eric Lindblad, and Mike Schmale. We dedicate this effort to the memory of Ray Hixon who participated in the study and who loved Looe Key. (PDF contains 43 pages)

Atlas and zoogeography of common fishes in the Bering Sea and northeastern Pacific

The geographic and depth frequency distribution of 124 common demersal fish species in the northeastern Pacific were plotted from data on me at the Northwest and Alaska Fisheries Center (NWAFC), National Marine Fisheries Service. The data included catch records of fishes and invertebrates from 24,881 samples taken from the Chukchi Sea, throughout the Bering Sea, Aleutian Basin, Aleutian Archipelago, and the Gulf of Alaska, and from southeastern Alaska south to southern California. Samples were collected by a number of agencies and institutions over a 30-year period (1953-83), but were primarily from NWAFC demersal trawls. The distributions of all species with 100 or more occurrences in the data set were plotted by computer. Distributions plotted from these data were then compared with geographic and depth-range limits given in the literature. These data provide new range extensions (geographic, depth, or both) for 114 species. Questionable extensions are noted, the depth ranges determined for 95% of occurrences, and depths of most frequent occurrence are recorded. Ranges of the species were classified zoogeographically, according to life zone, and with regard to the depth zone of greatest occurrence. Because most species examined have broad geographic ranges, they do not provide the best information for testing the validity of proposed zoogeographic province boundaries. Because of the location of greatest sampling effort and methods used in sampling, most fIShes examined were eastern boreal Pacific, sublittoral-bathyal (outer shelf) species. (PDF file contains 158 pages.)

A histopathologic evaluation of gross lesions excised from commercially important North Altantic marine fishes

Histopathologic studies of lesions found in commercially important North Atlantic marine fishes are uncommon. As part of a comprehensive Northeast Fisheries Center program ("Ocean Pulse") to evaluate environmental and resource health on the U.S. Continental Shelf from Cape Hatteras to Nova Scotia, grossly visible lesions of the gills, integument, muscle, and viscera of primarily bottom-dwelling fishes were excised and examined using light microscopy. Several gadid and pleuronectid fishes accounted for most of the lesions observed. Most pathological examinations were incidental to samples taken for age and growth determination and evaluation of predator/prey relationships. Several gadids, with either gill, heart, or spleen lesions, were sampled more intensively. Gill lesions principally affected gadids and were caused by either microsporidans or an unidentified oocyte-like cell. The majority of gastrointestinal lesions consisted of encapsulated or encysted larval worms or microsporidan-induced cysts. Few heart lesions were found. Integumental lesioos included ulcers, lymphocystis, and trematode metacercariae. Liver lesions almost always consisted of encapsulated or encysted larval helminths. Necrotic granulomata were seen in muscle and microsporidan-induced granulomata in spleen. Although not numerous, histologically interesting lesions were noted in integument, heart, liver, spleen, and muscle of several fish species. Histologic study of tissues excised from a variety of demersal and pelagic fishes from the eastern North Atlantic (France, Germany, Spain) revealed assorted integumental, renal, hepatic, and splenic lesions. Small sample size and non-random sampling precluded obtaining a meaningful quantitative estimate of the prevalence of the observed lesions in the population at risk; however, a useful census has been made of the types of lesions present in commercially important marine fishes. (PDF file contains 20 pages.)

Proceedings of the International Workshop on age determination of oceanic pelagic fishes: Tunas, billfishes, and sharks, Miami, Florida, February 15-18,1982

