Towards a market-oriented management model for straddling fish stocks

Management of straddling fish stocks has been noted for its political complexity. Negotiations frequently falter as each party seeks to focus upon their own individual and shorter-term goals than the collective interest of the sector. Entrenched positions are often only deepened as new entrants participate to establish their own claims to any emergent share of resource. Unsurprisingly, deadlocks are common and typically compromises are reached only after the real period of biological then economic crisis has passed. Examples to illustrate this tendency can be found in most of the world's oceans and is writ large within the current impasse over blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) in the North Atlantic. The development of this fishery is discussed and it is shown that despite the scope to add value to the resource base through a pattern of exploitation focussed more upon human consumption than fish meal and oil, there seems little incentive to extricate participants from the cycle of demise that has engulfed negotiations so far.     

Assessment of MSC-certified fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic

This study examines the status and exploitation level of 31 northern European stocks targeted by fisheries certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as being sustainable and well managed. In the first year of certification, 11 stocks (52% of stocks with available data) were exploited above the maximum sustainable level and four stocks (16% of stocks with available data) were outside of safe biological limits. MSC states that it certifies sub-standard stocks because they will improve once they are in their program. However, after a duration of certification of one to ten years (average four years), no significant changes in fishing pressure or stock size were detected. In the last certified year with available data, seven stocks (44% of stocks with available data) were subject to overfishing and five stocks (21% of stocks with available data) were outside of safe biological limits. Certification should guarantee that fishing quotas are set correctly and are enforced. However, in 11 stocks quotas were set 20–60% above the level that fishers were taking, whereas in three stocks landings exceeded quotas by 30–50%. The study concludes that MSC should change its rules such that overfishing or unsafe stock sizes lead to immediate suspension of certification and that no certification is issued in the first place for a stock that is already in such a situation.     

Conservation status of New Zealand freshwater fish, 2009

The threat status of 74 freshwater and estuarine fish present in New Zealand was determined. Fifty-one native taxa were ranked of which 67% were considered Threatened or At Risk. A single species was classified as Extinct, the New Zealand grayling, which has not been observed since the 1920s. Four taxa were classified in the highest threat category, Nationally Critical, and a further 10 taxa as Threatened (Nationally Endangered or Nationally Vulnerable). Twenty taxa were ranked in the At Risk group with the majority ranked as Declining. Endemic galaxiids (Galaxiidae) dominated the Threatened and At Risk taxa. The majority (68%) belonged to the Galaxias genus, comprising 81% of recognised taxa in this genus and all five species in the genus Neochanna were also ranked as Threatened or At Risk. In addition to 51 native taxa, a further three fish species were considered colonists and 20 introduced species were classified as naturalised, although two of these are considered rare. The majority of the Threatened species occur in the Canterbury and Otago regions where a suite of rare non-migratory galaxiids exist. Threat mechanisms that were identified as causal in the decline of freshwater fish species were the impact of introduced fish species, declining water quality, effects of water abstraction, loss of habitat via land-use change and land-use activities, and river modifications.     

海水观赏鱼产业现状及其存在的问题

海水观赏鱼艳丽多彩、风姿绰约,具有一种不可名状的美感,在观赏鱼市场中备受欢迎。作者结合相关资料概述了海水观赏鱼的产业现状及研究进展,讨论了海水观赏鱼产业存在的问题并对海水观赏鱼的发展前景做了展望。     

鱼类疫苗浸泡免疫策略优化的研究现状

疫苗是一种针对特定疾病并改善免疫者免疫力的生物制剂。疫苗能刺激免疫者的免疫系统产生特异性免疫反应和非特异性免疫反应,提高免疫者的抗病能力,达到免疫保护的效果。浸泡免疫是鱼类特有的免疫接种方法,该方法能简化人工操作、减少工作强度、降低鱼体应激、刺激鱼体的黏膜系统,可在短时间内完成大量的免疫工作。正确的疫苗使用有助于提高疫苗的效果。作者对鱼类黏膜免疫机制、鱼类疫苗浸泡免疫方式、浸泡免疫策略优化的方法、浸泡免疫面临的问题以及浸泡免疫的发展趋势等进行综述,以期为鱼类病害防治和鱼体免疫增强的研究提供新思路和新策略。