Changes in recreational shore anglers’ attitudes towards,and awareness of,linefish management along the KwaZulu-Natal coast,South Africa

Management of recreational fisheries cannot be based on biological and stock assessment data alone but needs to include appropriate social aspects (including knowledge, attitudes and behaviour) of anglers within the fishery. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate and complement existing recreational fisheries research, through the analysis of demographic and psychographic angler attributes collected from two independent, shore-based snapshot monitoring surveys conducted on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) coastline of South Africa, in 1994–1996 and 2009–2010. Results show significant changes between the two survey events in the demographics of anglers (including ethnic composition, age distribution, years of fishing experience and employment status) participating in the KZN shore-based linefishery. Traditional management regulations (minimum size limits, daily bag limits and closed seasons), though appearing to have support, have had limited effectiveness, based on the increased levels of admitted non-compliance and poor knowledge of regulations for target species. Anglers in both surveys believed that catches had declined over the years, with overfishing being the most common reason given. The results are discussed in the context of changing management practices in the KZN recreational shore-based linefishery. The implications of changes in fisheries management policies and responsibilities along the KZN coast are highlighted.     

Comments on ‘Prospects for the use of macroalgae for fuel in Ireland and UK: An overview of marine management issues’

Terrestrial crops for biofuel may make a negligible contribution to net greenhouse gas emissions [1], [2] and may cause other environmental impacts such as reducing freshwater resources and food security [3]. In light of these facts there is increasing interest in the production of marine biofuels [4], [5], and so the recent paper in Marine Policy by Roberts and Upham [6] reviewing the cultivation and harvest of UK and Irish seaweeds for biofuels is very pertinent and timely. However it contains a number of factual errors that need correcting and raises several issues, which need fuller clarification. These issues centre around three main themes: (1) a confusion between the occurrence and harvest of intertidal and subtidal species, (2) the relative suitability of seaweeds, and their source (wild harvest versus culture) as feedstock for biofuel generation and (3) an appreciation of the scale at which macroalgae would have to be produced to make any impact on biofuel targets.     

Unreported fishing, hungry people and political turmoil: the recipe for a food security crisis in Madagascar?

Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island, is one of the world's poorest developing countries, and its people depend heavily on marine resources for subsistence and income. Exports of these resources and foreign fishing access agreements are also important, at least from a large-scale economic perspective. In recent years, concerns have been voiced amongst local fishers and industry groups regarding the growth of the country's fishing effort. Despite these concerns, existing knowledge of the scale, composition and trends of Malagasy fisheries remains poor, and there is negligible information regarding unreported catches and illegal fishing in Madagascar's waters. Small-scale fisheries, which are often substantial in developing countries such as Madagascar, are often unreported or underestimated. Unfortunately, fisheries legislations, management plans and foreign fishing access agreements are often influenced by these incomplete data, leading to serious over-estimations of resource availability. This also appears to be the situation in Madagascar, where the reconstruction of total catches by all Malagasy fisheries sectors conducted here showed that total catches between 1950 and 2008 were twice the volume reported by national fisheries agencies. Most importantly, much of the subsistence sector is missing from official statistics, and signs of decline have already been observed in several stocks, suggesting that current levels of catches are likely to be exceeding sustainable yields. This has profound implications for the economic and ecological sustainability of fisheries, as well as food security in a country where people rely heavily on the ocean for their daily protein needs and livelihoods.     

Long‐term trends in the recreational lobster fishery of Florida,United States: Landings,effort, and implications for management

In Florida, United States, the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, supports an important commercial fishery and also perhaps the most intensive recreational fishery of any lobster species, with sales of recreational lobster fishing permits exceeding 100 000 annually. For the past decade, we have used mail surveys of recreational lobster license holders to estimate spatially explicit landings and fishing effort when recreational fishers are most active—during the state's “Special Two‐Day Sport Season”, which takes place just before the opening of the commercial season, and during the first month of the regular recreational season, which coincides with the commercial season. From 1993 through 2002, fishing effort during the Special Two‐Day Sport Season has ranged from 60 000 to 112 000 person‐days, and landings have ranged from c. 112 to 255t. Both fishing effort and landings have varied without trend. Fishing effort during the regular season over the same period has ranged from 261 000 to 514 000 person‐days, and landings have ranged from 434 to 825 t. Fishing effort has shown a marginally statistically significant decreasing trend, the result of a progressive decrease in effort since 1999. The largest proportion of both fishing effort and landings was concentrated along the south‐east coast. Despite the recent decrease in landings, the proportion of total landings made by the recreational fishery has increased. From 1993 through 1998, the fishery was responsible for c. 30% of commercial landings; by 2001, that percentage increased to nearly 40%. Such a shift in landings away from the commercial trap fishery toward the recreational fishery was recognised as a potential but unintended effect of the ongoing management plan of restricting effort in the commercial trap fishery. Our 2001 surveys revealed that recreational lobster fishers spent more on a person‐day basis than the general visitor to the Florida Keys did, but less than those visitors using the region's coral reefs. Consequently, managers must establish management strategies that allow the coexistence of this resource's user groups and also incorporate the social and environmental concerns of nonuser groups.     

