Effects of harvesting methods on sustainability of a bay scallop fishery: dredging uproots seagrass and displaces recruits

Fishing is widely recognized to have profound effects on estuarine and marine ecosystems (Hammer and Jansson, 1993; Dayton et al., 1995). Intense commercial and recreational harvest of valuable species can result in population collapses of target and nontarget species (Botsford et al., 1997; Pauly et al., 1998; Collie et al. 2000; Jackson et al., 2001). Fishing gear, such as trawls and dredges, that are dragged over the seafloor inflict damage to the benthic habitat (Dayton et al., 1995; Engel and Kvitek, 1995; Jennings and Kaiser, 1998; Watling and Norse, 1998). As the growing human population, over-capitalization, and increasing government subsidies of fishing place increasing pressures on marine resources (Myers, 1997), a clear understanding of the mechanisms by which fishing affects coastal systems is required to craft sustainable fisheries management.

Energy analysis of the ring seine operations, off Cochin, Kerala

Ring seines are lightly constructed purse seines adapted for operation in the traditional sector. Fish production and energy requirement in the ring seine operations, off Cochin, Kerala, India are discussed in this paper, based on data collected during 1997- 1998. The results reflect the Gross Energy Requirement (GER) situation that existed during 1997-1998. Mean catch per ring seiner per year worked out to be 211.9 t of which sardines (Sardinella spp.) constituted 44.3%, followed by Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) 29.7%, carangids 11.4%, penaeid prawns 2.2%, pomfrets 1.1% and miscellaneous fish 11.3%. Total energy inputs into the ring seine operations were estimated to be 1300.8 GJ. Output by way of fish production was determined to be 931.85 GJ. GER is the sum of all non-renewable energy resources consumed in making available a product or service and is a measure of intensity of non-renewable resource use. GER per tonne of fish landed by ring seiners was estimated to be 6.14. Among the operational inputs, kerosene constituted 73.4% of the GER, followed by petrol (12.7%), diesel (6.7%) and lubricating oil (2.4%). Fishing gear contributed 3.8%, engine 0.8% and fishing craft 0.3% of the GER. Energy ratio for ring seining was 0.72 and energy intensity 1.40.

A Whale of a Deception

In late October of 1966, an imposing ship steamed quietly through the placid waters of the Suez Canal. Clad in drab industrial gray, and flying a Soviet hammer and sickle flag at her masthead, the vessel was accompanied by a large fleet of smaller craft. Any observer able to decipher Cyrillic script could have read, in rusting metallic letters on her bow, the name Sovetskaya Ukraina. The more experienced would perhaps have identified her as a whaling factory ship, traveling with her attendant fleet of catcher boats and scouting vessels on a transit that would take them south into the Red Sea and beyond.

My Days on the Albatross

Navigation and surveying formed a connecting link, as it were, between what was getting to be called the “Old Navy” and what was soon to take shape as a “New Navy.” Seamanship, as an art of special character, was beginning to change its form with the passing of sail power and its supersession by the steam engine; while requiring in its new form no less ability and practiced judgment in the handling of large ships, it offered a diminished field for expertness in craft of only moderate size and speed among officers doing simple watch duty not in company with other ships; and, therefore, it was threatened with a materially lessened regard.

A Dança dos Orixás e suas Representações Sociais nos Candomblés Nagô

A presente tese tem como objetivo central a identificação e análise das representações sociais dos Orixás, a partir do compartilhamento social ocorrido em relação à dança dos Orixás nos ritos e nas festas de candomblé. O candomblé é uma religião de matriz africana, instituída no Brasil a partir da escravidão e tem com um de seus elementos centrais de sua estrutura teológica ritos e festas onde ocorrem incorporações ou transes de adeptos. Nestas festas e ritos, o transe se manifesta através das danças dos Orixás, onde o adepto desta prática religiosa ao incorporar o Orixá dança com as palavras cantadas e ao som da orquestra de atabaque. A metodologia utilizada foi a da observação sistemática, uma derivação do método etnográfico clássico aplicado à psicologia social. Foram observados 10 terreiros de candomblé de rito Keto na região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, em um período que se estendeu de antes da festa, durante a festa e o rito e o pós-festa. As observações foram categorizada de acordo com os objetivos desta tese sob duas grande categorias classificatórias: a estética e o movimento. As observações foram reduzidas a identificação do compartilhamento social existente sobre a dança dos Orixás entre os adeptos do candomblé e que participaram das festas e dos ritos. Os referenciais teóricos utilizados foram a teoria das representações sociais, assim como foi desenvolvida por Moscovici e Jodelet, e os estudos antropológicos brasileiros sobre o candomblé. O candomblé é uma religião que tem muitos interditos relacionados ao compartilhamento e a exposição dos ritos e fundamentos religiosos. A dança dos Orixás constituiu um objeto privilegiado para a identificação das representações sociais porque permite o compartilhamento social explícito no comentário estético que os adeptos daquela religião são permitidos a fazer. Estes comentários estéticos, apesar de condensados e lacônicos, são elementos centrais para a identificação do Orixá e para o estabelecimento de modos de vida, de códigos hermenêuticos e de relacionamento interpessoal na comunidade de candomblé. As observações foram discriminadas e analisadas e chegou-se a conclusão de que a dança dos Orixás é um processo central para a constituição de representações sociais sobre os Orixás porque permite o compartilhamento social que não transgride o segredo e o interdito. As representações do Orixá estão diretamente vinculadas ao conceito de que há uma transmutação do sujeito da vigília na incorporação e que este fenômeno é o indicador objetivo de que na incorporação há Orixá e que aquele sujeito da vigília não permanece

