Modeling a habitat suitability index for the eastern fall cohort of Ommastrephes bartramii in the central North Pacific Ocean

The eastern fall cohort of the neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii, has been commercially exploited by the Chinese squid jigging fleet in the central North Pacific Ocean since the late 1990s. To understand and identify their optimal habitat, we have developed a habitat suitability index (HSI) model using two potential important environmental variables - sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) - and fishery data from the main fishing ground (165°-180°E) during June and July of 1999-2003. A geometric mean model (GMM), minimum model (MM) and arithmetic weighted model (AWM) with different weights were compared and the best HSI model was selected using Akaike’s information criterion (AIC). The performance of the developed HSI model was evaluated using fishery data for 2004. This study suggests that the highest catch per unit effort (CPUE) and fishing effort are closely related to SST and SSHA. The best SST- and SSHA-based suitability index (SI) regression models were SISST-based = 0.7SIeffort-SST + 0.3 SICPUE-SST, and SISSHA-based = 0.5SIeffort-SSHA + 0.5SICPUE-SSHA, respectively, showing that fishing effort is more important than CPUE in the estimation of SI. The best HSI model was the AWM, defined as HSI=0.3SISST-based+ 0.7SISSHA-based, indicating that SSHA is more important than SST in estimating the HSI of squid. In 2004, monthly HSI values greater than 0.6 coincided with the distribution of productive fishing ground and high CPUE in June and July, suggesting that the models perform well. The proposed model provides an important tool in our efforts to develop forecasting capacity of squid spatial dynamics.     

水温变动对2009年西北太平洋柔鱼产量下降的影响

分布在西北太平洋的柔鱼是我国远洋鱿钓渔业的重要捕捞对象,近些年来其产量一直处在稳定的水平。然而,2009年8～10月旺汛期间在传统作业渔场(150°E～165°E、38°E～46°E)柔鱼产量出现大幅度下降,其日产量仅为正常年份的一半。为此,根据2007～2009年8～10月我国在西北太平洋鱿钓生产数据,以及产卵场表层水温,探讨2009年柔鱼产量下降及渔场变动的原因。研究表明,其产量出现下降的原因可能有2个:(1)柔鱼产卵场(20°N～30°N,130°E～170°E)黑潮大弯曲的发生,使得21℃等温线向南偏移,使得柔鱼资源补充量受到影响,从而使得渔汛期间柔鱼产量的下降;(2)旺汛期间(8～9月)传统作业渔场(42°N～46°N,150°E～165°E)的100m水层有一个明显冷水南下,分布位置为154°E～156°E,将传统作业渔场(150E～165°E)一分为二,向南的前锋(水温低于5℃)到达42°N,明显不同于正常年份,使得作业渔场的范围明显缩小,不适合柔鱼的集群,导致产量出现大幅下降。     

Age,growth,and mortality rate of the yellow goosefish Lophius litulon(Jordan,1902) in the Yellow Sea

With the decline in the most fisheries resources in the Yellow Sea,the yellow goosefish Lophius litulon has increased in commercial and ecological importance in recent years.We studied the length distribution,length-weight relationship,age composition,growth pattern,mortality,and exploitation rates of the yellow goosefish in the Yellow Sea.Total length(TL) of females and males ranged from 173 to582 mm and 178 to 500 mm,respectively.The length-weight relationships were also estimated for females and males.Age classes from 2 to 4 years predominated in the samples.The von Bertalanffy growth function(VB GF),estimated based on non-linear least-squares methodology,showed significant differences between sexes.Females attained a greater estimated asymptotic total length(765 mm TL) compared to males(579 mm TL).The VBGF did not differ significantly between stocks of the northern Yellow Sea and the southern Yellow Sea.Estimated natural instantaneous mortality rate(M) ranged from 0.25/a to 0.33/abased on four age-and length-based methods.Total instantaneous mortality rate(Z) of total samples calculated by the age-based catch curve method was 0.591/a and the average fishing mortality(F) was 0.30/a.Estimated exploitation rate(E) was approximately 0.5,indicating that the population of L.litulon in the Yellow Sea may be sustainable.These results provide a reference for the present status of L.litulon and information for the management.     

