Effect of changes in hook pattern and size on catch rate, hooking location, injury and bleeding for a number of tropical reef fish species

The Queensland Great Barrier Reef line fishery in Australia is regulated via a range of input and output controls including minimum size limits, daily catch limits and commercial catch quotas. As a result of these measures a substantial proportion of the catch is released or discarded. The fate of these released fish is uncertain, but hook-related mortality can potentially be decreased by using hooks that reduce the rates of injury, bleeding and deep hooking. There is also the potential to reduce the capture of non-target species though gear selectivity. A total of 1053 individual fish representing five target species and three non-target species were caught using six hook types including three hook patterns (non-offset circle, J and offset circle), each in two sizes (small 4/0 or 5/0 and large 8/0). Catch rates for each of the hook patterns and sizes varied between species with no consistent results for target or non-target species. When data for all of the fish species were aggregated there was a trend for larger hooks, J hooks and offset circle hooks to cause a greater number of injuries. Using larger hooks was more likely to result in bleeding, although this trend was not statistically significant. Larger hooks were also more likely to foul-hook fish or hook fish in the eye. There was a reduction in the rates of injuries and bleeding for both target and non-target species when using the smaller hook sizes. For a number of species included in our study the incidence of deep hooking decreased when using non-offset circle hooks, however, these results were not consistent for all species. Our results highlight the variability in hook performance across a range of tropical demersal finfish species. The most obvious conservation benefits for both target and non-target species arise from using smaller sized hooks and non-offset circle hooks. Fishers should be encouraged to use these hook configurations to reduce the potential for post-release mortality of released fish.

Ghost fishing in the pot fishery for blue swimmer crabs Portunus pelagicus in Queensland, Australia

Blue swimmer crabs (Portunus pelagicus) are an economically important crab caught in baited traps throughout the Indo-west Pacific and Mediterranean. In Australia they are traditionally caught using rigid wire traps (approximate to pots) but there has been a recent increase in the use of collapsible pots constructed from polyethylene trawl mesh. Two experiments were conducted in Moreton Bay, Queensland, to determine the ghost fishing potential of lost crab pots on both target and bycatch species and to evaluate the differences between traditional and contemporary pot designs. A lost contemporary, collapsible trawl mesh pot will catch between 3 and 223 R pelagicus per year after the bait has been exhausted, while a traditional wire mesh pot would catch 11-74 crabs peryear. As most fishers now use the collapsible trawl mesh pots, ghost fishing mortality could be as high as 111,811-670,866 crabs per year. Bycatch retention was also higher in contemporary designs. Periods of strong winds appeared to increase the ghost fishing potential of lost pots. The use of escape gaps, larger mesh sizes and construction options that allow for the deterioration of entrance funnels to minimise ghost fishing are recommended to reduce environmental impacts.

Reducing the short-term mortality of juvenile school prawns (Metapenaeus macleayi) discarded during trawling

A field experiment was carried out in southeastern Australia to assess the short-term mortality and stress incurred by juvenile school prawns (Metapenaeus macleayi) discarded from an estuarine trawler. Some 35% of the prawns died up to 72 h after being caught in a trawl, exposed to air during sorting and separation from the retained catch (as per normal commercial procedures), then discarded into replicate cages. Total mortality was partitioned into that caused by trawling (about 16% of mortalities), and by subsequent sorting and grading (about 19%). Assuming that the majority of the non-penaeid bycatch is excluded from trawls (by the use of bycatch reduction devices), the latter mortalities could be almost eliminated by sorting and separating unwanted school prawns in water-filled compartments. Emersion stress was measured as concentrations of l-lactate in the haemolymph, which were elevated for at least 40 min following capture, but similar among all trawled treatments. l-lactate levels decreased within the first 24 h post-capture, then remained constant over at least the next 48 h, and were greater than baseline levels. The potential benefits associated with subtle changes to handling practices onboard estuarine trawlers are discussed.

