Community based fishery management within the Menai Bay conservation area: A survey of the resource user

Management strategies are challenging to implement in Zanzibar's fisheries because the local people depend upon these resources for basic subsistence. This difficulty epitomizes the vital need for sustainable management: the more people need a fishery, the harder it is to limit fishing to allow regeneration. Comparing fisheries management strategies in two coastal villages in Unguja, the largest island of Zanzibar, Tanzania, this paper confirms the results of existing scholarship that communitybased strategies provide the most promising solutions to this challenge. Interviews with officials from the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Village Fishermen Committees, and 51 fishermen in the villages of Kizimkazi Dimbani and Jambiani reveal the efficacy of strategies where local fishermen are centrally involved. The fishermen interviews reveal ignorance of existing fishing regulations and a lack of enforcement while fishermen at both sites noted that many illegal methods of fishing are still in use and expressed concern that such methods damage fish stocks. The Village Fishermen Committees, a recently implemented community-based initiative, are well attended by fishermen, and constitute a management strength that this paper concludes should be the foundation of future policy. To be successful, these committees need additional educational and financial resources.     

数据缺乏条件下的渔业资源评估方法研究进展

全球范围内绝大多数渔业处于数据缺乏的状态,而常规的资源评估方法需要准确的生物学信息和完整的渔获数据,通常并不适合此类渔业资源的评估。数据缺乏方法(DLM)正是适用于此类情况的渔业资源评估方法,DLM的研究已经成为渔业资源研究的热点。作者对DLM的近期发展作了简要回顾,重点对主要的DLM方法和数据需求进行了分析比较,指出这些方法的应用需要注意的问题。历史渔获量是大多数DLM方法运用的必要数据(如DCAC、Catch-MSY模型),而关于资源丰度的相对指标和重要生活史参数(如种群内禀增长率、自然死亡系数),则是运用这些方法的必要补充。此外,对运用DLM所需的主要生物学参数的估算方法进行了简介。最后对DLM方法的使用及其在国内渔业中的运用提出了建议。     

利用博弈模型分析和评价日本渔业管理

分析日本渔业协同组合的建立对日本渔业管理活动的改进,针对这种政府、渔业协同组合和渔民的行为选择结果能够达到相对均衡状态,并且能够有效弥补政府单一监管模式的不足的管理模式,本文从博弈论角度分析渔民、政府、渔业协同组合的行为选择依据,得出了渔业协会是政府有效监管的必要前提,进而对我国渔业管理提供很好的借鉴意义。     

Anchoring to determine negotiated catch limits: a case study of an industrial fishery in Oman

Despite refinement in scientific methods of setting total allowable catches (TACs), the choice of values is affected by uncertainty that arises as a result of incomplete information and the behavioural intentions of resource users, among others. In this context, this paper promotes ‘anchoring’ – which is a subject of behavioural economics and is generally practised in decision-making when faced with uncertainty – as an approach to TAC setting. We estimate a set of anchor points for nine demersal species by employing two modelling scenarios, the first using catch-and-effort data and the second only catch data collected from the demersal trawl fishery. A non-parametric test yielded no significant difference between the sets of anchor points generated from the two models. It is hoped that the use of anchoring would constitute a proactive management approach that could serve as a mechanism of promoting knowledge integration and effective communication, developing mutual trust, and improving management outcomes in the future.     

Calculation of väisalä‐brunt frequencies and specific volume distributions of sea water

An expression is derived for the Vaisala‐Brunt frequency in terms of the gradients of potential temperature and salinity. Modifications to facilitate calculations are suggested. A new method for expressing the specific volume distribution in terms of pressure, potential temperature, and salinity is also discussed.     

The effect of fishing the anguillid elver (Anguilla japonica) on the fishery of the Yangtze estuary

Based on the fishing net surveying data about anguillid elver of the Yangtze estuary collected in 2006 and historical data from previous research of the region, this study was focused on analyzing the fishing effort and catch variations of the elver, revealing the effects on fishery resources caused by elver fishing activities. It was found that the elver fishing activities took place in the tidal area of the Yangtze estuary from January to April. The yearly elver catch in 2000–2006 was 3 times greater than that in the 1970s–1980s. The catch per unit effort (CPUE) (ind./net/day) of the elver had some characteristics of temporal variation. It was higher in spring tide periods than that in neap tide periods, and the CPUE in February and March was 3–4 times greater than that in January. Twenty-eight fish species, 6 shrimp species, 2 crab species and 8 other invertebrates were found in the by-catch of the eel nets. Among the fishes, shrimps and crabs, the individual proportion of fishes is the highest, and they are mostly juveniles or small-size fishes, while the shrimps and crabs also make up a certain proportion. Most of the individuals in the by-catch were juveniles and were dead when they were harvested. It was proven that the activity of elver fishing has a great negative effect on regional fishery resources, though it has brought great commercial benefit. Relevant management and conversation should be reinforced.     