Accurate and precise estimates of age and growth rates are essential parameters in understanding the population dynamics of fishes. Some of the more sophisticated stock assessment models, such as virtual population analysis, require age and growth information to partition catch data by age. Stock assessment efforts by regulatory agencies are usually directed at specific fisheries which are being heavily exploited and are suspected of being overfished. Interest in stock assessment of some of the oceanic pelagic fishes (tunas, billfishes, and sharks) has developed only over the last decade, during which exploitation has increased steadily in response to increases in worldwide demand for these resources. Traditionally, estimating the age of fishes has been done by enumerating growth bands on skeletal hardparts, through length frequency analysis, tag and recapture studies, and raising fish in enclosures. However, problems related to determining the age of some of the oceanic pelagic fishes are unique compared with other species. For example, sampling is difficult for these large, highly mobile fishes because of their size, extensive distributions throughout the world's oceans, and for some, such as the marlins, infrequent catches. In addition, movements of oceanic pelagic fishes often transect temperate as well as tropical oceans, making interpretation of growth bands on skeletal hardparts more difficult than with more sedentary temperate species. Many oceanic pelagics are also long-lived, attaining ages in excess of 30 yr, and more often than not, their life cycles do not lend themselves easily to artificial propagation and culture. These factors contribute to the difficulty of determining ages and are generally characteristic of this group-the tunas, billfishes, and sharks. Accordingly, the rapidly growing international concern in managing oceanic pelagic fishes, as well as unique difficulties in ageing these species, prompted us to hold this workshop. Our two major objectives for this workshop are to: I) Encourage the interchange of ideas on this subject, and 2) establish the "state of the art." A total of 65 scientists from 10 states in the continental United States and Hawaii, three provinces in Canada, France, Republic of Senegal, Spain, Mexico, Ivory Coast, and New South Wales (Australia) attended the workshop held at the Southeast Fisheries Center, Miami, Fla., 15-18 February 1982. Our first objective, encouraging the interchange of ideas, is well illustrated in the summaries of the Round Table Discussions and in the Glossary, which defines terms used in this volume. The majority of the workshop participants agreed that the lack of validation of age estimates and the means to accomplish the same are serious problems preventing advancements in assessing the age and growth of fishes, particularly oceanic pelagics. The alternatives relating to the validation problem were exhaustively reviewed during the Round Table Discussions and are a major highlight of this workshop. How well we accomplished our second objective, to establish the "state of the art" on age determination of oceanic pelagic fishes, will probably best be judged on the basis of these proceedings and whether future research efforts are directed at the problem areas we have identified. In order to produce high-quality papers, workshop participants served as referees for the manuscripts published in this volume. Several papers given orally at the workshop, and included in these proceedings, were summarized from full-length manuscripts, which have been submitted to or published in other scientific outlets-these papers are designated as SUMMARY PAPERS. In addition, the SUMMARY PAPER designation was also assigned to workshop papers that represented very preliminary or initial stages of research, cursory progress reports, papers that were data shy, or provide only brief reviews on general topics. Bilingual abstracts were included for all papers that required translation. We gratefully acknowledge the support of everyone involved in this workshop. Funding was provided by the Southeast Fisheries Center, and Jack C. Javech did the scientific illustrations appearing on the cover, between major sections, and in the Glossary. (PDF file contains 228 pages.)

A. A. Berzin and His Memoir

Alfred A. Berzin began to study whales in 1955 at the Pacific Research and Fisheries Center (TINRO) in Vladivostok where he is still working at the present time. In the years before the rapid development of Soviet whaling only two fleets (Aleut and Second Kuril) were hunting whales.

Foreword and Acknowledgments: Woods Hole Laboratory Centennial

The year 1985 was one of celebration for the Woods Hole Laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Northeast Fisheries Center. The reason was the one hundredth anniversary of the completion and occupation of the first facility in the world dedicated to marine fisheries research. Spencer Fullerton Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and newly appointed first Commissioner of the nascent U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries visited Woods Hole in the summer of 1871 to establish a base from which to begin the investigations mandated by Congress when they established the "Fish Commission." During the following three summers (1872-74), operations were conducted from several other localities along the New England coast. During the course of those four years Baird determined that Woods Hole offered the most suitable natural and physical amenities for the investigations being conducted by the Fish Commission at that time, and for those envisioned for the future. The base for Commission operations was returned to Woods Hole in the summer of 1875 and has remained there ever since, through times fair and foul and several agency changes.