What do we know about the labour market for seafarers?: A view from the UK

This paper considers the evidence that exists on the global demand and supply of seafarers, and their age profiles. New information on the age profiles of deck and engine officers is presented, drawn from records held by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Detailed age profiles for certain countries are constructed and compared with that of the UK, as well as with estimates published elsewhere. Using the data derived from the MCA, it is shown that there is a significant positive correlation between the age profiles of seafarer supplying countries and their level of economic development, as measured by GDP per capita. This evidence is consistent with the view that the future supply of seafaring officers will increasingly be oriented towards countries at lower levels of development, as the existing pool of highly qualified officers from traditional maritime countries continues to diminish.     

Institutions as facilities for change?: A study of the coherence between political regulations and innovations within the pelagic fisheries sector in Norway

Political regulation has traditionally been regarded as antagonistic to innovation, whereas the removal of regulations has been perceived as a precondition for innovations. This paper proposes an alternative position and claim that regulations can have various connections with the innovation process. Regulations can obviously restrict innovations, but they can also facilitate such processes. Systematic empirical research on the relation between political-administrative regulation and innovation has been moderate, and the debate has been highly anecdotal. This article presents an empirical study on how political-administrative regulation within the pelagic fisheries sector in Norway affects innovation. The study confirms that regulations had varied influences on the innovation process, and documents that actor's appraisals of regulations were affected by whether a given regulation is beneficial for the firms and their competitive position or not. Finally, the paper corroborate that the implementation of regulations can promote innovation in firms by providing them with deeper insights into their production processes and to encourage a more intense focus on development and improvement. Implementation of regulations also implies learning, which can increase the firms’ abilities to innovate as well as their insight into the necessity of such practices. The analysis is based on survey data from processors and vessels in the pelagic sector.     

Do environmental factors influence the movement of estuarine fish? A case study using acoustic telemetry

Telemetry methods were used to investigate the influence of selected environmental variables on the position and movement of an estuarine-dependent haemulid, the spotted grunter Pomadasys commersonnii (Lacepède 1801), in the Great Fish Estuary, South Africa. Forty individuals (263–698 mm TL) were surgically implanted with acoustic coded transmitters and manually tracked during two periods (7 February to 24 March 2003; n = 20 and 29 September to 15 November 2003; n = 20). Real-time data revealed that spotted grunter are euryhaline (0–37) and are able to tolerate large variations in turbidity (4–356 FTU) and temperature (16–30 °C). However, the fish altered their position in response to large fluctuations in salinity, temperature and turbidity, which are characteristic of tidal estuarine environments. Furthermore, tidal phase had a strong influence on the position of spotted grunter in the estuary.     

The Effect of the Propeller Jet on Pile Groups简

The objective of this study is to determine the effect of jet propeller on the damage of berthing structures combined of armoured slope with pile groups. For this purpose, scour measurements were performed for four types berthing structures, which were armoured slope with tandem arrangements of piles for two and three piles and with side by side arrangements of piles for two and three piles. The effect of gap between piles on damage was investigated. The damage level induced by propeller jet between piles was determined. The gaps were 1, 2, 3, and 4 times the pile diameter. Three different values of Rpm （690, 820, and 950） were chosen for the tests. The diameter of circular piles is 40 mm. The slope ratio was 1/3 and the diameter of propeller was 10 cm.     

Numerical Simulation of Dynamic Response of A Net Cage for Flatfish in Waves简

A numerical model of flatfish cage is built based on the lumped mass method and the principle of rigid body kinematics. To validate the numerical model, a series of physical model tests are conducted in the wave flume. The numerical results correspond well with the data sets from physical model test. The effect of weight of bottom frame, height of fish net and net shape on motion responses of fish cage and tension force on mooring lines is then analyzed. The results indicate that the vertical displacements of float collar and bottom frame decrease with the increase in the weight of bottom frame; the maximum tension force on mooring lines increases with the increasing weight of bottom frame. The inclination angles of float collar and bottom frame decrease with the increasing net height; the maximum tension force increases obviously with the increase of net height.     

