Impact of radio broadcast on fish production and conservation in Kainji Lake basin

The decline in fishermen catches of Lake kainji, which went down from 28,639.6t in 1970 to 6.048t in 1974 (Ita 1982) prompted the promulgation of fisheries edict banning beach seines and other obnoxious fishing gear by Kebbi and Niger State governments in 1997 as a measure to prevent depletion of fisheries resources in the lake. Radio as a medium of communication was adopted as the method to disseminate information in the fisheries edict to the fisherfolks in order to bring about positive changes. Radio Niger, Koro station, was involved in the broadcast. Fisherfolk listened to the broadcast 32 times a week. Frame survey data and radio impact assessment studies were used to assess the effect of the broadcast on the number of beach seines and other obnoxious fishing gears on the lake which were banned in the fisheries edicts. It was revealed that the number of beach decreased drastically from 582 in 1997 to 122 in 1999 and to only 17 in 2001

Notes for guidance on preparation of research reports, research dissertations and scientific papers

The notes for guidance on preparation of research, research dissertations and scientific papers are meant to assist researchers on how to achieve a successful presentation, writing a technical report or research paper. This comprises some simple rules that have helped many inexperienced writers to get started, and have also helped more experienced writers to get out of a hopeless tangle of observations and inferences. (PDF contains 65 pages)

Die Herings-Polarstamm-Theorie 250 Jahre alt - und aktuelle Bezüge

250 years ago, in Hamburg a herring polar migration theory was published as part of the "Nachrichten von Island, Grönland und der Straße Davis" from the literary remains of the mayor Dr. Johann Anderson. Based on various sources and capable to answer to the herring questions of the time, this one-stock-migration theory became international hypothesis during the following tenth of years. It still is classified as remarkable because some actual ideas on herring migration were thought already 250 years ago. Abstract DE: In Hamburg wurde vor 250 Jahren eine Polarstamm-Theorie zur Heringswanderung als Teil der Nachrichten von Island, Grönland und der Strasse Davis aus dem Nachlass des Bürgermeisters Dr. Johann Anderson veröffentlicht. Aufbauend auf unterschiedliche Quellen und in der Lage, die damaligen Fragen um den Hering zu beantworten, wurde diese Ein-Stamm-Theorie zur heringswanderung über Jahrzehnte internationale Lehrmeinung. Sie wird auch heute noch als bemerkenswert eingestuft. Denn sie enthielt vor 250 Jahren schon Gedankengänge, die noch aktuell sind.

Time for a Sea Change: a Study of the Effectiveness of Biodiversity Conservation Measures and Marine Protected Areas Along Southern Thailand’s Andaman Sea Coastline

This study examines how Thailand’s biodiversity conservation measures affect fishing communities, especially in the marine protected areas (MPAs) on the Andaman Sea coastline. It documents the various efforts of the local fishing communities to protect the resources in the area. Also included are recommendations for government agencies, civil society and the international community. [PDF contains 94 pages]

"Global Change" und das Meer als Nahrungsquelle

The potential importance of marine produetion as a protein ressource for a growing human population can hardly be overestimated. Climatic changes in the marine environment may affect marine production in a significant way. Increasing levels of UV-B may decrease primary production and thus diminish the food base for harvestable marine ressources. Direct effects on early stages of fishes may occur. Temperature changes can lead to additional mortality in the early phase of life histories of fishes. In spite of the potentially negative scenario, actual effects of global change on the ressources have not been detected so far. The marine organisms dispose of a significant level of pre-adaptation to changes of environmental factors both on a seasonal and an interannual scale. Effects on marine life may therefore be less dramatic than those on terrestrial systems, which are more directly linked with the exponentially growing human population.

Fisch als Wirtschaftsobjekt

Redemanuskript eines Vortrages vor dem Wirtschaftsausschuß für Außenhandelsfragen des Bundesministeriums für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten am 26.4.95 in Bonn

125 Jahre Deutsche Fischereiforschung

In the year of its foundation, in 1870, the German Fisheries Association proposed that a commission should be formed for the strengthening of the German coastal and high sea fisheries by research. The resulting Prussian "Commission zur Erforschung der Deutschen Meere" Commission for Scientific Research on German Seas) in Kiel started its work on July 13th, 1870. With 125 years of organization and scientific continuity, the original institutions were transformed by internal and external influences into the Bundesforschungsanstalt für Fischerei and the Deutsche Wissenschaftliche Kommission für Meeresforschung (Federal Research Center for Fisheries; German Scientific Commission for Marine Research) of today. Their actual fisheries research is of special importance due to the background of increased fisheries activities against decreasing fish stocks.

