Annual report 2000 - North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES). Ninth meeting, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, October 20-28, 2000

Report of Opening Session (pdf 42 KB) Report of Governing Council Meetings (pdf 70 KB) Reports of Science Board and Committees: Science Board (pdf 57 KB) Biological Oceanography Committee (pdf 43 KB) Working Group 14: Effective Sampling of Micronekton Advisory Panel on Marine birds and mammals Fishery Science Committee (pdf 31 KB) Working Group 16 on Implications of Climate change to Fisheries Management Marine Environmental Quality Committee (pdf 47 KB) Working Group 8: Practical Assessment Methodology Working Group 15 on Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the North Pacific Physical Oceanography and Climate Committee (pdf 41 KB) Working Group 13: CO2 in the North Pacific Implementation Panel on the CCCC Program (pdf 120 KB) BASS Task Team Advisory Panel on Iron Fertilization Experiment MODEL Task Team MONITOR Task Team Advisory Panel on Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey in the North Pacific REX Task Team Technical Committee on Data Exchange (pdf 24 KB) Finance and Administration: Report of the Finance and Administration Committee (pdf 49 KB) Assets on 31st of December, 1999 Income and Expenditures for 1999 Budget for 2001 Report of the Fund-Raising Committee (pdf 20 KB) Composition of the Organization (pdf 27 KB) List of Participants (pdf 94 KB) List of Acronyms (pdf 13 KB)

Release techniques for marine fishes

Proper release of marine fishes has become increasingly important to anglers. The use of fisheries management tools such as size limits, bag limits and closed seasons as well as stronger conservation ethics have resulted in more and more fish being released. In order to maintain healthy fish populations, each angler is responsible for fishing legally, carefully handling fish that are hooked and releasing fish that are not harvested so they can spawn or perhaps be caught again. (PDF contains 4 pages.)

SAMUDRA Report, No. 49, March 2008

Report: Traceability - Tracing the Fish. Uruguay: Fisheries Development - Worn-out Policies. Document: Civil Society Statement - Recognize Rights. Report: ICSF Workshop - Towards a New Commons. Notice: 4SSF Conference - Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries. Malawi: Fisheries Management - Participatory Fisheries Management Revisited. Notice: ICSF Resources - Recent Releases. France: Marine Parks - Reversing from a Dead End. Report: WFFP - Re-energizing for Dignity and Prosperity. Iceland: Human Rights - Common Property or Personal Property? (56 pp.)

Effects of commercial fishing regulations on stranding rates of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

Fisheries management actions taken to protect one species can have unintended, and sometimes positive, consequences on other species. For example, regulatory measures to reduce fishing effort in the winter gillnet fishery for spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) off North Carolina (NC) also led to decreases in the number of bycaught bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). This study found that a marked decrease in fishing effort for spiny dogfish in NC also corresponded with a marked decrease in winter stranding rates of bottlenose dolphins with entanglement lesions (P= 0.002). Furthermore, from 1997 through 2002, there was a significant positive correlation (r2 = 0.79; P= 0.0003) between seasonal bycatch estimates of bottlenose dolphins in gill nets and rates of stranded dolphins with entanglement lesions. With this information, stranding thresholds were developed that would enable the detection of those increases in bycatch in near real-time. This approach is valuable because updated bycatch estimates from observer data usually have a time-lag of two or more years. Threshold values could be used to detect increases in stranding rates, triggering managers immediately to direct observer effort to areas of potentially high bycatch or to institute mitigation measures. Thus, observer coverage and stranding investigations can be used in concert for more effective fishery management.

Seasonal foods, gonadal maturation, and length-weight relationships for nine fishes commonly captured by shrimp trawl on the Northwest Gulf of Mexico Continental Shelf

