Small-scale fisheries reform: Expectations,hopes and dreams of “a better life for all”

This article follows the transformation process in the fishing industry with specific reference to the emergence of a limited commercial sector. In the policy domain, this sector was accommodated through a “one size fits all approach” to access rights, requiring it to compete with the large-scale commercial sector for the same resources. The strategies and actions of successful and unsuccessful applicants in four fishing communities in South Africa are examined. The paper identifies the key challenges facing the limited commercial sector as being the lack of skills to complete the application process, start up capital or credit, organisation and financial and business acumen. It highlights the disjuncture between the Marine Living Resources Act's stated aims of sustainability, equity and stability and the realities of implementation at a grassroots level.     

An evaluation of temperature scales for silica diagenesis in diatomaceous sequences including a new approach based on the Miocene Monterey Formation,California

Geologic relations indicate that silica phases transformed in the Monterey Formation in two zones that persist over a narrow depth/temperature range and do not stratigraphically overlap. The wide and overlapping range of reported temperatures of these transformations is mainly a result of the many uncertainties inherent in the different methods used to estimate temperature and does not indicate that phases transform throughout these ranges. Our approach to a reliable temperature scale for silica diagenesis combines as empirical zonation of silica phases with temperature calibration from a sequence at maximum temperature and depth of burial.     

Abundance versus rates of accumulation in fine-grained strata of the Miocene Santa Barbara Basin,California

Although best known as a deposit rich in silica and organic matter, the Miocene Monterey Formation actually had long-term rates of silica and organic Matter accumulation equal to or lower than values in the underlying and overlying detritus-rich formations in the Santa Barbara coastal area. The factor Mainly influencing the composition of the Monterey Formation in this area was the slow accumulation of terrigenous debris. In contrast, with greater than average silica abundance within the Monterey Formation probably resulted from rapid short-term silica accumulation (of hundreds to tens of thousands years duration) rather than from especially slow accumulation of diluting debris.     

Utilization of the energy in ocean waves

The characteristics of ocean wind waves place certain constraints upon devices designed to convert their energy to a useful form. Here we consider the nature of these constraints and the theoretical analysis of a wave power generator that conforms to the design criteria. We also present the results of field tests with several models of the wave power generator. The experimental results support the theory and indicate that such a wave pump is suitable for power generation in a variety of circumstances.     

Transdisciplinary co-operation for an ecosystem approach to fisheries: A case study from the South African sardine fishery

Integrative approaches that involve natural and social scientists are needed to manage fisheries, but these are difficult to achieve. The process of developing a prototype, knowledge-based, electronic decision support tool for the South African sardine Sardinops sagax fishery provided a platform for fostering collaboration and achieving active participation of many stakeholders. The aim of the decision support tool is to assist managers in evaluating how effectively an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) has been implemented for this fishery. The collaborative process involved a series of meetings during which knowledge was elicited from fisheries scientists, social scientists, resource managers and fishing industry representatives. Conceptualisations of the different stakeholder perspectives were developed in terms of objectives and indicators following the hierarchical tree approach recommended by FAO. This paper describes the collaborative process. Hierarchies of objectives, indicators and data sets for the human dimension of an EAF in the South African sardine fishery are introduced. The value of a transdisciplinary approach towards an EAF in South Africa is discussed.     

Integration of modulated normal functions

Evaluation of the Modulated Normal Function (MNF) has heretofore been by numerical integration. Two much more efficient methods of evaluation, one by a continued fraction and the other by a series, are described and illustrated with numerical procedures accessible to desk calculators.     

Spatial patterns of ice storm disturbance on a forested landscape in the Appalachian Mountains, Virginia

Ice storms (major freezing rain events) periodically disturb forests in eastern North America. The damage may vary spatially, especially in complex terrain. This study uses satellite imagery to investigate spatial heterogeneity of forest damage caused by ice storms that affected the Appalachian Mountains, Virginia during 1994. The results display a region-scale (southwest-to-northeast) gradient in damage that apparently corresponds to a gradient in the depth of ice that accumulated during the storms. Damage also varied topographically, particularly by aspect. Damage was most extensive on east-, southeast- and south-facing slopes; at middle elevations; and on slopes of moderate steepness.     

An analytical electron microscopic study of a pyroxene-amphibole intergrowth

Samples of a garnet granulite from the mafic border units of the Lake Chatuge, Georgia alpine peridotite body were found to contain lamellar intergrowths of a pargastic amphibole in augite having the typical appearance of an exsolution feature. Single crystal X-ray diffraction, optical, electron microprobe and conventional and analytical electron microscopic studies have provided data limiting the compositions and structures of the coexisting phases. Individual lamellae of both materials are from 0.5 to 2.0 m in width with the lamellar interface parallel to {0 1 0}. The formulae of the minerals, as determined by a combination of electron microprobe and analytical electron microscopy, are (Na_0.1Ca_1.0Mg_0.6Fe³⁺ _0.3)(Si_1.8Al_0.2)O₆ for the pyroxene and Na_0.7Ca_1.9(Mg_2.1Fe²⁺ _1.4Fe³⁺ _0.5Ti_0.1Cr_0.1Al_0.8)(Si_5.9Al_2.1) O₂₂(OH)₂ for the amphibole. Several other studies have described intergrowths similar to those observed in this work, in general favoring exsolution as the formation mechanism for the intergrowths. In the Lake Chatuge samples however, replacement of pyroxene by amphibole is in part indicated by continuous gradation of amphibole lamellae into amphiboles rimming the clinopyroxenes.Contribution No. 368 from the Mineralogical Laboratory, Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan     

Impact of exploratory offshore drilling on benthic communities in the Minerva gas field, Port Campbell, Australia

Changes to benthic infauna caused by exploratory gas drilling operations in the Minerva field were examined experimentally using a BACI (before, after, control, impact) design. Analysis of 72 x 0.1 m2 Smith-McIntyre grab samples obtained from one pre-drilling and three post-drilling periods yielded a diverse fauna consisting of 196 invertebrate species and 5035 individuals. Changes to benthic community structure were assessed using ANOVA and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (MDS). The abundances of two common species (Apseudes sp. 1 and Prionospio coorilla) decreased significantly at the well-head site immediately after drilling. The size of these reductions in abundance ranged between 71% and 88%, and persisted for less than 4 months after drilling. A third common species (Katlysia sp. 1) increased in abundance 200 m east of the well-head following drilling. Most species occurred at densities too low to be analysed individually and so were pooled at higher taxonomic levels. Changes in the abundance of species aggregated by phylum varied, but significant declines in the most abundant phyla (Crustaceans and Polychaetes) of 45-73% were observed at all sites within a 100 m radius of the well-head following drilling. In most cases these changes became undetectable four months after drilling following species recruitments. MDS ordinations confirm that drilling related changes to benthic community structure are most pronounced at stations located closest to the well-head. Additionally, the ordinations indicate that modified communities persist at the well-head for more than 11 months following exploratory drilling.