Geomorphological,trophic and human influences on the bamboo coral Isidella elongata assemblages in the deep Mediterranean: To what extent does Isidella form habitat for fish and invertebrates?

We analyzed what are the best ecological conditions for megafauna associated with the bamboo coral Isidella elongata based on the geomorphological, physical and trophic information taken in 3 stations (St1, St2, St3) off the southern Catalonian coasts at 620 m depth in June 2011. Results were compared with assemblage compositions recorded in past cruises (May 1992, 1994) at the same 3 stations. St1 was in a fishing ground exploited since the 1940s over a relatively wide slope at ca. 22 km from the nearest canyon head; St2 and St3 were on a narrower slope closer to canyon heads and to the Ebro river mouth than St1. I. elongata had formed (to May 1994, at least) a dense coral forest at St2–St3 (to ca. 255 colonies/ha at St3), and some isolated colonies (to ca. 0.9 colonies/ha) were still collected in 2011. Fish and invertebrate communities significantly differed between St1 and St2/St3, with two macrourid fishes (Trachrhynchus trachyrhynchus and Nezumia aequalis) and two decapods (Plesionika martia and Plesionika acanthonotus) more abundant at St2/St3. The following ecological indicators imply better food conditions for megafauna at St2–St3 and for I. elongata itself: (i) greater density of zooplankton (copepods, euphausiids, and others) as potential prey for planktivores (including I. elongata); (ii) greater biomass and mean weight of epifaunal and infaunal deposit feeders; (iii) higher feeding intensity, F, at St3 for benthos feeders (Phycis blennoides, N. aequalis and Aristeus antennatus). Also, at St2–St3 we found higher near-bottom turbidity (indicating particle resuspension: food for suspension feeders) and finer and more reduced (E_h) sediments. The results let us suggest that corals and accompanying fauna preferently found optimal ecological conditions in the same habitat, while habitat-forming capacity by I. elongata seemed weak to generate these conditions. Coral forests may enhance detritus accumulations around them, improving habitat conditions for benthos feeders (e.g. macrourid fish). At St3 our side-scan sonar recorded three types of tracks produced by trawler doors, which match with three identified vessels occasionally operating in the area. After this low fishing activity off the Ebro Delta since the mid-1990s, almost all colonies of I. elongata has been removed. However, this impact has hardly altered fish and invertebrate composition without any significant loss of diversity, pointing also toward a rather low capacity of I. elongata facies in forming habitat for megafauna on muddy bottoms of the Mediterranean slope.     

Flood and coastal erosion risk management policy evolution in Northern Ireland: “Incremental or leapfrogging?”

Climate change poses a significant challenge for the future of Northern Ireland’s coast due to impacts that include, inter alia, mean sea level rise of between 13 cm and 74 cm by 2050. Whilst flooding is regarded as a major hazard in the United Kingdom (UK), to date Northern Ireland’s experiences of coastal flooding have been infrequent and less severe compared to those in England and Wales. Similarly, coastal erosion has historically been, and remains, only a minor concern in Northern Ireland. Partly as a result of this, Government administrative arrangements for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) in Northern Ireland operate in the absence of any statutory provision for coastal erosion, as well as without formal or strategic shoreline management planning and any integrated flood and coastal erosion risk management policy. This paper provides a commentary on Northern Ireland’s approach to FCERM, comparing this with its UK counterparts, highlighting both congruence and divergence in policy evolution and development. It is noted that the recent EU Floods Directive has been a significant catalyst and that the current institutional landscape for FCERM is in flux.     

A stratigraphic and tectonofacies framework of the “calcari aLucina” in the Apennine Chain,Italy

The Apennine Chain provides the first example of stratigraphic (time) and synsedimentary tectonic (space) distribution of the calcari aLucina Miocene equivalents of modern cold-vent carbonates. Chemosynthetic faunal assemblages and related carbonate deposits are found at different stratigraphic levels, with peaks during Langhian-Serravallian and late Tortonian-early Messinian times. A general increase in frequency and volume occurs with time. A genetic link between venting and the Messinian Evaporite event is difficult to demonstrate. However,Lucina limestones are limited to preevaporitic times, and their maximum abundance is reached just before the onset of the Messinian Evaporite accumulation.Lucina limestones occur in almost all tectofacies of the orogen, from backland to foreland.     