Recent emphasis on ecosystem approaches to fisheries management renews interest in, and the need for, trophic information about fish communities. A program was started in 1980 at the National Marine Fisheries Service Galveston Laboratory to develop a trophic database for continental shelf fishes. Collections were made during 1982-1983 that were processed but never published, yet the data remain valid today for historical purposes and for delimiting food web components within ecosystem assessments. I examined spring, summer, and fall foods in offshore populations of nine common species of trawl-susceptible fishes, with particular reference to predation on commercial penaeid shrimps (Farfantepenaeus and Litopenaeus). Diets were evaluated with the Index of Relative Importance (IRI) which combines the occurrence, number, and weight of each food item. Bank sea bass (Centropristis ocyurus) and bighead searobin (Prionotus tribulus) primarily consumed crabs, more so by larger than smaller fish. Inshore lizardfish (Synodus foetens) was almost entirely piscivorous. Ocellated flounder (Ancylopsetta ommata) consumed fishes, crabs, and stomatopods. Dwarf sand perch (Diplectrum bivittatum), blackwing searobin (Prionotus rubio), rock sea bass (Centropristis philadelphica), southern kingfish (Menticirrhus americanus), and red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) fed mainly on shrimps. Most fish diets varied with respect to size (age), time of day, area sampled, depth, or season. Rimapenaeus and Sicyonia were the most frequently identified shrimp genera - only five Farfantepenaeus and no Litopenaeus were identified in almost 4,300 fish stomachs. I also examined gonadal development and documented fish length-weight relationships. Ripe gonads were most frequently found during summer in dwarf sand perch, during fall in ocellated flounder and bighead searobin, and during spring for other species, except no ripe red snapper or bank sea bass were collected. Rock sea bass was found to be a protogynous hermaphrodite, while dwarf sand perch is a synchronous hermaphrodite. Only ocellated flounder and southern kingfish exhibited sex-related differences in length-weight relationships. (PDF contains 40 pages.)

Fish Habitat Utilization Patterns and Evaluation of the Efficacy of Marine Protected Areas in Hawaii: Integration of NOAA Digital Benthic Habitat Mapping and Coral Reef Ecological Studies

Over the past four decades, the state of Hawaii has developed a system of eleven Marine Life Conservation Districts (MLCDs) to conserve and replenish marine resources around the state. Initially established to provide opportunities for public interaction with the marine environment, these MLCDs vary in size, habitat quality, and management regimes, providing an excellent opportunity to test hypotheses concerning marine protected area (MPA) design and function using multiple discreet sampling units. NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment’s Biogeography Team developed digital benthic habitat maps for all MLCD and adjacent habitats. These maps were used to evaluate the efficacy of existing MLCDs for biodiversity conservation and fisheries replenishment, using a spatially explicit stratified random sampling design. Coupling the distribution of habitats and species habitat affinities using GIS technology elucidates species habitat utilization patterns at scales that are commensurate with ecosystem processes and is useful in defining essential fish habitat and biologically relevant boundaries for MPAs. Analysis of benthic cover validated the a priori classification of habitat types and provided justification for using these habitat strata to conduct stratified random sampling and analyses of fish habitat utilization patterns. Results showed that the abundance and distribution of species and assemblages exhibited strong correlations with habitat types. Fish assemblages in the colonized and uncolonized hardbottom habitats were found to be most similar among all of the habitat types. Much of the macroalgae habitat sampled was macroalgae growing on hard substrate, and as a result showed similarities with the other hardbottom assemblages. The fish assemblages in the sand habitats were highly variable but distinct from the other habitat types. Management regime also played an important role in the abundance and distribution of fish assemblages. MLCDs had higher values for most fish assemblage characteristics (e.g. biomass, size, diversity) compared with adjacent fished areas and Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs) across all habitat types. In addition, apex predators and other targeted resources species were more abundant and larger in the MLCDs, illustrating the effectiveness of these closures in conserving fish populations. Habitat complexity, quality, size and level of protection from fishing were important determinates of MLCD effectiveness with respect to their associated fish assemblages. (PDF contains 217 pages)

Stock assessment of loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles and An assessment of the impact of the pelagic longline fishery on the loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles of the Western North Atlantic

On September 7, 2000 the National Marine Fisheries Service announced that it was reinitiating consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act on pelagic fisheries for swordfish, sharks, tunas, and billfish. 1 Bycatch of a protected sea turtle species is considered a take under the Endangered Species Act (PL93-205). On June 30, 2000 NMFS completed a Biological Opinion on an amendment to the Highly Migratory Pelagic Fisheries Management Plan that concluded that the continued operation of the pelagic longline fishery was likely to jeopardize the continued existence of loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles.2 Since that Biological Opinion was issued NMFS concluded that further analyses of observer data and additional population modeling of loggerhead sea turtles was needed to determine more precisely the impact of the pelagic longline fishery on turtles. 3,4 Hence, the reinitiation of consultation. The documents that follow constitute the scientific review and synthesis of information pertaining to the narrowly defined reinitiation of consultation: the impact of the pelagic longline fishery on loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles The document is in 3 parts, plus 5 appendices. Part I is a stock assessment of loggerhead sea turtles of the Western North Atlantic. Part II is a stock assessment of leatherback sea turtles of the Western North Atlantic. Part III is an assessment of the impact of the pelagic longline fishery on loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles of the Western North Atlantic. These documents were prepared by the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center staff and academic colleagues at Duke University and Dalhousie University. Personnel involved from the SEFSC include Joanne Braun-McNeill, Lisa Csuzdi, Craig Brown, Jean Cramer, Sheryan Epperly, Steve Turner, Wendy Teas, Nancy Thompson, Wayne Witzell, Cynthia Yeung, and also Jeff Schmid under contract from the University or Miami. Our academic colleagues, Ransom Myers, Keith Bowen, and Leah Gerber from Dalhousie University and Larry Crowder and Melissa Snover from Duke University, also recipients of a Pew Charitable Trust Grant for a Comprehensive Study of the Ecological Impacts of the Worldwide Pelagic Longline Industry, made significant contributions to the quantitative analyses and we are very grateful for their collaboration. We appreciate the reviews of the stock definition sections on loggerheads and leatherbacks by Brian Bowen, University of Florida, and Peter Dutton, National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center, respectively, and the comments of the NMFS Center of Independent Experts reviewers Robert Mohn, Ian Poiner, and YouGan Wang on the entire document. We also wish to acknowledge all the unpublished data used herein which were contributed by many researchers, especially the coordinators and volunteers of the nesting beach surveys and the sea turtle stranding and salvage network and the contributors to the Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program. (PDF contains 349 pages)

