1994 fisheries statistics, Lake Kariba - Zimbabwe shore

The report provides catch records for the Kapenta and inshore fisheries in the Zimbabwean waters of Lake Kariba for the year 1994. Kapenta usually constitute about 90% of the total catch from Lake Kariba; for statistical purposes catches are recorded for the 5 hydrological basins - Mlibizi, Binga, Sengwa, Bumi and Kariba. Whereas kapenta represent a unit stock which is harvested by both Zimbabwe and Zambia, the artisanal fishery exploits inshore species which generally occupy water less than 10m deep along the shoreline, considered to be 2 separate stocks. The main species in the inshore fishery are Oreochromis mortimeri, Sargochromis codringtonii, Tilapia rendalli, Labeo altivelis, Hydrocynus vittatus, Mormyrus longirostris, Clarias gariepinus and Synodontis zambezensis.

1995 fisheries statistics, Lake Kariba - Zimbabwe shore

The report provides catch records for the Kapenta and inshore fisheries in the Zimbabwean waters of Lake Kariba for the year 1995. Kapenta usually constitute about 90% of the total catch from Lake Kariba; for statistical purposes catches are recorded for the 5 hydrological basins - Mlibizi, Binga, Sengwa, Bumi and Kariba. Whereas kapenta represent a unit stock which is harvested by both Zimbabwe and Zambia, the artisanal fishery exploits inshore species which generally occupy water less than 10m deep along the shoreline, considered to be 2 separate stocks. The main species in the inshore fishery are Oreochromis mortimeri, Sargochromis codringtonii, Tilapia rendalli, Labeo altivelis, Hydrocynus vittatus, Mormyrus longirostris, Clarias gariepinus and Synodontis zambezensis.

1996 fisheries statistics, Lake Kariba - Zimbabwe shore

The report provides catch records for the Kapenta and inshore fisheries in the Zimbabwean waters of Lake Kariba for the year 1996. Kapenta usually constitute about 90% of the total catch from Lake Kariba; for statistical purposes catches are recorded for the 5 hydrological basins - Mlibizi, Binga, Sengwa, Bumi and Kariba. Whereas kapenta represent a unit stock which is harvested by both Zimbabwe and Zambia, the artisanal fishery exploits inshore species which generally occupy water less than 10m deep along the shoreline, considered to be 2 separate stocks. The main species in the inshore fishery are Oreochromis mortimeri, Sargochromis codringtonii, Tilapia rendalli, Labeo altivelis, Hydrocynus vittatus, Mormyrus longirostris, Clarias gariepinus and Synodontis zambezensis.

1997 fisheries statistics, Lake Kariba - Zimbabwe shore

The report provides catch records for the kapenta (Limnothrissa miodon) and inshore fisheries in the Zimbabwean waters of Lake Kariba for the year 1997. Kapenta usually constitute about 94% of the total catch from Lake Kariba; for statistical purposes catches are recorded for the 5 hydrological basins - Mlibizi, Binga, Sengwa, Bumi and Kariba. The kapenta, which occupy the open pelagic waters of the lake, represent a unit stock which is harvested by both Zimbabwe and Zambia; the artisanal fishery exploits inshore species which generally occupy water less than 10m deep along the shoreline. The Zambian and Zimbabwean inshore fisheries may therefore be considered to be exploiting 2 separate stocks. The main species in the inshore fishery are Oreochromis mortimeri, Sargochromis codringtonii, Tilapia rendalli, Labeo altivelis, Hydrocynus vittatus, Mormyrus longirostris, M.anguilloides and Clarias gariepinus.

1998 fisheries statistics, Lake Kariba - Zimbabwe shore

The report contains data, statistics and information for both the pelagic and inshore fisheries of Lake Kariba for the year 1998. Time series data and notes for the 2 fisheries are included. The pelagic fishery exploits kapenta, the freshwater sardine Limnothrissa miodon, and is carried out all year round using light for attracting the fish. Two types of fishing vessel designs are in use (the pontoon-catamarans and the displacement monohulls) and the type of gear used is the lift net. The inshore fishery distinguishes the fishery that uses gillnets and exploits the indigenous Zambezi River fish species. This fishery is restricted to the lakeshore and uses 3 types of boats - the dugout canoe, fibreglass and metal boats.

The relationships between fish assemblages and the amount of bottom horizontal beam exposed at California oil platforms: fish habitat preferences at man-made platforms and (by inference) at natural reefs

Between 1995 and 2002, we surveyed fish assemblages at seven oil platforms off southern and central California using the manned research submersible Delta. At each platform, there is a large horizontal beam situated at or near the sea floor. In some instances, shells and sediment have buried this beam and in other instances it is partially or completely exposed. We found that fish species responded in various ways to the amount of exposure of the beam. A few species, such as blackeye goby (Rhinogobiops nicholsii), greenstriped rockfish (Sebastes elongatus), and pink seaperch (Zalembius rosaceus) tended to avoid the beam. However, many species that typically associate with natural rocky outcrops, such as bocaccio (S. paucispinis), cowcod (S. levis), copper (S. caurinus), greenblotched (S. rosenblatti), pinkrose (S. simulator) and vermilion (S. miniatus) rockfishes, were found most often where the beam was exposed. In particular, a group of species (e.g., bocaccio, cowcod, blue (Sebastes mystinus), and vermilion rockfishes) called here the “sheltering habitat” guild, lived primarily where the beam was exposed and formed a crevice. This work demonstrates that the presence of sheltering sites is important in determining the species composition of man-made reefs and, likely, natural reefs. This research also indicates that adding structures that form sheltering sites in and around decommissioned platforms will likely lead to higher densities of many species typical of hard and complex structure.