Effects of hooking damage and hook type on post-release survival of sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis)

This study examined post-release survival in sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis) and whether there were survival benefits from the use of circle hooks over conventional hook patterns. Anatomical hooking location was the major factor contributing to mortality, with an almost 100% survival rate for fish hooked in the lip, mouth or eye (shallow-hooked) compared with around 64% for fish hooked in the throat or gut (deep-hooked). Mortality in deep-hooked fish was generally associated with injuries to vital organs (gills, heart, liver) and survival was significantly lower if bleeding was associated with injury (54% compared with 85% for non-bleeders). Circle hooks resulted in significantly lower deep-hooking rates (1%) compared with conventional hook types (4-9%) and, based on catch rates, were at least as effective as conventional hook patterns. Estimated survival rates for line-caught sand flathead were high, over 99% for circle hooks and between 94 and 97% for conventional hooks. These findings support the efficacy of management strategies based on size and bag limits and the practice of catch-and-release fishing for sand flathead, as well as a potential conservation benefit from the use of circle hooks.

Kilpailukykyvaltion koululainsäädännön rakentuminen : Suomen eduskunta ja 1990-luvun koulutuspoliittinen käänne

Finnish education policy, educational legislation and the entire education system changed significantly during the 1990s as part of a general restructuring of public administration. There has been a clear divergence from the former tradition of a system of regulation, founded on detailed legislation and the principle of equality. The new governance, which is based more on individual choice, efficiency and evaluation, emphasizes that the development of a high standard of education is a necessity in the light of global competition. This study explores the legislative process regarding education policy in the Finnish Parliament during the 1990s, and highlights in particular how the international discourse on education policies was restructured in the context of Finnish legislation. The research material consists of all the public parliamentary documents relating to education, including government proposals, minutes from the discussions in the chamber and archive material (final protocols, reports and statements) for the Committee for Education and Culture. The discourse on the process of drafting and passing education legislation is modelled on three interrelated policy technologies (market, management and performance), which are understood here as mechanisms connecting general political ideas to normative legislation. The changes in the regulation of education were part of a general public administration reform instigated during the mid 1980s. The research results will prove that during the left-right coalition cabinet of PM Harri Holkeri, new policy technologies affected the parliamentary discourse on education policy. This was particularly influenced by a change in the preconditions for the management of education that was created as a result of the numerous demands to deregulate and delegate decision-making authority to the local and school levels while rendering the whole education system more effective. At the turn of the decade, market-type mechanisms were more indirectly manifested in the forms of individuality and freedom of choice, which were reflected, for example, in proposals to “lower the hurdles” by separating general from vocational secondary education with a view to encouraging students to select courses from other educational establishments, in addition to relaxing the requirements for establishing private schools and abolishing a hundred-year-old strict national catchment-area system. Later, in the course of the 1990s, after the subjects, players, and methods of evaluation had been more precisely defined, evaluation based on performance would result in the active measurement of the attainment of set objectives. In the spring of 1991, from the outset of PM Esko Aho's right-centre coalition cabinet, the education budget suffered cutbacks as a result of a global recession and this influenced the legislative work of, and discourses in, parliament. Representatives of the parties in power regarded the recession solely as an external factor that was remote from the political arena. In their view, the education system should rise to the challenge by ensuring the efficient and innovative use of the resources available and by developing new forms of indicators for evaluating results. Representatives of the opposition opposed the cabinet’s standpoint as a result of the recession, criticized the measures taken by pointing out the harmful effect of constantly cutting the budget and argued that the government had made political capital out of the recession by using it as an opportunity to give more room to market, management and performance technologies within the Finnish education system. Criticism of the new education policy became even stronger during PM Paavo Lipponen's first “rainbow” coalition cabinet with critical views being expressed not only from the opposition but also from representatives within the government. Representatives from the left demanded legislative restrictions and the instigation of measures to relieve the presumed negative effects of market, management and performance in the name of educational equality. The new management by results steering method within the university sector and the introduction of commercial education services in compulsory education were fiercely criticized. The argument over “setting outer limits” including, for example, the demands for more detailed legislation and earmarked state subsidies was characteristic of Parliament’s legislative discourse in the latter part of the 1990s. Keywords: education policy, education legislation, Parliament of Finland