A review of marine zones in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

This report reviews marine zoning in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). The 72 zoned areas in the MBNMS are of 13 different zone types. Each marine zone type has associated regulations that restrict or promote specific activities. For example, recreational activities such as boating, fishing, tidepooling, snorkeling, and SCUBA diving are limited in some zones. Scientific research is allowed at all sites, with appropriate permits, and is specifically promoted in a few sites. In addition, motorized personal watercraft use, dredge material disposal, large vessel traffic, jade collection, and aircraft overflight are allowed only in specific zones. The effectiveness of the marine zoning in the MBNMS is difficult to determine for two reasons. Firstly, many of the zones lack a clearly stated purpose or have confusing regulations. Secondly, the majority of the zones have not been evaluated formally by the managing agencies. Of the zones that have been evaluated, such as Dredge Material Disposal zones, Big Creek MRPA Ecological Reserve, and Pt. Lobos State/Ecological Reserve, the majority appear to be achieving their mandated purpose to some extent. Many of the zones in the MBNMS fall under the title "marine reserve." Marine reserves have recently received significant attention internationally, nationally, and in California due to their potential for: improving the status of exploited species; protecting marine habitats and ecosystems from degradation; facilitating scientific research and fisheries management; and increasing ecotourism. However, reserves must be well designed and managed to reach this potential. A well designed and managed reserve will have clearly defined goals, scientifically-based design, proper enforcement of regulations, rigorous evaluation of the reserve's effectiveness, and adaptive management. Based on these criteria, the majority of the marine reserves in California are not well designed or managed. However, the State of California has recognized this problem and is in the process of re-evaluating the California system of marine managed areas. (PDF contains 137 pages.)

Fishing guidelines

In accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), FAO prepared the first draft of the technical guidelines in relation to Fishing Operations, which were submitted to the Technical Consultation on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing, Rome, 26 September to 5 October 1994. The draft was prepared taking into account the Declaration of Cancún, Agenda 21 of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) and the Report of the Expert Consultation on Responsible Fishing Operations, Sidney, British Colombia, Canada, 6 -11 June 1994. Thereafter, the draft was revised taking into account, the negotiations at the UN Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, the elaboration of the Code as well as developments at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) with regard to the Protocol to the Torremolinos International Convention on Fishing Vessel Safety and the new International Convention on Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, 1995. Technical Guidelines are given in support of the implementation of the Code in relation to fishing operations. These are addressed to States, international organizations, fisheries management bodies, owners, managers and charterers of fishing vessels as well as fishers and their organizations. Guidance is also given with respect to the general public. (PDF contains 93 pages)

Nationales Fischereidatenerhebungsprogramm: Aktivitäten und Ausblick

Within the frame of the EU Data Collection Regulation (DCR), Germany is obliged since 2002 to collect basic fisheries data to support the Common Fisheries Policy. Various governmental institutions are involved in the collection of landings and effort data, biological and economic data of the German fisheries. About 200 trips on commercial fishery vessels were sampled from 2002 to 2006. Additional stock data are collected on research surveys. The landings of cod in the recreational fisheries in the North and Baltic Seas were recorded within a pilot study. In order to assess the economic situation of the fishing fleet and processing industry, economic data were collected. The collected data are being stored in a national database and being made available for scientific working groups. At present, the legal regulations within the DCR framework are being reviewed and adapted to the changing requirements of fisheries management.

