Preliminary results from the Caribbean Acoustic Tracking Network (CATn): a data sharing partnership for acoustic tracking and movement ecology of marine animals in the Caribbean Sea

We have recently exchanged and integrated into a single database tag detections for conch, teleost and elasmobranch fish from four separately maintained arrays in the U.S. Virgin Islands including the NMFS queen conch array (St. John nearshore), NOAA’s Biogeography Branch array (St. John nearshore & midshelf reef); UVI shelf edge arrays (Marine Conservation District, Grammanik & other shelf edge); NOAA NMFS Apex Predator array COASTSPAN (St. John nearshore). The integrated database has over 7.5 million hits. Data is shared only with consent of partners and full acknowledgements. Thus, the summary of integrated data here uses data from NOAA and UVI arrays under a cooperative agreement. The benefits of combining and sharing data have included increasing the total area of detection resulting in an understanding of broader scale connectivity than would have been possible with a single array. Partnering has also been cost-effectiveness through sharing of field work, staff time and equipment and exchanges of knowledge and experience across the network. Use of multiple arrays has also helped in optimizing the design of arrays when additional receivers are deployed. The combined arrays have made the USVI network one of the most extensive acoustic arrays in the world with a total of 150+ receivers available, although not necessarily all deployed at all times. Currently, two UVI graduate student projects are using acoustic array data.

Opportunistic feeding of longhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus): Are scallop fishery discards an important food subsidy for scavengers on Georges Bank?

There has been much recent interest in the effects of fishing on habitat and non-target species, as well as in protecting certain areas of the seabed from these effects (e.g. Jennings and Kaiser, 1998; Benaka, 1999; Langton and Auster, 1999; Kaiser and de Groot, 2000). As part of an effort to determine the effectiveness of marine closed areas in promoting recovery of commercial species (e.g. haddock, Melanogrammus aegelfinus; sea scallops, Placopecten magellanicus; yellowtail flounder, Limanda ferruginea; cod, Gadus morhua), nontarget species, and habitat, a multidisciplinary research cruise was conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service. The cruise was conducted in closed area II (CA-II) of the eastern portion of Georges Bank during 19–29 June 2000 (Fig. 1). The area has historically produced high landings of scallops but was closed in 1994 principally for groundfish recovery (Fogarty and Murawski, 1998). The southern portion of the area was reopened to scallop fishing from 15 June to 12 November 1999, and again from 15 June to 15 August 2000. While conducting our planned sampling, we observed scallop viscera (the noncalcareous remains from scallops that have been shucked by commercial fishermen at sea) in the stomachs of several fish species at some of these locations, namely little skate (Raja erinacea), winter skate (R. ocellata), red hake (Urophycis chuss), and longhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus). We examined the stomach contents of a known scavenger, the longhorn sculpin, to evaluate and document the extent of this phenomenon.

A supply network configuration perspective on international supply chain development

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of configuration on supply network capability. It was believed that a configuration perspective might provide new insights on the capability and performance of supply networks, a gap in the literature, and provide a basis for the development of tools to aid their analysis and design. Design/methodology/ approach - The methodology involved the development of a configuration definition and mapping approach extending established strategic and firm level constructs to the network operational level. The resulting tools were tested and refined in a series of case studies across a range of sectors and value chain models. Supply network capability assessments, from the perspective of the focal firm, were then compared with their configuration profiles. Findings - The configuration mapping tools were found to give new insights into the structure of supply networks and allow comparisons to be made across sectors and business models through the use of consistent and quantitative methods and common presentation. They provide the foundations for linking configuration to capability and performance, and contribute to supply network design and development by highlighting the intrinsic capabilities associated with different configurations. Research limitations/implications - Although multiple case networks have been investigated, the configuration exemplars remain suggestive models. The research suggests that a re-evaluation of operational process excellence models is needed, where the link between process maturity and performance may require a configuration context. Practical implications - Advantages of particular configurations have been identified with implications for supply network development and industrial policy. Originality/value - The paper seeks to develop established strategic management configuration concepts to the analysis and design of supply networks by providing a robust operational definition of supply network configuration and novel tools for their mapping and assessment. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.