Do oil and gas platforms off California reduce recruitment of bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis) to natural habitat? An analysis based on trajectories derived from high-frequency radar

To investigate the possibility that oil and gas platforms may reduce recruitment of rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) to natural habitat, we simulated drift pathways termed “trajectories” in our model) from an existing oil platform to nearshore habitat using current measurements from high-frequency (HF) radars. The trajectories originated at Platform Irene, located west of Point Conception, California, during two recruiting seasons for bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis): May through August, 1999 and 2002. Given that pelagic juvenile bocaccio dwell near the surface, the trajectories estimate transport to habitat. We assumed that appropriate shallow water juvenile habitat exists inshore of the 50-m isobath. Results from 1999 indicated that 10% of the trajectories represent transport to habitat, whereas 76% represent transport across the offshore boundary. For 2002, 24% represent transport to habitat, and 69% represent transport across the offshore boundary. Remaining trajectories (14% and 7% for 1999 and 2002, respectively) exited the coverage area either northward or southward along isobaths. Deployments of actual drifters (with 1-m drogues) from a previous multiyear study provided measurements originating near Platform Irene from May through August. All but a few of the drifters moved offshore, as was also shown with the HF radar-derived trajectories. These results indicate that most juvenile bocaccio settling on the platform would otherwise have been transported offshore and perished in the absence of a platform. However, these results do not account for the swimming behavior of juvenile bocaccio, about which little is known.

Checklist of the shore fishes of the Mentawai Islands, Nias Island and the Padang Region of West Sumatra

This paper presents a checklist of reef fishes of West Sumatra and adjacent provinces. The list includes 362 species of 143 genera and 46 families and contains seven new records and nine probable new species for Indonesia. It also uses information from sources only available in Bahasa Indonesia. The relative paucity of the fish fauna in West Sumatra seems to be related to the habitat destruction caused by illegal fishing with explosives or poisons such as cyanide.

Forty Years of Winter: Cetaceans Observed During the Southbound Migration of Gray Whales, Eschrichtius robustus, Near Granite Canyon, Central California

From December to February in most years from 1967 to 2007, observers counted gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus, from shore sites south of Carmel in central California. In addition to gray whales, other cetacean species were also recorded. These observations were summarized and compared among survey platforms and to ocean conditions. Eleven cetacean species were identified including eight odontocete species (killer whale, Orcinus orca; Pacific white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens; common dolphin, Delphinus spp.; bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, northern right whale dolphin, Lissodelphis borealis; Risso’s dolphin, Grampus griseus; Dall’s porpoise, Phocoenoides dalli; and harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena) and three mysticete species (humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae; minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata; and blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus). As expected, the detection of certain species among survey platforms (shore-based census watches, 25-power “Big Eye” binocular watches, and aerial surveys) was limited by species surfacing behavior and/or bathymetric preference. Comparisons among the shore-based census efforts showed a significant difference in sightings rates from 1967–84 (n = 14, mean = 0.11, SD = 0.11) to 1985–2007 (n = 11, mean = 1.48, SD = 0.47; t-Test: p < 0.001, df = 23). The warm period observed during the 1990’s may partially explain the increase in sighting rates and diversity of species observed at the census site compared to the much cooler temperatures of the 1970’s.

Commercial Whaling, Especially for Gray Whales, Eschrichtius robustus, and Humpback Whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, at California and Baja California Shore Stations in the 19th Century (1854–1899)

Shore whaling along North America’s California and Baja California coasts during 1854–99 was ancillary to the offshore and alongshore American whale fishery, which had begun in the North Pacific in the early 1800’s and was flourishing by the 1840’s. From its inception at Monterey, Calif., in the mid 1850’s, the shore fishery, involving open boats deployed from land to catch and tow whales for processing, eventually spread from Monterey south to San Diego and Baja California and north to Crescent City near the California–Oregon border. It had declined to a relict industry by the 1880’s, although sporadic efforts continued into the early 20th century. The main target species were gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus, and humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, with the valuable North Pacific right whale, Eubalaena japonica, also pursued opportunistically. Catch data are grossly incomplete for most stations; no logbooks were kept for these operations as they were for high-seas whaling voyages. Even when good information is available on catch levels, usually as number of whales landed or quantity of oil produced, it is rarely broken down by species. Therefore, we devised methods for extrapolation, interpolation, pro rationing, correction, and informed judgment to produce time series of catches. The resulting estimates of landings from 1854 to 1899 are 3,150 (SE = 112) gray whales and 1,637 (SE = 62) humpback whales. The numbers landed should be multiplied by 1.2 to account for hunting loss (i.e. whales harpooned or shot but not recovered and processed).

Travel Characteristics of Marine Anglers Using Oil and Gas Platforms in the Central Gulf of Mexico

This study was designed to evaluate the travel characteristics of avid marine anglers off Louisiana in the Central Gulf of Mexico. It focuses on the complex marine travel patterns involving the extensive assemblage of oil and gas structures. In an intercept approach, marine recreationalf isherman were asked to identify near and offshore travel patterns on the day of the interview. Information was also solicited regarding how respondents selected and located fishing destinations as well as what method of fishing was undertaken that day. Petroleum platforms were a principal fishing destination, and platform anglers traveled an average distance of 75.5 km (40.7 n.mi.) to and from offshore fishing locations. In fishing an average of 6.5 platforms per trip, these anglers traveled about 21.3 km (11.5 n.mi.) between the first and last platform visited. Mean total distances for platform anglers were 96 km (51.8 n.mi). Travel distances for bay, nearshore, and bluewater anglers were also obtained.