Simulierte Auswirkungen des mehrjährigen Bewirtschaftungsplans für die Dorschfischerei in der westlichen Ostsee und die Möglichkeit einer technischen Alternative

The cod stock in the Western Baltic Sea is assessed to be overfished regarding the definitions of the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development at Johannesburg in 2002. Thus, the European Fisheries Council enforced a multi-annual management plan in 2007. Our medium term simulations over the future 10 years assume similar stock productivity as compared with the past four decades and indicate that the goals of the management plan can be achieved through TAC and consistent effort regulations. Taking account of the uncertainty in the recruitment patterns, the target average fishing mortality of age groups 3 – 6 years of F = 0.6 per year as defined in the management plan is indicated to exceed sustainable levels consistent with high long term yields and low risk of depletion. The stipulated constraint of the annual TAC variations of ±15% will dominate future fisheries management and implies a high recovery potential of the stock through continued reductions in fishing mortality. The scientific assessment of sustainable levels of exploitation and consideration in the plan is strongly advised, taking account of uncertainties attributed to environmental and biological effects. We recommend our study to be complemented with economic impact assessments including effects on by-catch species, which have been disregarded in this study. It is further demonstrated, that the goals of the management plan can alternatively be achieved by mesh size adaptations. An alternative technical option of mesh size increases to realize the required reductions in fishing mortality provides avoidance of discards of undersized fish after a few years by means of improved selectivity, another important element of the Common Fisheries Policy. However, it is emphasized that technical regulations since 1990 failed to affect the by-catch and discards of juvenile cod. In any way, the meaningful implementation of the multiannual management plan through stringent control and enforcement appears critical.

Die Anwendung molekulargenetischer Verfahren in der fischereiwissenschaftlichen Forschung - Trennung von Fischpopulationen

The discrimination of stocks and separate reproductive units within fish species to facilitate fisheries management based on biological data has always been a challenge to fisheries biologists. We describe the use of three different molecular genetic techniques to detect genetic differences between stocks and closely related species. Direct sequencing of the mitochondrial ND3 gene describes the relationship between different aquaculture strains and natural populations of rainbow trout and revealed genetic homogeneity within the hatchery strains. Microsatellite analyses were used to explore the differences between redfish species from the genus Sebastes and to verify populations structure within S. mentella and S. marinus. This lead to an un equivocal discrimination of the species and an indication of populations structure within those species in the North Atlantic. The Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisum (AFLP) methodology revealed genetic differences between Baltic and North Sea dap (Limanda limanda)and a possible population structure within the North Sea.

Die Qualitäts-Index-Methode (QIM), ein verlässliches Instrument zur sensorischen Bewertung der Frische von Fisch

Fish research institutes in Europe have made considerable effort in developing rapid, objective sensory methods for evaluation of fish freshness. The Quality Index Method(QIM) has been recommended for a European initiative regarding standardisation and harmonisation of sensory evaluation of fish. QIM-schemes have been developed for various common European fish species. Research has now provided the industry with a convenient, objective and powerful tool for measuring freshness of fish kept in ice Further research is needed to evaluate the applicability of QIM for fish handled, stored and processed under different conditions. However, for progress and development of QIM it is now very important that the fish sector implements QIM in fish auctions and the quality management system of the fish processing plants.

Zustand und Entwicklung ausgewählter Fischbestände: Einschätzung des ICES im Frühjahr 2003

During the spring session of the ICES Advisory Committee for Fisheries Management (ACFM) 48 stocks assessed by 7 Working Groups have been analyzed and reviewed, among these all herring stocks in the ICES area, blue whiting and most demersal stocks in the Baltic, Arctic and North-Western area. As in previous years, ICES recommends a reduction in fishing mortality for a number of stocks or even the establishment of recovery and management plans, to safeguard a continuous development of the stocks towards safe biological limits. ICES recommended a 90% reduction of the cod fishery in the Baltic Sea, while most of the herring stocks are in good condition.

Zustand und Entwicklung ausgewählter Fischbestände: Einschätzung des ICES im Herbst 2003

During the autumn session of the ICES Advisory Committee for Fisheries Management (ACFM) 58 stocks assessed in 7 Working Groups have been analyzed and reviewed, among these the demersal stocks in the North Sea and the Mackerel stock. As in previous years, ICES recommends a reduction in fishing mortality for a number of stocks or even the establishment of recovery and management plans, to safeguard a continuous development of the stocks towards safe biological limits. ICES reiterated last year’s recommendation to close the directed cod fishery and any fishery taking cod as by-catch in the North Sea, west of Scotland and in the Irish Sea. This year, the stocks of plaice in the North Sea, southern hake and southern anglers are (among others) in a critical state and in urgent need of protecting or rebuilding measures. This will again have an enormous impact on almost all mixed fisheries in the European Union.