Protecting window‐size female American lobster,Homarus americanus,to increase egg production

A new conservation measure aimed at protecting the larger broodstock (females with a carapace length between 115 and 129 mm, i.e., window‐size females, WSF) to enhance egg production was implemented in 2003 for the American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. To assess the effectiveness of this new measure, a tagging project was carried out between 2004 and 2007 in the Hillsborough Bay area with the collaboration of local harvesters. Based on a single mark‐recapture Petersen model, the estimated catch rates of WSF not carrying eggs under the abdomen in the study area varied between 40% and 53%. The catch‐per‐unit‐effort (animals per 100 traps) of both berried (egg‐bearing) and non‐berried WSF increased from 0.2 to 0.8 and 1.0 to 1.6, respectively, between 2004 and 2007. Based on the estimated number of non‐berried WSF in the population observed during the spring fishery between 2004 and 2007, the potential total egg production for WSF was estimated at 1.1 billion in the study area. From this total, 515 million eggs would have been produced by WSF directly protected by the conservation measure, i.e., females that would have been harvested if not for the new regulation. Finally, the contribution of berried WSF to the annual egg production in the study area increased from 4% to 23% between 2003 and 2007 based on the at‐sea sampling programme and the fecundity curve. WSF that represented 10% of the total berried female population in 2007 contributed 23% of the annual egg production. Hence, the protection of WSF seems to be an effective conservation measure to increase egg production based on the catch‐per‐unit‐effort and egg production.     

Impact of minimum legal size increases on egg‐per‐recruit production,size structure,and ovigerous females in the American lobster (Homarus americanus) population off the Magdalen Islands (Quebec,Canada): A case study

In the mid 1990s, American lobster (Homarus americanus) from Canadian waters was considered overfished based on estimated levels of egg‐per‐recruit production (EPR). In 1997, the Department of Fisheries Oceans responded by adopting a goal of doubling the level of EPR from its 1996 level. In the Magdalen Islands (Quebec), results from a simulation model indicated that doubling EPR could be reached by increasing the minimum legal size (MLS) from 76 mm to 83 mm carapace length. This was done at a pace of 1 mm per year from 1997 to 2003. Following the increase of MLS, the size structure, mean size, and the abundance of ovigerous females improved significantly in the catches. However, levels of fishing effort are still very high. This could cause undesirable effects such as altering sex ratios and size structure of males, which could lead to sperm limitation, and reducing the contribution of multiple spawners to egg production, which could become an issue if egg quality is important. Consideration of these issues leads to the recommendation of a multidimensional approach to lobster conservation.     

Evaluating local population dynamics of the American lobster,Homarus americanus,with trap‐based mark‐recapture methods and seabed mapping

Seabed mapping, spatially referenced trapping, and mark‐recapture methods have all been useful tools in ecological studies of lobsters and other benthic animals. Here we integrate the three methods to evaluate local population dynamics and movements of American lobsters, Homarus americanus, in coastal fishing grounds in Maine, United States. The study was conducted on five study areas of different size, and used two different sampling protocols. At one site (1 km² in area) we used a monthly mark‐recapture sampling interval over a 6‐month period, only tagging a subsample of the catch. At four smaller sites (0.3 km²) we used a shorter‐term approach, sampling at 3–4‐day intervals for a 2‐week duration, tagging the entire catch. Tagging data were analysed with a modified Jolly‐Seber model adapted for continuous sampling to estimate population abundance, gains (immigration), and losses (emigration and mortality). Side‐scan sonar surveys of the seabed combined with diver‐based population surveys, stratified by substrate type, provided an independent comparison to mark‐recapture‐based estimates of abundance over the same areas. Spatial referencing of trap catch also allowed us to relate catch rates and lobster movements directly to seabed features. The longer‐term tagging data on the larger study area provided abundance estimates that were more consistent with the diver observations, and estimates of gains and losses statistically more robust, than those derived from the shorter‐term effort on the smaller sites. The flux of lobsters followed the well known seasonal movements on these fishing grounds, with gains and losses from the larger study area ranging over 1000 individuals per day, and an estimated mid‐summer peak density of >65 000 lobsters per km² (individuals >50 mm carapace length). This approach may lend itself to broader application with the American lobster.     

A vessel‐deployed passive postlarval collector to assess settlement of the American lobster Homarus americanus

Passive collectors are used widely in postlarval settlement and recruitment monitoring of spiny lobsters and crabs, but they have only been used in a limited way with clawed lobsters. For nearly two decades, diver‐based suction sampling has served to monitor spatial‐temporal patterns of American lobster (Homarus americanus) postlarval settlement and early juvenile abundance in shallow near‐shore nurseries. Collectors could reveal settlement patterns in zones beyond the practical limits of diving. In 2005, we launched a fisher‐scientist collaboration to evaluate the performance of passive collectors designed to extend the reach of sampling, and to be deployable from a vessel equipped with a standard pot‐hauler. Building on previous designs, our collectors comprised wire mesh trays lined with fine screening on the floor and walls and filled with cobble to simulate natural nursery habitat. Results indicate that no newly settled lobsters were lost during the retrieval process, and densities of young‐of‐year lobsters found in the collectors were similar to those in directly adjacent natural cobble habitat sampled by divers with suction samplers. The collectors also proved to be effective samplers of juvenile fish and crabs, suggesting a possibility for wider application. This success bodes well for expanded deployment of cobble collectors to broaden our understanding of the recruitment processes of lobster and other cobble‐dwelling fauna along the coast of New England, United States and Atlantic Canada.     