Fischereitechnische Forschung für eine selektive, umweltverträgliche und energiesparende Fischerei

On 1st March 1995, the name of the former "Institut für Fangtechnik" ("Institute for Fishing Techniques") at the Federal Research Centre for Fisheries in Hamburg has been changed into "Institut für Fischereitechnik" ("Institute for Fishery Techniques"). The new conception and structure of this institute are described. Aims and possibilities of research in fishing techniques as a contribution for a selective, environment friendly and energy saving fishery are illustrated by examples in Baltic cod and eel fishery and also sea-bird bycatches, crangon fishery in the North Sea, and possible substitutions for technologies with high fuel consumption by energy saving technologies as longlining, gillnetting and anchored pound nets.

A bayesian probabilistic approach to structural health monitoring

A Bayesian probabilistic methodology for on-line structural health monitoring which addresses the issue of parameter uncertainty inherent in problem is presented. The method uses modal parameters for a limited number of modes identified from measurements taken at a restricted number of degrees of freedom of a structure as the measured structural data. The application presented uses a linear structural model whose stiffness matrix is parameterized to develop a class of possible models. Within the Bayesian framework, a joint probability density function (PDF) for the model stiffness parameters given the measured modal data is determined. Using this PDF, the marginal PDF of the stiffness parameter for each substructure given the data can be calculated.

Monitoring the health of a structure using these marginal PDFs involves two steps. First, the marginal PDF for each model parameter given modal data from the undamaged structure is found. The structure is then periodically monitored and updated marginal PDFs are determined. A measure of the difference between the calibrated and current marginal PDFs is used as a means to characterize the health of the structure. A procedure for interpreting the measure for use by an expert system in on-line monitoring is also introduced.

The probabilistic framework is developed in order to address the model parameter uncertainty issue inherent in the health monitoring problem. To illustrate this issue, consider a very simplified deterministic structural health monitoring method. In such an approach, the model parameters which minimize an error measure between the measured and model modal values would be used as the "best" model of the structure. Changes between the model parameters identified using modal data from the undamaged structure and subsequent modal data would be used to find the existence, location and degree of damage. Due to measurement noise, limited modal information, and model error, the "best" model parameters might vary from one modal dataset to the next without any damage present in the structure. Thus, difficulties would arise in separating normal variations in the identified model parameters based on limitations of the identification method and variations due to true change in the structure. The Bayesian framework described in this work provides a means to handle this parametric uncertainty.

The probabilistic health monitoring method is applied to simulated data and laboratory data. The results of these tests are presented.

Arbeitsgebiete Ichthyologie und Fischsammlung am Institut für Seefischerei werden Ende 1992 aufgegeben

On 31 Oecember 1992, the Institut für Seefischerei Hamburg (ISH) will dissolve its branch of systematic ichthyology at the Zoologieal Museum Hamburg University. Remaining ISH ichthyology staff and facilities will move back in January 1993 to Institut für Seefischerei headquarters in Palmaille 9, D-·2000 Hamburg 50 (Tel. 040·389050, Fax 040·38905 129). The research field systematic ichthyology will not be continued at ISH. The ISH fish collection will be handed over to the Zoological Museum of Hamburg University (ZMH) as future responsible holder from 1 January 1993 onward. Loan requests for former ISH material should be addressed from January 1993 on only to: Prof. Dr. H. Wilkens, Kustos Ichthyologie, Zoological Museum der Universität, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, D·2000 Hamburg 13 (Tel. 040·4123 3870, Fax 040·4123 3937). A couple of months will be needed before requests for loan of former ISH holdings can be handled again. It should, however, be noted that even for a longer period there may be problems in serving loan requests promptly due to logistic difficulties and shortage of staff at the ZMH ichthyology department.