Mortality and blood loss by blue swimmer crabs (Portunus pelagicus) after simulated capture and discarding from gillnets

Two laboratory experiments were carried out to quantify the mortality and physiological responses of juvenile blue swimmer crabs (Portunus pelagicus) after simulated gillnet entanglement, air exposure, disentanglement, and discarding. In both experiments, all but control blue swimmer crabs were entangled in 1-m(2) gillnet panels for 1 h, exposed to air for 2 min, subjected to various treatments of disentanglement ranging between the forceful removal of none, one, two, and four appendages, then "discarded" into individual experimental tanks and monitored for 10 d. In Experiment 1, mortalities were associated with the number of appendages removed and the occurrence of unsealed wounds. In Experiment 2, live blue swimmer crabs were sampled for blood at 2 min and 6, 24, and 72 h post-discarding to test for the effects of disentanglement and appendage removal on total haemocyte counts, clotting times, protein levels (by refractive index), and blood ion concentrations. Compared with blue swimmer crabs that had sealed or no wounds, those with unsealed wounds had lower total haemocyte counts, protein, and calcium concentrations and increased clotting ties and magnesium and sodium levels. Induced autotomy, as opposed to the arbitrary, forceful removal of a appendages has the potential to minimize the mortality and stress of discarded, juvenile blue swimmer crabs.

Keskustelu yliopiston uudesta palkkausjärjestelmästä - akateemisten arvojen murtaja vai toiveiden täyttäjä?

There has been a change in university´s position in society during the last of decades from traditional university to result-based university. Result-based is considered as a steering mechanism. The context in this study is the period when the New Salary System was introduced. In the New Salary System salary is based on the performance appraisal made by the supervisor. The purpose of the study was to understand the discussion of the New Salary System and how this discussion should be interpreted. The research task had two parts. In the first part the objective was to identify how the academic work was conceptualised. In the second part I analyzed how one related to the New Salary System and how this was interpreted in relation to representation of academic work. The research material consisted of webblogs from the year 2005. Webblogs were located in the internet and one had free access to them. Mostly employees from Finnish universities wrote to them. Besides the salary system writers discussed the university and the academic work. Two different ways of talking about the academic work were found in research material. In the first one the academic work was based on community and in the second one on individuality. When community was emphasized writers discussed also science and research and academic traditions such as peer review. When individuality was emphasized writers discussed individual performance and the importance of salary according to one´s performance. The analysis shows that the New Salary System was opposed and supported. Opposition was based on arguments for the traditional university; peer review, truth, academic profession, academic community and university’s autonomy are the most important arguments. Supporters used arguments such as the need to make individual´s performance visible and breaking the existing power structures.

A study in Crystal engineering: Solid-state photodimerization of chloro- and methyl-coumarins

Use of chloro and methyl substitution in crystal engineering and their interchangeability in terms of mode of packing have been examined in a series of substituted coumarins. Photoreactivity in the solid state lists been correlated with the crystallograhic structures of these coumarins. The packing of chloro-substituted aromatic compounds has been investigated by analysing the arrangement of 132 compounds. Results substantiate the use of the chloro group as a steering agent and show that the chloro and methyl groups are not always interchangeable.

Kohti ulkorajoja : Lukion toimintakulttuurikuvaus ohjauksen ja johtamisen näkökulmasta