Reproduction in the protogynous black grouper Mexico (Mycteroperca bonaci (Poey)) from the southern Gulf of Mexico

An analysis was made of sexual pattern, spawning season, sizes at sexual maturation, and sex change in black grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci) from the southern Gulf of Mexico. Samples were taken between 1996 and 2000, from industrial and small-craft commercial fi sheries, in offshore and inshore waters of the continental shelf of the Yucatan Peninsula (Campeche Bank), including the shallow waters of National Marine Park Alacranes Reef. For all collected specimens (n=1229), sex and maturation condition were determined by histological analysis of the gonads. The offshore sample consisted of 75.1% females, 24.3% males, and 0.6% transitional-stage fish. All individuals collected from inshore waters were females. Gonadal structure and population structure characteristics for Campeche Bank black grouper were consistent with the characteristics of monandric protogynous hermaphrodism for a serranid fish. Sexually active males and females were observed year-round, although ripening females, with stage-III, -IV, and -V vitellogenic oocytes in the ovaries, dominated in samples taken between December and March. In addition, peak occurrence of ripe-running females with hyaline oocytes or postovulatory follicles (or both) in the ovaries was recorded in January and February. A few precocious females began spawning in October and November, and others were still in spawning condition in May and June. Fifty percent maturity of females was attained at 72.1 cm fork length (FL). Median size at sexual inversion was 103.3 cm FL, and 50% of the females measuring 111.4 cm FL had transformed into males. The southern Gulf of Mexico grouper fishery was considered deteriorated and lacked a well-defined management strategy. Results of the present study provide helpful information on black grouper reproduction in this area and could help Mexican authorities choose appropriate management strategies for this fishery, such as minimum size limit, closed fishing season, and protection of spawning aggregations.

Present status and future scope of fisheries in the Andaman group of islands

The coastal area of approximately 2000 km and the water-bodies in between the Andaman and Nicobar islands are rich in fishery potential which range from 0.012-0.47 million tonnes. The fishery is dominated by catches of sardines, perches, carangids, mackerels, Leiognathus elasmobranchs, seerfish, mullets and tunas. About 2050 fishermen, with 1150 country craft, 113 mechanised boats and 1367 different kinds of nets and lines are engaged in active fishing in the island. Numerous bays, lagoons and creeks are available among the group of islands for mariculture activities. The mangroves of these islands provide feeding and nursery grounds for juveniles of penaeid prawns, crabs and finfishes.

Biodeterioration of wooden boats: a major problem facing marine fisheries

In India, the fishing industry alone incurs an annual loss of over 120 million rupees on account of biodeterioration of wooden fishing craft. None of the timber species, currently in demand for boat-building, possesses an natural bioresistance and will be completely destroyed within 6 to 12 months. Preventive measures against biodeterioration range from application of several indigenous formulations to metallic sheathings and pressure impregnation of wood with preservative chemicals. These methods do not provide lasting protection, as each has its own short-comings and inadequacies. The need for long-term research in the field of marine biodeterioration for improving the efficiency of currently known control measures, with emphasis on application of non-polluting biological methods, is stressed.

The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Ernakulam

In appreciation of the pressing need for coordinated research in various aspects of fishery technology and for the overall development of fisheries industries in India, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture had decided to set up the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology. The Institute was established in 1957 at Cochin (Ernakulam). The research work at the Institute including its sub-stations and units is carried out in two wings: Craft and Gear Wing and Processing Wing. The third unit, the Extension Information and Statistics Wing, renders a service by functioning as a liaison between the research laboratories and the industry.

Fishing gear research at the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology

The Craft and Gear Wing of the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology was established to develop the country's fishing boats and implements scientifically and systematically. The Wing was organized in the year 1957 as a part of the fisheries development schemes included under the Second Five Year Plan.

On the troll line investigations off Cochin during five fishing seasons. Pt. 1. Investigations during 1960-61 and 1961-62 seasons

There is apparently great scope for improvement of the design and operational aspects of the gear particularly for the effective exploitation of seasonal fisheries like that of seer, tuna, barracuda etc. In order to evolve improved, yet cheap trolling gear regular investigations were undertaken by the Craft & Gear Wing of the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, off Cochin for five fishing seasons and the results of these studies are incorporated in this paper.