智利外海茎柔鱼耳石生长特性的性别差异研究

根据2007年1~6月和2008年1~5月我国鱿钓船在智利外海调查期间采集的茎柔鱼耳石样本,测量了503枚耳石外部形态参数(雌性348枚,雄性155枚),结合耳石日轮,对耳石生长特性的性别差异进行了研究.结果表明,耳石总长(TSL)、耳石半径(SR)、吻侧区长(RLL)、翼长(WL)及最大宽度(MW)可作为茎柔鱼耳石形态的表征参数.雌雄个体间耳石的生长在5个形态参数上均存在显著性差异,雌性个体 TSL 与日龄间关系最适为指数函数, SR 和 RLL 为幂函数, MW 和 WL 则为线性函数;雄性个体的 TSL、SR 和 RLL 与日龄间的关系最适为幂函数, MW 和 WL 为线性函数.雌性个体 TSL、SR、MW、RLL、WL 的相对生长率和SR、RLL 绝对生长率均随着日龄的增加而先增加后减小, TSL、MW 绝对生长率随着日龄的增加而增加,WL绝对生长率则随着日龄增加而呈现波动趋势;雄性个体 TSL、SR 相对生长率和 MW、RLL、WL 绝对生长率随着日龄增加先增加后减小,而 MW、RLL 和 WL 相对生长率和 TSL、SR 绝对生长率则随日龄增加呈现波动趋势.研究认为,茎柔鱼耳石生长存在性别差异,通常雌性生长较雄性快     

Population parameters and dynamic pool models of commercial fishes in the Beibu Gulf, northern South China Sea

Length-frequency data of eight commercial fish species in the Beibu Gulf (Golf of Tonkin), northern South China Sea, were collected during 2006-2007. Length-weight relationships and growth and mortality parameters were analyzed using FiSAT II software. Five species had isometric growth, two species had negative allometric growth, and one species had positive allometric growth. Overall, the exploitation rates of the eight species were lower in 2006-2007 than in 1997-1999: for four species (Saurida tumbil, Saurida undosquamis, Argyrosomus macrocephalus, and Nemipterus virgatus) it was lower in 2006-2007 than in 1997-1999, for two species (Parargyrops edita and Trichiurus haumela) it remained the same, and for the other two species (Trachurus japonicus and Decapterus maruadsi) it was higher in 2006-2007 than in 1997-1999. The exploitation rates might have declined because of the decline in fishing intensity caused by high crude oil prices. The optimum exploitation rate, estimated using Beverton-Holt dynamic pool models, indicated that although fishes in the Beibu Gulf could sustain high exploitation rates, the under-size fishes at first capture resulted in low yields. To increase the yield per recruitment, it is more effective to increase the size at first capture than to control fishing effort.     

Intrusions of Kuroshio and Shelf Waters on Northern Slope of South China Sea in Summer 2015

The northern slope region of the South China Sea(SCS) is a biological hot spot characterized by high primary productivity and biomasses transported by cross-shelf currents, which support the spawning and growth of commercially and ecologically important fish species. To understand the physical and biogeochemical processes that promote the high primary production of this region, we conducted a cruise from June 10 and July 2, 2015. In this study, we used fuzzy cluster analysis and optimum multiparameter analysis methods to analyze the hydrographic data collected during the cruise to determine the compositions of the upper 55-m water masses on the SCS northern slope and thereby elucidate the cross-slope transport of shelf water(SHW) and the intrusions of Kuroshio water(KW). We also analyzed the geostrophic currents derived from acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements and satellite data. The results reveal the surface waters on the northern slope of the SCS to be primarily composed of waters originating from South China Sea water(SCSW), KW, and SHW. The SCSW dominated a majority of the study region at percentages ranging between 60% and 100%. We found a strong cross-slope current with speeds greater than 50 cms~(-1) to have carried SHW into and through the surveyed slope area, and KW to have intruded onto the slope via mesoscale eddies, thereby dominating the southwestern section of the study area.     

A qualitative appraisal of China’s efforts in fishing capacity management

This paper provides a critical review of some major efforts made by China to manage the fishing capacity of its marine capture fisheries. It begins by reviewing the key concepts and issues closely related to fishing capacity management. Following on this, a brief introduction to China’s marine capture fisheries is offered, especially the trends of its marine landings and marine fishing fleets and the status of fish stocks in waters under its jurisdiction. Next comes the main concern of the paper, i.e., some major actions recently initiated by China to deal with the overcapacity problem confronting it. The paper ends with conclusions and suggestions.     

