History,effort distribution and landings in an artisanal bottom longline fishery: An empirical study from the North Atlantic Ocean

Commercial fishing data were used to reconstruct historical spatio-temporal patterns of fishing effort and landings in the bottom longline fishery of the Azores. Key events during an important 15-year period were charted, through fisher interviews together with GIS analysis. While effort distribution varied over time, the prevailing pattern was a shift in focus from eastern to western areas and from shelf/slope to offshore banks and seamounts in response to policy measures (e.g. banning bottom longline inside 3 NM, public aids for modernization of the fleet) and reduced fishing yields. Areas 12–50 NM from shore represented the most vital fishing grounds in terms of fishing effort and production. Declining landings of the major demersal species, in recent years, indicate that present catch levels are not sustainable and further measures need to be taken in order to sustain fisheries resources. Knowledge of fleet behavior and the distribution of fishing effort, particularly in patchy environments, provide valuable insights into the impacts of past management decisions and help predict the outcome of new policies both in this region and elsewhere.     

Lessons from stakeholder dialogues on marine aquaculture in offshore wind farms: Perceived potentials,constraints and research gaps

Drawing on a case study in Germany, this contribution explores the practical application of offshore aquaculture within offshore wind farms in view of the different stakeholders involved. Using a transdisciplinary research approach, an understanding of the rationalities and interests among the different involved stakeholder groups was explored. Offshore wind energy is high on the political agenda in Germany. The vast spatial requirements however inherit potential user conflicts with competing, and under current legislation excluded users such as fishermen. Solutions for combining sustainable uses of the same ocean space have thus seen increasing interest within the research community in Germany and in Europe over the past years. This paper was inspired by and presents the outcomes of a stakeholder analysis and in particular a stakeholder workshop. Central focus was placed on academics and private as well as public stakeholders engaged in current research efforts of combining offshore wind farms and aquaculture in the German North Sea. The paper identifies the overall acceptance of such a multi-use scenario in society, opportunities and constraints as perceived by the stakeholders, and key research gaps. The results confirm the assumption that there is a clear need, and also willingness on behalf of the policy makers and the research community, to find sustainable, resource- and space-efficient solutions for combined ocean use.     

Identifying substandard vessels through Port State Control inspections: A new methodology for Concentrated Inspection Campaigns

Substandard vessels that fail to comply with international maritime regulations are the target of Port State Control inspections. Despite their significant costs, many inspections do not lead to any detentions and, in a significant number of cases, no deficiencies are detected. In this paper, quantile regressions for count data are used to estimate the likelihood of having a high number of deficiencies of a specific type. The purpose is to complement existing practices focusing on detention with the objective to improve the selection process. Similar factors influence the likelihood of having a vessel detained and that of having a vessel recording a high number of deficiencies. However, quantile regressions applied to the number of deficiencies help improving the identification of factors influencing the likelihood of finding some specific types of deficiencies, which is the focus of Concentrated Inspection Campaigns. The paper concludes that the selection process for such campaigns should be improved using this new methodology.     

基于长期观测的辽东湾口东部海域水动力特征研究

辽东湾口东部海域是辽东湾与渤海中部进行物质和能量交换的主要通道之一。本文利用坐底式海床基平台获取的近8个月的水动力连续观测资料,通过谱分析和调和分析方法对该海域的潮汐、潮流特征进行分析,并讨论了余流及底层温度的季节变化规律。研究结果表明:该海域潮汐属于不规则半日潮,平均潮差为0.95 m,最大可能潮差为2.27 m。潮流属于不规则半日潮流,M₂分潮流为其优势分潮流。主要分潮流运动形式为往复流,最大流速方向为西南-东北向。余流的季节性特征较为明显:秋季,余流流速在中层达到最大,流向以西南向为主;冬季,余流流速垂向变化较小,并呈西南偏西向流动;春季,流速随深度增加而减小,流向从表层至底层呈现逆时针旋转的特征。受底层潮流、水平温度梯度及海面温度日变化的影响,底层温度表现出短期的高频变化特征:秋季,短期振荡以半日周期信号为主;冬季,全日周期信号较为显著;春季,短期振荡的现象较弱。     