Review of indicators in fisheries management – a development perspective

A review of indicators for an ecosystem approach to fisheries management is presented, focusing on multispecies fisheries and limited resources for assessments and implementation, as often is the case in developing countries. Emphasizing the need to link indicators to management objectives, indicators from the literature are grouped into four categories, relating to the immediate fisheries resource base (single-species and multispecies indicators) and the wider ecosystem (habitat structure and ecosystem functioning). The usefulness of these indicators is assessed along three dimensions of acceptability among stakeholders, observability, and relation to fisheries management using a traffic light approach. The top ranking indicators are highlighted as a generally good start for any particular fishery management case. It is, however, argued that, even with similar management objectives, indicators need to be specific to both ecosystems and the institutional set-up if they are to be effective for management, and that indicators may consequently differ considerably between individual management applications.     

Behaviour of hatchery‐reared and wild‐caught 4th and 5th stage American lobsters,Homarus americanus

Behavioural deficiencies in 4th and 5th stage hatchery‐reared lobsters were examined using time budget analysis and predator trials. Hatchery‐reared 4th stage lobsters were found to behave differently than wild‐caught lobsters and differences existed between hatchery‐reared lobsters from different sources. Local hatchery‐reared 4th stage lobsters spent less time on shelter and suffered higher predator rates in laboratory trials than both wild‐caught 4th stage and lobsters reared in a hatchery in Maine. Fifth stage hatchery‐reared lobsters spent significantly more time in shelter than their wild‐caught counterparts. These differences may be attributable to the lack of development of proper predator‐avoidance behaviour and need to be understood and corrected to maximise the effect of enhancement projects.     

Small‐scale spatial variation in growth,size at maturity,and yield‐ and egg‐per‐recruit relations in the New Zealand abalone Haliotis iris

Tag‐recapture studies revealed differences in the growth rate of Haliotis iris between headlands and bays separated by as little as 200 m. Individuals off headlands had a significantly higher incremental growth and reached a higher maximum size than those in bays. These results were consistent with observations of the size composition of H. iris which showed that few individuals of harvestable size (> 125 mm shell length) were found in bays. Differences in the growth rate of H. iris may account for the apparent differences in the size at onset of maturity: individuals off headlands, and from a fast‐growing population off Wellington, reached reproductive maturity at a smaller size compared with those in bays. Yield‐per‐recruit modelling showed greater yields from headlands than bays, but egg‐per‐recruit modelling revealed more egg production was conserved in bays than off headlands. Yields could be increased from bays by decreasing the minimum size to 110 mm. Egg‐ and yield‐per‐recruit models were sensitive to the natural mortality rate (M = 0.03, 0.05 and 0.10 compared). The results show that parameters important in the management of commercial fisheries for abalone can vary over small distances: such variation should be incorporated in management strategies for abalone fisheries.     

What do egg size distributions in marine invertebrates tell us about validity of fecundity‐time models?

An early mathematical model of egg size evolution in marine invertebrates (American Naturalist, 1973a, 107 , 353) traded fecundity against development time and resulted in a U‐shaped optimality curve suggesting that only extremes of egg sizes should be evolutionary stable. It was later suggested that the model predicts a bimodal distribution of egg sizes and therefore can be tested by examining histograms of egg sizes. More recent fecundity‐time models (American Naturalist, 1997, 150 , 48; American Naturalist, 2000, 156 , 175) came up with predictions of intermediate optimal egg sizes; however, comparisons of optimality curves with histograms of egg sizes remained central to model testing. Here the question whether the bimodality assumption has any basis has been addressed theoretically. Simulation modeling and analysis show that egg size distributions generally do not match the optimality curves produced by fecundity‐time models and that the shape of predicted frequency distributions depends on both the optimality curve and other model parameters. Therefore, egg size frequency distributions alone cannot be used for model testing.     

Interannual variations and trend of the production of inorganic carbon by coccolithophores in the arctic in 2002–2010 based on satellite data

Based on MODIS data, a significant decline in the intensity and spatial extension of blooms of coccolithophore E. huxleyi in Arctic waters in 2002–2010 is revealed and quantified. This 9-year tendency has been unfolding against a background of negative trends in the dynamics of SST and levels of incident PAR and summer-time NAO, which collectively, but with a predominance of the NAO influence, are believed to be the main drivers of the decline of E. huxleyi blooms and the associated decline in inorganic carbon production in the Arctic Basin.     

Atypical size selection of captive school prawns,Metapenaeus macleayi,by three recreational fishing gears in south‐eastern Australia

Three manipulative experiments were done to estimate the selectivity of conventional and new sizes and configurations of mesh for school prawns, Metapenaeus macleayi, in three south‐eastern Australian recreational fishing gears (haul, push, and scoop nets). The treatment meshes examined were: (1) conventional‐sized, diamond‐shaped mesh used in all gears (20 mm in scoop nets and 30 mm in push and haul nets); (2) 30 mm in scoop nets; and (3) 40‐mm diamond‐ and (4) 23‐mm square‐shaped mesh in all gears. In all experiments, known quantities of school prawns (6–24 mm carapace length (CL)) were placed in purpose‐built enclosures, monitored to ensure no experimental‐induced stress (as measured by changes in L‐lactate in their haemolymph) and the replicate treatments of the various gear configurations deployed. Escapees from the various treatment nets were collected from the enclosures using fine‐meshed nets. Logistic selection curves were derived for all treatment nets and specific comparisons made within and among gears. All nets had 50% retention lengths (L₅₀) comparable to other penaeid‐catching gears with similar mesh sizes, but most had selection ranges (SRs) that were atypically inflated. The large SRs were attributed to a combination of factors that included the mesh geometry and towing speed of the gears and the behaviour of school prawns. The 20‐mm scoop net had the smallest selection parameters, retaining >99% of individuals larger than 13 mm CL. Mesh size in this gear would need to be increased to at least 30 mm to allow some maturing prawns (>18 mm CL) to escape.