The study on fishing ground of neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartrami, and ocean environment based on remote sensing data in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The relationships between the neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartrami, and the relative ocean environmental factors are analyzed. The environmental factors collected are sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll concentration (Chl-a) and sea surface height (SSH) from NASA, as well as the yields of neon flying squid in the North Pacific Ocean. The results show that the favorable temperature for neon flying squid living is 10℃-22℃ and the favorite temperature is between 15℃-17℃. The Chl-a concentration is 0.1-0.6 mg/m3. When Chl-a concentration changes to 0.12-0.14 mg/m3, the probability of forming fishing ground becomes very high. In most fishing grounds,the SSH is higher than the mean SSH. The generalized additive model (GAM) was applied to analyze the correlations between neon flying squid and ocean environmental factors. Every year, squids migrate northward from June to August and return southward during October-November, and the characteristics of the both migrations are very different. When squids migrate to the north, most relationships between the yields and SST are positive. The relationships are negative when squids move to southward. The relationships between the yields and Chl-a concentrations are negative from June to October, and insignificant in November. There is no obvious correlation between the catches of squid and longitude, but good with latitude.     

Importance of weighting for multi-variable habitat suitability index model: A case study of winter-spring cohort of Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean

Weighting values for different habitat variables used in multi-factor habitat suitability index (HSI) modeling reflect the relative influences of different variables on distribution of fish species. Using the winter-spring cohort of neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean as an example, we evaluated the impact of different weighting schemes on the HSI models based on sea surface temperature, gradient of sea surface temperature and sea surface height. We compared differences in predicted fishing effort and HSI values resulting from different weighting. The weighting for different habitat variables could greatly influence HSI modeling and should be carefully done based on their relative importance in influencing the resource spatial distribution. Weighting in a multi-factor HSI model should be further studied and optimization methods should be developed to improve forecasting squid spatial distributions.     

中国淡水和近海鱼类的生态对策研究

通过渐近体长（Ｌ∞），渐近体重（Ｗ∞）、生长系数（Ｋ）、初次性成熟年龄（Ｔｍ）、最大年龄（Ｔｍａｘ）、瞬时自然死亡率（Ｍ）和种群繁殖力（ＰＦ）等七个生态学参数的比较，研究１９种淡水鱼类和１５种近海鱼类的生态对策。根据ｒ—选择和ｋ—选择的典型特征以及各参数间相互关系的显著性，３种鲟鱼类属ｋ—选择；牙鲆等５种近海鱼类偏向ｋ—选择；青鱼、勒氏笛鲷等９种鱼类偏向ｒ—选择；鲤、黄鲫等１７种鱼类为ｒ—选择。对ｒ－ｋ选择的资源特征及其对捕捞的反应做了分析，只有合理控制捕捞强度和起捕年龄，才能保护资源，获得较好的经济效益。     

Relationship between trawl selectivity and fish body size in a simulated population

Trawl is a main fishing gear in Chinese fishery,capturing large fish and letting small ones at large.However,long-term use of trawl would result in changes of phenotypic traits of the fish stocks,such as smaller size-at-age and earlier age-at-maturation.In this study,we simulated a fish population with size characteristics of trawl fishing and the population produces one generation of offspring and lives for one year,used trawl to exploit the simulated fish population,and captured individuals by body size.We evaluated the impact of the changes on selectivity parameters,such as selective range and the length at 50% retention.Under fishing pressure,we specified the selectivity parameters,and determined that smaller selection rates and greater length at 50% retention were associated with an increased tendency towards miniaturization.     

基于频度统计和神经网络的北太平洋柔鱼渔场预报模型比较

利用2004~2010年北太平洋鱿钓船队生产数据和海洋环境数据,以海表温度(SST)1℃、海面高度(SSH)为1 cm、叶绿素a浓度(CHL-a)为0.1 mg/m3的间距,分析作业产量、CPUE与SST、SSH、CHL-a的关系,得到柔鱼渔场适宜环境因子范围,并将生产数据和环境数据匹配组成样本集,建立北太平洋柔鱼空间分布BP神经网络模型;利用2011年环境数据预报柔鱼渔场,并与2011年实际生产数据进行对比。结果表明,6~10月各月实际作业位置落入基于频度统计方法预报渔场的概率达90%以上;而BP模型预报的平均精度为79.2%,最低精度为52.5%。基于多环境因子的频度统计柔鱼渔场预报模型优于神经网络模型。     

