A Brief Interpretation of Summer Flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, Movements and Stock Structure with New Tagging Data on Juveniles

Summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, are managed as a single stock along the Atlantic coast from the U.S.– Canada border to the southern border of North Carolina. Justification of the single-stock approach is based on lack of genetic evidence for multiple stocks and the difficulty presented by managing the species from Cape Hatteras to the U.S.–Canada border. In this review, we present an interpretation of various morphometric, meristic, biochemical, and tagging studies, published and unpublished, that indicate the presence of two, or possibly three, distinct stocks in the management area. In addition, we have included new data from a tagging study that was conducted on juveniles from Virginia that aids in defining the stock(s) north of Cape Hatteras. Summer flounder, overfished for the past two decades, is recovering, and reconsideration of proposed stock structure could have direct implications for management policy decisions.

Understanding the Market for Charter and Headboat Fishing Services

Published and unpublished research findings regarding charter and headboat fishing customers from 11 studies were reviewed to provide a marketing data base for operators and to guide further research efforts. Generally, charter/headboat fishing is a male-oriented activity. Customers were between 30 and 55 years of age. Although both groups of anglers considered themselves to be experienced, charterboat anglers had fished for more years. Charter anglers fished more often with their families and headboat anglers more often with their friends. Charterboat anglers reported higher incomes than headboat anglers. Relaxation, having fun, and escaping from daily pressures were generally more important to both groups of anglers than motives relative to catching fish. Most anglers indicated that the skills and performance of the captain and crew contributed heavily to the overall evaluation of their fishing experience. Anglers were more heavily influenced to choose a particular captain or boat by informal advertising methods (i.e., word-of-mouth recommendations, reputation, and visits to the marina) than formal methods (i.e., advertisements, brochures, radio, and television). Charter anglers relied more on word-of-mouth recommendations and headboat customers were more influenced by previous experiences. Implications for further research are discussed.

Uso de web services e softwares livres na disseminação de informações georreferenciadas sobre produtos da floresta amazônica.

Georreferenced information has been increasingly required for the planning and decision-making in different sectors of society. New ways of dissemination of data, such as the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) web services, have contributed to the ease of access to this information. Even with all the technological advances in the area of data distribution, there is still low availability of georreferenced data about the Amazon. The goal of the present work is the development of a spatial data infrastructure (SDI), that is, an environment of sharing and use of georreferenced data based on the technology of web services, metadata and interfaces that allow the user easy access to these data. The present work discussess the OGC patterns, the most relevant georeferrenced data servers, the main web clients, and the revolution in the dissemination of georeferrenced data which geobrowsers and web clients offered to regular users. Data to be released for the case study come from the project Exploitation of Non-wooden Forest Products-PFNM-in progress at the National Institute of Research in the Amazon-INPA-as well as from inventories of NGOs and other government bodies. Besides contributing to the enhancement of PFNM, this project aims at encouraging the use of GIS in the state of Amazonas offering tech support for the deployment of geographic databases and sharing between agencies, optimizing the resources applied in this area through the use of free software and integration of diffuse information currently available.