The aim of this qualitative study is to chart the operational context of the upper-secondary school principals and the historical, cultural and structural factors that steer their day-to-day work. The concepts regarding the study environment and operational culture are defined and analysed in terms of how they are interrelated. Furthermore it is explained why the upper-secondary schools must describe their operational culture within the curriculum. The study also aims to connect the description of the operational culture with the operational system of the upper-secondary school and to analyse the descriptions of the five upper-secondary schools in relation to the commitment to developing a study environment conducive to learning and participation, as well as conducive to supporting interaction. Interview data is used to provide the background for the description of the operational culture and to particularise the results of the analysis. According to the theory used in this study, the steering sources of the day-to-day work of the upper-secondary school are the rules system of the state, the municipality, the curriculum, and on the level of the upper-secondary school administration. The research data consist of the literature concerning the steering, steering forms and the principals professional picture in general terms, from 1950 to the present, and the steering texts concerning the educational environment and operational culture. Furthermore the research data include five descriptions of the operational culture concerning the upper-secondary school, the action reports and student guides. The methods of analysis include the level model and content analysis. The first is a part of the theory used in this study. For the purpose of content analysis, moreover, classifying grounds are established on the basis of theoretical and empirical research data. A result of this study is that, from the perspective of steering, the function of describing the operational culture is clearly linked to the evaluation supporting the goals and the vision of a learning organization. From an administrative point of view, a description is a problem-solving strategy and an instrument of evaluation. The study environment is a structural context in and through which the actors of the school create, change and renew the elements of the structure rooted in the context; this structure is their historically and culturally mediated way of thinking and acting. The initial situation and orientation of the students affect the emphasis of the operational culture descriptions; principals also have their own personal style of leadership. Key words: source of steering, educational environment, operational culture, self-evaluation, learning organisation

Assessing the effects of line capture and barotrauma relief procedures on post-release survival of key tropical reef fish species in Australia using recreational tagging clubs.

Common coral trout, Plectropomus leopardus Lacepede, crimson snapper, Lutjanus erythropterus Bloch, saddletail snapper, Lutjanus malabaricus (Bloch & Schneider), red emperor, Lutjanus sebae (Cuvier), redthroat emperor, Lethrinus miniatus (Schneider) and grass emperor, Lethrinus laticaudis Alleyne & Macleay, were tagged to determine the effects of barotrauma relief procedures (weighted shot-line release and venting using a hollow needle) and other factors on survival. Release condition was the most significant factor affecting the subsequent recapture rate of all species. Capture depth was significant in all species apart from L. malabaricus and L. miniatus, the general trend being reduced recapture probability with increasing capture depth. Recapture rates of fish hooked in either the lip or mouth were generally significantly higher than for those hooked in the throat or gut. Statistically significant benefit from treating fish for barotrauma was found in only L. malabaricus, but the lack of any negative effects of treating fish indicated that the practices of venting and shot-lining should not be discouraged by fisheries managers for these species.

Reduced risk of acute poisoning in Australian cattle from used motor oils after introduction of lead-free petrol.

Lead (Pb) poisoning of cattle has been relatively common in Australia and sump oil has been identified as an important cause of Pb toxicity for cattle because they seem to have a tendency to drink it. Lead-free petrol has been available in Australia since 1975, so the aim of this study was to assess the current risk to cattle from drinking used automotive oils. Sump or gear box oil was collected from 56 vehicles being serviced. The low levels of Pb found suggest that the removal of leaded petrol from the Australian market as a public health measure has benefited cattle by eliminating the risk of acute poisoning from used engine oil.

An Optimal g-Guidance Scheme for Satellite Launch Vehicles

A closed-loop steering logic based on an optimal (2-guidance is developed here. The guidance system drives the satellite launch vehicle along a two- or three- dimensional trajectory for placing the payload into a specified circular orbit. The modified g-guidance algorithm makes use of the optimal required velocity vector, which minimizes the total impulse needed for an equivalent two-impluse transfer from the present state to the final orbit. The required velocity vector is defined as velocity of the vehicle on the hypothetical transfer orbit immediately after the application of the first impulse. For this optimal transfer orbit, a simple and elegant expression for the Q-matrix is derived. A working principle for the guidance algorithm in terms of the major and minor cycles, and also for the generation of the steering command, is outlined.