The study on fishing ground of neon flying squid,Ommastrephes bartrami,and ocean environment based on remote sensing data in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The relationships between the neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartrami, and the relative ocean environmental factors are analyzed. The environmental factors collected are sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll concentration (Chl-a) and sea surface height (SSH) from NASA, as well as the yields of neon flying squid in the North Pacific Ocean. The results show that the favorable temperature for neon flying squid living is 10°C–22°C and the favorite temperature is between 15°C–17°C. The Chl-a concentration is 0.1–0.6 mg/m³. When Chl-a concentration changes to 0.12–0.14 mg/m3, the probability of forming fishing ground becomes very high. In most fishing grounds, the SSH is higher than the mean SSH. The generalized additive model (GAM) was applied to analyze the correlations between neon flying squid and ocean environmental factors. Every year, squids migrate northward from June to August and return southward during October–November, and the characteristics of the both migrations are very different. When squids migrate to the north, most relationships between the yields and SST are positive. The relationships are negative when squids move to southward. The relationships between the yields and Chl-a concentrations are negative from June to October, and insignificant in November. There is no obvious correlation between the catches of squid and longitude, but good with latitude. Supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program, No. 2003AA607030); National Key Technology Research and Development Program (No. 2006BAD09A05)     

Detection of spatial hot spots and variation for the neon flying squid Ommastrephes bartramii resources in the northwest Pacific Ocean

With the increasing effects of global climate change and fishing activities,the spatial distribution of the neon flying squid(Ommastrephes bartramii) is changing in the traditional fishing ground of 150°-160°E and 38°-45°N in the northwest Pacific Ocean.This research aims to identify the spatial hot and cold spots(i.e.spatial clusters) of O.bartramii to reveal its spatial structure using commercial fishery data from2007 to 2010 collected by Chinese mainland squid-j igging fleets.A relatively strongly-clustered distribution for O.bartramii was observed using an exploratory spatial data analysis(ESDA) method.The results show two hot spots and one cold spot in 2007 while only one hot and one cold spots were identified each year from2008 to 2010.The hot and cold spots in 2007 occupied 8.2%and 5.6%of the study area,respectively;these percentages for hot and cold spot areas were 5.8%and 3.1%in 2008,10.2%and 2.9%in 2009,and 16.4%and 11.9%in 2010,respectively.Nearly half(45%) of the squid from 2007 to 2009 reported by Chinese fleets were caught in hot spot areas while this percentage reached its peak at 68.8%in 2010,indicating that the hot spot areas are central fishing grounds.A further change analysis shows the area centered at156°E/43.5°N was persistent as a hot spot over the whole period from 2007 to 2010.Furthermore,the hot spots were mainly identified in areas with sea surface temperature(SST) in the range of 15-20℃ around warm Kuroshio Currents as well as with the chlorophyll-a(chl-a) concentration above 0.3 mg/m~3.The outcome of this research improves our understanding of spatiotemporal hotspots and its variation for O.bartramii and is useful for sustainable exploitation,assessment,and management of this squid.     

The impact of spatial autocorrelation on CPUE standardization between two different fisheries

Catch per unit of eff ort(CPUE) data can display spatial autocorrelation. However, most of the CPUE standardization methods developed so far assumes independency of observations for the dependent variable, which is often invalid. In this study, we collected data of two fisheries, squid jigging fishery and mackerel trawl fishery. We used standard generalized linear model(GLM) and spatial GLMs to compare the impact of spatial autocorrelation on CPUE standardization for different fisheries. We found that spatialGLMs perform better than standard-GLM for both fisheries. The overestimation of precision of CPUE estimates was observed in both fisheries. Moran's I was used to quantify the level of autocorrelation for the two fisheries. The results show that autocorrelation in mackerel trawl fishery was much stronger than that in squid jigging fishery. According to the results of this paper, we highly recommend to account for spatial autocorrelation when using GLM to standardize CPUE data derived from commercial fisheries.     

Impacts of distorted fishery statistical data on assessments of three surplus production models

We evaluated the effect of various error sources in fishery harvest/effort data on the maximum sustainable yield(MSY) and corresponding fishing effort(EMSY) using Monte Carlo simulation analyses.A high coefficient of variation(CV) of the catch and effort values biased the estimates of MSY and EMSY.Thus,the state of the fisheries resource and its exploitation was overestimated.We compared the effect using three surplus production models,Hilborn-Waters(H-W),Schnute,and Prager models.The estimates generated us...     