Modeling and Simulation of Supercavity with Inertial Force in the Horizontal Curvilinear Motion简

To make a curvilinear motion in the horizontal plane is one of the most contents for realizing the maneuverability of the supercavitating vehicle. It is significant to achieve the controllability and maneuverability of the vehicle in three dimensions both theoretically and practically on research. Models of angle of attack, gravity and inertial force effects on the supercavity in the horizontal curvilinear motion are established, respectively. The supercavity is simulated based on these models in combination with Logvinovich model and the unsteady gas-leakage rate model at the given ventilation rate, and the effect of the inertial force on it is analyzed numerically. Results show that the maximum deviation of the center line of the cross section of supercavity towards the outward normal direction of its trajectory increases as the cavitation number or curvature radius decrease and always occur in the tail because of the increase of inertial effects along the axis of supercavity from the cavitator when other models and flow parameters are constant for the given trajectory curvature. For the variable curvature, the supercavity sheds due to its instability caused by the time-varying angle of attack. The deviation increases along the length of supercavity if the curvature remains the same sign.     

On the perceptions and conceptions of tourists with regard to global environmental changes and their consequences for coastal and marine environments: A case study of the northern São Paulo State coast,Brazil

A study on the public׳s perceptions and conceptions of global environmental changes (GECs) is relevant to guide future educational strategies and management actions. The present study aimed to: (1) evaluate coastal tourists׳ conceptions and perceptions of GECs; (2) correlate the conceptions presented by tourists about GECs and their self-declared knowledge; (3) evaluate how these tourists perceive their personal contribution to GECs; and (4) verify the frequency at which the media exposed the tourists to information about the influence of GECs on coastal and marine environments. A structured questionnaire was applied to 183 coastal tourists. There was a weak but significant positive correlation (r²=0.152, p<0.001) between self-declared knowledge and the actual conceptions of tourists about GECs and about the sea. Tourists underestimate their role in GECs, pointing out fewer individual actions that contributed to GECs in the questionnaire than expected. Many tourists declared they had never heard of some subjects related to GECs and coastal environments. This study revealed that coastal tourists are still not well informed about their role in GECs and also on their consequences to the society, thus emphasizing the need of more intensive and effective coastal and marine environmental education strategies.     

Laboratory Generation of Solitary Waves: An Inversion Technique to Improve Available Methods简

Solitary waves are often used in laboratory experiments to study tsunamis propagation and interaction with coasts. However, the experimental shape of the waves may differ from the theoretical one. In this paper, a correction technique aiming at minimizing the discrepancies between the two profiles is presented. Laboratory experiments reveal their effectiveness in correcting the experimental shape of solitary waves, mainly for low nonlinearities.     

Coastal upwelling along the north coast of Papua New Guinea and SST cooling over the pacific warm pool: A case study for the 2002/03 El Niño event

We investigate an overlooked mechanism—coastal upwelling—for sea surface temperature (SST) cooling in the western side of the mean location of the Pacific warm pool (WSWP: 5°S–5°N, 140°E–150°E) prior to El Niño onset. We analyze various observed data such as the TRIangle Trans-Ocean buoy Network (TRITON) moored buoy data, Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) data, satellite data and a hindcast experiment output by a high-resolution ocean general circulation model (OGCM). We focus on the precondition of the 2002/03 El Niño event, for which many datasets are available. Relatively cool water upwelled along the north coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG) during December 2001, prior to the onset of the 2002/03 El Niño event, and then spread out over a wider area to the northeast. Simultaneously, strong west-northerly surface winds occur along the north coast. Heat budget analysis of TRITON buoy data in the WSWP reveals that negative zonal heat advection due to eastward current is the main factor for cooling the mixed layer in the WSWP in contrast to the warming effect of the surface heat flux during the period. This cooling requires a source of colder water to the west. Similar analysis of OGCM outputs also suggests that the upwelled relatively cool water along the PNG north coast, and its northeastward extension to the equatorial region, contributes to cooling of the surface water over the WSWP mainly via negative zonal heat advection. Similar mechanisms are confirmed also for the 1982/83 and 1997/98 El Niño events by analyses of OGCM outputs and historical SST data. The low SST in the WSWP generated a positive zonal SST gradient together with high SST east of the WSWP. It may contribute to enhancement of the westerly surface wind in this region, leading to the onset of the 2002/03 El Niño event.