A report of the Fisheries Catch Assessment Survey in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria for the February 2008 survey

Between July 2005 and February 2008, ten Catch Assessment Surveys (CASs) were conducted at 54 pre-selected fish landing sites in the Ugandan part of Lake Victoria comprising approximately 10% of all landing sites in each of the 11 districts sharing the lake. The CASs were conducted following regionally harmonised Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This report covers the CAS conducted in February 2008 and puts into context the trends generated by results of the previous surveys. The catch rates of Nile perch in gillnetting boats with motor/sail, reduced from 26.9 kg boat-1 day-1 in August 2007 to 22.8 kg boat-1 day-1 in February 2008. Whereas the catch rates of paddle Sesse boats remained more or less the same as in August 2007. The Nile perch catch rates of the long line fishery of the boats using motor/sail was similar, 35 and 36 kg boat-1 day-1 in August 2007 and February 2008 respectively but the catch rates of paddle Sesse boats using long lines showed some more increase from 19 to 22 kg boat (-1) day (-1). In the tilapia fishery, the catch rates of the parachute boats using gillnets showed further decrease in a row from 12.6 kg boat-1 day-1 in December 2006, 11.6 kg boat-1 day-1 in March 2007, 11.2 kg boat-1 day-1 in August 2007 and 10.0 kg boat-1 day-1 in February 2008. The overall impact of reduced catch rates in the predominant effort groups, e.g. gillnetting boats using motor/sail in the Nile perch fishery and Parachute boats using gillnets in the tilapia fishery overshadowed the increases in less dominant effort groups and resulted in the lowest monthly catch estimates recorded in the surveys conducted since 2005. Whereas there was a clear downward trend in the Nile perch catch rates of boats using gillnets, which corroborates with the information of declining stocks from the recent Acoustics surveys, the catch rates in the long line fishery remained stable and even somewhat increasing in the last four surveys. The factors that maintain high catches against reduction of fish biomass in the long line fishery and their effects on sustainability of the Nile perch fishery should be investigated further. The Mukene fishery, characterised by large fluctuations in the catch rates did not show much change in the last two surveys in August 2007 and February 2008 and the annual catch estimates showed an overall increase of 7% from 2005 to 2007. The Mukene fishery in the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria remained a near shore fishery in which paddle Sesse boats using small seines or scoop nets were the dominant craft.

Assessment and possible development of the fishery resources of Pedro Bank

Pedro Bank is about 1,300 square miles in extent and lies at the mouth of the Palk Strait close to the mainland, enabling smaller boats to exploit it. Trawl surveys indicated the presence of substantial demersal varieties on the Pedro Bank, but the results of the early commercial operations indicate that a 135-foot trawler may not be operated continuously on the bank without diminishing returns. Subsequent to the commercial operations extensive surveys with smaller boats and various types of gear were carried out. Of the various types of gear tried out, results from bottom long lining and hand lining operations were promising. Trials were carried out to compare these two types of gear. Though not extensive, these trials indicated that at the initial stages of exploitation of the Bank, hand lining, which is extensively practiced in Ceylon, may be better but as exploitation progresses; with more experience, it should be possible to overcome some of the present disadvantages of bottom long lining and eventually bottom long lining should produce better results. The recently introduced mechanised craft are exploiting only the fringe of the bank and it should be possible to exploit its stocks fully with slightly bigger boats with a 35-40 mile range.

Coastal fisheries

The coastal zone of Sri Lanka is the most important area of fish production at present. This coastal zone is limited seawards to the edge of our relatively narrow continental shelf. The fishing methods employed are such that only a fraction of the shelf area is exploited. The extent to which the coastal zone is exploited depends on the craft and gear used in the fishing operations. The non-mechanized traditional crafts such as the teppams and orus generally operate within about five miles from shore. The mechanized traditional crafts and the small mechanized boats introduced around 1957 carry out fishing operations up to the continental shelf or beyond. The gear used by these fishing crafts is determined by the habits of the type of fish to be caught, the nature of the sea bed and other related conditions. For the pelagic fishes they use trolling lines or float long lines or drift nets. For the demersal fishes hand lines, bottom long lines, bottom set nets or drag nets are used. However, the net is the preferred fishing gear. The beach seines or madels, the traditional crafts such as orus, teppams and vallams and the small mechanized boats are the important contributors in the coastal fishery. Of these the madels are considered the most important since a high percentage (25-35%) of the Island's landings are produced by the operation of these nets.

Problems facing the deep-sea fishing industry in Sri Lanka

Fishing in Sri Lanka has been carried on largely with the use of traditional methods and in recent years there has been a marked increase in the use of mechanized craft for fishing. Although some effort has been made in the sphere of deep-sea fishing both by trawlers and long line tuna boats, such efforts have not made a significant contribution towards improving the industry. The progress of deep-sea fishing in Sri Lanka has been hindered due to a number of reasons described by the author.