A comparative study of spatially clustered distribution of jumbo flying squid (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Dosidicus gigas</Emphasis>) offshore Peru

We examined spatially clustered distribution of jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas) in the offshore waters of Peru bounded by 78°–86°W and 8°–20°S under 0.5°×0.5° fishing grid. The study is based on the catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) and fishing effort from Chinese mainland squid jigging fleet in 2003–2004 and 2006–2013. The data for all years as well as the eight years (excluding El Niño events) were studied to examine the effect of climate variation on the spatial distribution of D. gigas. Five spatial clusters reflecting the spatial distribution were computed using K-means and Getis-Ord Gi* for a detailed comparative study. Our results showed that clusters identified by the two methods were quite different in terms of their spatial patterns, and K-means was not as accurate as Getis-Ord Gi*, as inferred from the agreement degree and receiver operating characteristic. There were more areas of hot and cold spots in years without the impact of El Niño, suggesting that such large-scale climate variations could reduce the clustering level of D. gigas. The catches also showed that warm El Niño conditions and high water temperature were less favorable for D. gigas offshore Peru. The results suggested that the use of K-means is preferable if the aim is to discover the spatial distribution of each sub-region (cluster) of the study area, while Getis-Ord Gi* is preferable if the aim is to identify statistically significant hot spots that may indicate the central fishing ground.     

Estimation of Natural Mortality Coefficient from Fish Abundance and Catch Data Using Virtual Population Analysis(VPA)

1 Introduction Natural mortality coefficient (M) is one of the key population parameters common to most analyses in fish stock assessment. Many mathematical models of fish stock dynamics include M directly or indirectly. However, until now M is the least known among the four factors affecting fish stock variation: recruitment, growth, natural death and fishing death (Quinn and Deriso, 1999). There is an extensive literature concerning the impact of errors in M on stock assessment (Mertz and…     

Effects of Trawl Selectivity and Genetic Parameters on Fish Body Length Under Long-Term Trawling

Long-term fishing pressure affects the biological characteristics of exploited fish stocks. The biological characteristics of hairtail(Trichiurus lepturus) in the East China Sea are unable to recover because of long-term trawling. Fishing induces evolutionary effects on the fish's biological characteristics. Evidence of these changes includes small size at age, a shift to earlier age structure, and early maturation. Natural and artificial selection usually affect the fish's life history. Selection can induce different chances of reproduction, and individual fish can give a different genetic contribution to the next generation. In this study, analysis of time-dependent probability of significance and test of sensitivity were used to explore the effects of fish exploitation rate, mesh size, and heritability with long-term trawling. Results showed that fishing parameters were important drivers to exploited fish population. However, genetic traits altered by fishing were slow, and the changes in biological characteristics were weaker than those caused by fishing selection. Exploitation rate and mesh size exhibited similar evolutionary trend tendency under long-term fishing. The time-dependent probability of significance trend showed a gradual growth and tended to be stable. Therefore, the direction of fishing-induced evolution and successful management of fish species require considerable attention to contribute to sustainable fisheries in China.     

Interannual to decadal variation of spring sea level anomaly in the western South China Sea

Satellite observations of sea level anomalies(SLA) from January 1993 to December 2012 are used to investigate the interannual to decadal changes of the boreal spring high SLA in the western South China Sea(SCS) using the Empirical Orthogonal Function(EOF) method. We find that the SLA variability has two dominant modes. The Sea Level Changing Mode(SLCM) occurs mainly during La Ni?a years, with high SLA extension from west of Luzon to the eastern coast of Vietnam along the central basin of the SCS, and is likely induced by the increment of the ocean heat content. The Anticyclonic Eddy Mode(AEM) occurs mainly during El Ni?o years and appears to be triggered by the negative wind curl anomalies within the central SCS. In addition, the spring high SLA in the western SCS experienced a quasi-decadal change during 1993–2012; in other words, the AEM predominated during 1993–1998 and 2002–2005, while the La Ni?a-related SLCM prevailed during 1999–2001 and 2006–2012. Moreover, we suggest that the accelerated sea level rise in the SCS during 2005–2012 makes the SLCM the leading mode over the past two decades.