海洋作业渔船管理系统的设计与运行试验

对渔政管理指挥系统建设项日中的业务软件部分渔船管理系统的设计方案进行了介绍。根据我国渔洋作业渔船的实际管理模式，提出了渔船管理系统设计方案。系统通过网络化的业务处理和管理流程，规范渔船建造、审批、登记以及捕捞许可证发放等管理业务，实现渔船控制指标的统一分配，以控制捕捞业发展规模和保护我国的渔业资源。系统以Microsoft VB6．0，Delphi6．0开发，在Window98／2000／XP环境下运行。通过运行试验，对系统运行环境进行了评估，为渔政管理信息化的建设、系统升级提供了经验和技术依据。     

Stock assessment for Atlantic yellowfin tuna based on extended surplus production model considering life history

The modern fishery stock assessment could be conducted by various models, such as Stock Synthesis model with high data requirement and complicated model structure, and the basic surplus production model, which fails to incorporate individual growth, maturity, and fishery selectivity, etc. In this study, the Just Another Bayesian Biomass Assessment (JABBA) Select which is relatively balanced between complex and simple models, was used to conduct stock assessment for yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the Atlantic Ocean. Its population dynamics was evaluated, considering the influence of selectivity patterns and different catch per unit effort (CPUE) indices on the stock assessment results. The model with three joint longline standardized CPUE indices and logistic selectivity pattern performed well, without significant retrospective pattern. The results indicated that the stock is not overfished and not subject to overfishing in 2018. Sensitivity analyses indicated that stock assessment results are robust to natural mortality but sensitive to steepness of the stock-recruitment relationship and fishing selectivity. High steepness was revealed to be more appropriate for this stock, while the fishing selectivity has greater influence to the assessment results than life history parameters. Overall, JABBA-Select is suitable for the stock assessment of Atlantic yellowfin tuna with different selectivity patterns, and the assumptions of natural mortality and selectivity pattern should be improved to reduce uncertainties.     

Distribution,abundance and population structure of Hexaplex trunculus and Bolinus brandaris (Gastropoda: Muricidae) in offshore areas of the Gulf of Gabès,southern Tunisia

The banded murex Hexaplex trunculus and purple dye murex Bolinus brandaris are frequently caught as bycatch by bottom trawlers operating in the Gulf of Gabès, southern Tunisia. Although these muricid gastropods might importantly constitute an additional source of income for fishermen as well as help to diversify local shellfish production, information on their catches is relatively scarce. Hence, the present study aimed to assess the status of local populations of H. trunculus and B. brandaris, including data on their spatial and depth distributions, abundance, biomass, population structure and mortality. Fishing surveys using bottom trawls were performed between May 2006 and June 2007 in offshore areas of the Gulf of Gabès. In total, 198 fishing hauls were analysed, corresponding to a total fishing duration of 333.3 hours and a total prospecting area of 1 534 ha at depths of 20–86 m. Altogether, 3 026 H. trunculus and 3 599 B. brandaris of a broad size range (22.9?91.1 and 22.4?97.0 mm shell length, respectively) were sampled during the study period. GIS-produced maps were employed to determine the species’ spatial and bathymetric distributions by extrapolating their estimated fishing yield (bycatch per unit effort), abundance, biomass and mortality in relation to the total area surveyed in the gulf. The results provide valuable baseline information that may be applied to management proposals for regulating this untargeted resource, ultimately assisting sustainable exploitation and long-term preservation of this alternative fishing resource in the offshore areas of the Gulf of Gabès.     