Sopimusohjaus ohjausmenettelynä sairaanhoitopiirin ja terveyskeskusten yksiköissä ja niiden lääkärien työssä

This study concerns the implementation of steering by contracting in health care units and in the work of the doctors employed by them. The study analyses how contracting as a process is being implemented in hospital district units, health centres and in the work of their doctors, as well as how these units carry out their operations and patient care within the restrictions set by the contracts. Based on interviews with doctors, the study analyses the realisation of operations within the units from the doctors perspective and through their work. The key result of the study is that the steering impact of contracting was not felt at the level of practical work. The contracting was implemented by assigning the related tasks to management only. The management implemented the contract by managing their resources rather than by intervening in doctors activities or the content of their tasks. The steering did not extend to improving practical care processes. This allowed the unchanged continuation of core operations in an autonomous manner and in part, protected from the impacts of contracting. In health centres, the contract concluded was viewed as merely steering the operations of the hospital district and its implementation did not receive the support of the centres. The fact that primary health care and specialised health care constitute separate contracting parties had adverse effects on the contract s implementation and the integration of care. A theoretical review unveiled several reasons for the failure of steering by contracting to alter operations within units. These included the perception steering by contracting as a weak change incentive. The doctors shunned the introduction of an economic logic and ideology into health care and viewed steering by contracting as a hindrance to delivering care to patients and a disturbance to their work and patient relationships. Contracting caused tensions between representatives of the financial administration and health care professionals. It also caused internal tensions, while it had varying impacts on different specialities, including the introduction of varying potential to influence contracts. Most factors preventing the realisation of the steering objective could have been ameliorated through positive leadership. There is a need to bridge the gap between financial steering and patient work. Key measures include encouraging the commitment of middle management, supporting leadership expertise and identifying the right methods of contributing to a mutual understanding between the cultures of financing, administration and health care. Criticism of the purchasers expertise and the view that undersized orders are due to the purchaser s financial difficulties underlines the importance of the purchaser s size. Overly detailed, product-based contracts seemed to place the focus on the quantities and costs of services rather than health impacts and efficiency of operations. Bundling contracts into larger service packages would encourage the enhancement of operations. Steering by contracting represents unexploited potential: it could function as a forum for integrated regional planning of services, and the prioritisation and integration of care, and offer an opportunity and an incentive for developing core operations.

Advanced practice: A survey of current perspectives of Australian pharmacists

Background An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Framework for Australia (the ‘APPF’) was published in October 2012. Further to the release of the APPF, the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Framework Steering Committee planned to develop an advanced practice recognition model for Australian pharmacists. Aim To gauge the perspectives of the pharmacy profession relating to advanced practice, via an online survey, in order to inform the design of the model. Method A survey was developed and administered to Australian pharmacists through SurveyMonkey . The survey content was based on findings from a review of national and international initiatives for recognition of advanced practice in pharmacy and other health disciplines, including medicine and nursing. Results The results of the survey showed that a high proportion of respondents considered they were already working at, or working towards achieving, an advanced level of practice. The responses relating to the assessment methods showed a clear preference for ‘submission of a professional portfolio’. A ‘written examination’ had a low level of support and in relation to an ‘oral examination by a panel’ there was a marked preference for a panel of multidisciplinary health professionals over a panel of pharmacists. Conclusion The survey outcomes will inform the development of an advanced pharmacy practice recognition model for Australian pharmacists, particularly in relation to the assessment methods. Survey outcomes also demonstrated that there is scope to further enhance the application of the APPF in the development and recognition of advanced practitioners, and to build greater awareness of the breadth of competencies encompassed by ‘advanced practice’.

An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Framework for Australia

The need to develop An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Framework for Australia (the “APPF”) was identified during the 2010 review of the competency standards for Australian pharmacists. The Advanced Pharmacy Practice Framework Steering Committee, a collaborative profession-wide committee comprised of representatives of ten pharmacy organisations, examined and adapted existing advanced practice frameworks, all of which were found to have been based on the Competency Development and Evaluation Group (CoDEG) Advanced and Consultant Level Framework (the “CoDEG Framework”) from the United Kingdom. Its competency standards were also found to align well with the Domains of the National Competency Standards Framework for Pharmacists in Australia (the “National Framework”). Adaptation of the CoDEG Framework created an APPF that is complementary to the National Framework, sufficiently flexible to customise for recognising advanced practice in any area of professional practice and has been approved by the boards/councils of all participating organisations. The primary purpose of the APPF is to assist the development of the profession to meet the changing health care needs of the community. However, it is also a valuable tool for assuring members of the public of the competence of an advanced practice pharmacist and the quality and safety of the services they deliver.