The pilot project “Patterns and processes of the ecosystems of the northern Mid-Atlantic”: aims,strategy and status

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the target of an emerging international ecosystem study under the Census of marine life programme. This pilot project shall gather new knowledge on biodiversity, distribution patterns, and ecological processes, and the overriding aim is “to describe and understand the patterns of distribution, abundance and trophic relationships of the organisms inhabiting the mid-oceanic North Atlantic, and identify and model ecological processes that cause variability in these patterns”. The project will focus on pelagic, benthopelagic and epibenthic macrofauna, and analyse distribution and abundance patterns in relation to the abiotic and biotic environment, as well as trophic relationships and life history strategies. Fish, crustaceans, cephalopods and gelatinous plankton and nekton have the highest priority in the study. A major challenge of the project is to overcome observation difficulties at large depths and in rugged terrain. A central aim is thus to utilise modern remote sensing technology (acoustics, optics) using advanced instrument carriers (e.g. towed vehicles, ROVs, AUVs, etc.). The project will be carried out as a multi-ship operation in 2003–2005, and the ongoing planning is a collaborative effort involving many nations around the North Atlantic. The project will work on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and in adjacent waters from the Azores to Iceland, both by surveying large areas by acoustics and mid-water trawling, and by focusing on three selected sub-areas for intensive sampling and observation by traditional and novel methods and technology. Overlapping with the field seasons, the period 2004–2008 will be an analytical phase, also including submission of data to OBIS.     

Mapping human interaction with the Bering Sea ecosystem: Comparing seasonal use areas,lifetime use areas,and “calorie-sheds”

Alaska Native coastal communities interact with the marine environment in many ways, especially through the harvest of fish, marine mammals, and seabirds. The spatial characteristics of this interaction are often depicted in terms of subsistence use areas: the places where harvests and associated travel occur. Another way to consider the interaction is to examine the areas where harvested species range during their lifecycle or annual migratory path. In this paper, we compare seasonal subsistence use areas, lifetime subsistence use areas, and “calorie-sheds,” or the area over which harvested species range. Each perspective offers useful information concerning not only the nature of human–environment interactions but also the scope for potential conflict with other human activity and the means by which such conflicts could be reduced, avoided, or otherwise addressed. Seasonal subsistence use areas can be used to manage short-term activities, such as seasonal vessel traffic during community re-supply. Lifetime subsistence use areas indicate the area required to allow hunters and fishers the flexibility to adjust to interannual variability and perhaps to adapt to a changing environment. Calorie-sheds indicate the areas about which a community may be concerned due to potential impacts on the species they harvest.     

“Living with our backs to the sea”: A critical analysis of marine and coastal governance in Guatemala

Guatemala's rich coastal and marine biodiversity provides essential ecosystem goods and services to local residents and the national economy through artisanal and commercial fisheries, aquaculture, port exports and, to a lesser extent, tourism. As in many other countries, national policies emphasise the significance of marine conservation and marine resources, primarily through implementing marine protected areas (MPAs). However, this assumes that governance, as reflected in legal, institutional and organizational frameworks, political capacity and human resources is sufficiently developed to ensure MPAs meet these goals. These issues are explored through presenting the first detailed analysis of coastal and marine governance in Guatemala. The research highlights a range of barriers to good governance which restrict the extent to which MPAs can function effectively. Recommendations are made which can capitalise upon the potential for locally managed marine areas as a means to facilitate the improved governance of coastal and marine resources in Guatemala.     

The “calcari aLucina” macrofauna reconsidered: Deep-sea faunal oases from Miocene-age cold vents in the Romagna Apennine,Italy

Recent suggestions that the Miocene-age calcari aLucina blocks scattered in the Apennine chain of the Italian peninsula are methanogenic in nature (paleo cold vents) calls for a reexamination of their macrofauna. Two Tortonian-age outcrops of such limestones (Case Rovereti and Montepetra) have been analyzed for their mollusk content and shown to host a diverse vent fauna. The paleoassemblages show remarkable similarities with modern counterparts associated with hydrocarbon venting on the Gulf of Mexico continental slope. Faunal data from both sites lend support to the hypothesis that methane/hydrocarbon venting was active during the Miocene and sustained specialized bathyal chemosynthetic communities in the ancient Mediterranean.     

The music of the spheres and the prosaicness of statistical criteria: A response to B.L. Berry’s paper “Heliogeophysical and other natural processes,periods of their oscillations,and forecasts”

According to B.L. Berry’s “harmonic model,” any natural or social process is a superposition of several cosmic rhythms. The author assumes that stability of these rhythms allows prediction of earth phenomena over an unlimited time. We show that the statistical criteria supposedly substantiating the harmonic model were applied incorrectly. The initial data for the analysis were biased and selected incompetently; the adequacy of the methods used was not verified. Predictions of natural catastrophes (earthquakes, weather anomalies, etc.) and various social events according to Berry’s model are unsatisfactory. Statistics do not confirm that these predictions are at least slightly better than random guessing. Berry’s model is unacceptable; it is untenable both in detail and in general.     

Integrated Geological–Geophysical and Oceanographic Research in the South China Sea: Cruise 88 of the R/V “Akademik M.A. Lavrentyev”

Oceanology - Abstract—The paper gives brief results of comprehensive studies in the South China Sea obtained from a joint Russian–Vietnamese expedition in November 2019 (cruise 88 of...     

A wave averaged energy equation: Comment on “global estimates of wind energy input to subinertial motions in the Ekman-Stokes layer” by Bin Liu,Kejian Wu and Changlong Guan

In a recent paper, Liu et al. (2007) formulate an expression for how surface gravity waves modify the Ekman layer energy budget. They then diagnose the effect in the world oceans using available data. This comment addresses the formulation of the energy equation that is fundamental to their study.