Rapid fish stock depletion in previously unexploited seamounts: the case of Beryx splendens from the Sierra Leone Rise (Gulf of Guinea)

Fish stocks associated with seamounts may be particularly susceptible to overexploitation. From January to July 2001, the Spanish Oceanographic Institute (IEO) conducted an experimental fishing survey entitled ‘Palguinea-2001’ on the seamounts of the Sierra Leone Rise. Beryx splendens (commonly called alfonsino) is the main commercial demersal fish associated with this area. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a demersal longline fishery targeting B. splendens on the previously unexploited small Machucambo Seamount over a short time-scale, and also to consider trends in pooled catch rate at another four seamounts. During 110 fishing days at Machucambo, a total catch of 207 tonnes of B. splendens was taken with a fishing effort of 1 309 070 hooks. A spectral analysis and red-noise spectra procedure (REDFIT) algorithm was used to identify the red-noise spectrum from the gaps in the observed time-series of catch per unit effort by weight. Our results show the potential impact of longline fishing pressure on an unexploited ecosystem – after approximately 50 fishing days, the stock appeared to decline substantially, as reflected by a marked drop in catch per unit effort. The apparent rapid decline of the stock might be related to the small size and the virgin state of the Sierra Leone seamounts. The results could be extrapolated to similar small seamounts elsewhere.     

Kinematics of the upwelling front off southern Africa

Mesoscale circulation features have been shown to play an important role in the cross-frontal mixing of upwelling cells, their frontal morphology and in their interaction with oceanic water masses. With three years of detailed thermal infra-red satellite information on the South-East Atlantic upwelling system available, it proved possible to present a preliminary study of four prevalent frontal features intrinsic to the short-term behaviour of upwelling in this area. Upwelling filaments are shown to extend between 50 and 600 km seawards of the main front and are found, as are upwelling plumes, predominantly off the recognized major upwelling cells. Frontal eddies have a range of diameters and are found distributed over the full area of upwelling and on both sides of the main upwelling front. Warm filaments of Agulhas Current origin are advected preferentially along the western border of the Agulhas Bank and follow closely the front of the southernmost upwelling cells, where they may play a catalytic role in the creation of frontal turbulence.     

Status of the major lobster fisheries in India

Commercial exploitation of lobsters from the Indian seas began in the 1950s. Annual landings have been declining from a peak of 4075 t in 1985 to 1364 t in 2002. Major fisheries were located on the north‐west, south‐west, and south‐east coasts. Among the 12 species recorded, only four species of spiny lobsters (three littoral and one deep sea) and one species of slipper lobster are commercially important. At Kayalpattinam and Tharuvaikulam, on the south‐east coast, lobster landings sharply declined for the gill‐net fishery. Of the two species that contributed to the fishery, Panulirus ornatus and Panulirus homarus, the latter has been more affected owing to high vulnerability to fishing activities. Catch composition analysis of the trammel‐net fishery showed that 35% of the landings consisted of P. homarus in the size range of 23–50 mm carapace length. On the north‐west coast, the spiny lobster Panulirus polyphagus and the slipper lobster Thenus orientalis are incidentally caught in trawl nets. However, the fishery for T. orientalis in the waters off Mumbai lasted only up to 1994. Large‐scale exploitation of spawning females, which formed 60% of the total catch, might have been detrimental to the recruitment process resulting in rapid decline and total collapse of the fishery. Abundance of P. polyphagus reached its maximum during September, constituting 23% of the average annual landing during 1988–2002. A high exploitation ratio (>0.7) indicated over‐fishing of the stock. Repeated spawning and high annual egg production are probably responsible for sustaining the stock, despite over‐exploitation. Major problems confronting the resource management of the multi‐gear and multi‐species lobster fisheries in India are discussed. An operational project, involving fisher community, has been taken up for creating awareness of the need for sustainable exploitation of the resource. Regulatory measures, such as closure of the fishery during the peak of the breeding season, ban on trammel‐net, mandatory release of egg‐bearing lobsters, and establishment of lobster sanctuaries are suggested to the State Governments for implementation.     

From community-based to co-management: Improvement or deterioration in fisheries governance in the Cherai Poyil fishery in the Cochin Estuary,Kerala, India?

During the last 50 years, several different forms of fisheries governance have been tried and failed in the Cochin Estuary, Kerala, India. The latest shift has been from a community-based system to a co-management system, and this paper evaluates the current system in the light of the theoretical debate over the respective merits of community-based management and co-management. The paper is based on documentary material and data from interviews carried out during fieldwork in 2004, from which it concludes that provided the co-management system incorporates community principles within it, it will be an effective form of fisheries governance.