基于客观分析的多源卫星叶绿素a浓度产品融合方法研究

本文基于Aqua/MODIS、Terra/MODIS和Envisat/MERIS多源卫星叶绿素a浓度产品,研究了客观分析融合方法,制作了西北太平洋海域(0°~50°N,100°~150°E)叶绿素a浓度融合产品,并从有效数据空间覆盖率和产品精度两个方面对融合方法进行了评价。与单传感器以及欧洲太空局发布的GSM模型业务化融合产品相比,客观分析融合产品空间覆盖率明显提高;与收集的2002-2012年间叶绿素a浓度实测数据比较,GSM模型业务化融合产品的匹配数据点为578个,偏差为-0.20 mg/m3,均方根误差为0.37 mg/m3,客观分析法融合产品的匹配数据点为1432个,偏差为-0.21 mg/m3,均方根误差为0.36 mg/m3。结果表明:本文研究的客观分析融合方法在保证融合产品精度的同时可显著提高产品的空间覆盖率,在海洋水色融合应用前景广阔。     

中国沿海多鳞四指马鲅(Eleutheronema rhadinum)与四指马鲅(E. tridactylum)形态与遗传位点差异分析

多鳞四指马鲅(Eleutheronema rhadinum)与四指马鲅(Eleutheronema tridactylum)是四指马鲅属(Eleutheronema)中的名贵经济鱼类,具有良好的养殖开发前景。本文对中国沿海多鳞四指马鲅与四指马鲅群体的26个形态特征值进行了多变量比较分析,提取了7个主成分,累计贡献率达到91.112%,前三个主成分贡献率分别为28.759%、21.467%、15.469%。多鳞四指马鲅与四指马鲅形态差异主要体现在头背部、尾柄部、背腹轴及头尾轴的特征。利用4个形态学参数建立了2群体判别公式,综合判别准确率高达100%,可作为多鳞四指马鲅与四指马鲅物种资源的初步判定方法。另外,利用简化基因组测序开发出多鳞四指马鲅与四指马鲅SNP标记69207个、In Del标记12884个,丰富了四指马鲅属鱼类遗传结构研究数据。本研究为进一步开展四指马鲅数属物种资源评估与保护、选育、功能基因研究提供基础资料。     

基于18S和ITS-5.8S rDNA基因序列的白色霞水母(Cyanea nozakii)的分子鉴定与检测

采用通用引物PCR扩增法,测定了辽东湾海域的白色霞水母(Cyanea nozakii)螅状体、碟状体及水母体的18S以及ITS-5.8S r DNA序列,同时利用Gene Bank数据库中已有同源序列对其进行序列分析及系统分析。结果显示,白色霞水母3个个体的18S和ITS-5.8S r DNA序列完全一致。白色霞水母样品的ITS-5.8S r DNA序列与Gen Bank中未知真核生物的序列高度相似(≥99%),推测该物种可能是早期发育阶段(卵、浮浪幼虫或碟状体)的白色霞水母样品。霞水母属不同种间18S r DNA序列经比对后同源序列长度为1709bp,多态位点数33个;比对后ITS1同源序列长度为368bp,其中变异位点203个,简约信息位点数178个,单变异位点21个。基于18S r DNA基因序列的霞水母属种内和种间平均遗传距离分别为0、0.008,而基于ITS1序列的霞水母属种内和种间平均遗传距离分别为0.019、0.284。基于ITS1的种间遗传距离是种内遗传距离的15倍,适合于进行物种鉴定。NJ系统树的结果也表明同种的不同个体各自聚枝,其聚类结果大致与形态分类吻合。研究表明,ITS基因片段在霞水母不同种间变异较大,更适于大型水母种类鉴定、检测及属内种间水平的系统进化研究。     

Distribution of eddy scales for wave current combined flow

This paper illustrates the modulation of the eddy scale distribution due to superimposition of surface wave on only current flow. Time series data of three-dimensional velocity components were measured in a laboratory flume by a three-dimensional (3D) 16-MHz micro-acoustic Doppler velocimeter (Micro-ADV). The velocity time series of only current case and waves following the current were analysed to obtain the phase-averaged mean velocities, turbulent intensities, and Reynolds stress. The probability density function of phase-averaged stream-wise and vertical velocity fluctuations showed bimodal oscillations towards the free surface for higher frequency surface waves. It was revealed that surface waves along the current effectively decrease the intermittency of turbulence of the only current flow. Surface wave changed the intermittent structure of only current flow by modulation of the energy cascade mechanism of the only current flow by introduction of wave induced length scales. Also the scale of the finer dissipative eddies were prominently enhanced by the increase in surface wave frequency. Wavelet analysis of time series of velocity signals provided information on the eddy scale and their frequency of occurrence. It was found that the large eddies are carried by the crest regions of the progressive wave while the small scale eddies are carried by the trough regions.     

Experimental and numerical investigations on the intact and damage survivability of a floating–moored oscillating water column device

This paper investigates the intact and damage survivability of a floating–moored Oscillating Water Column (OWC) device using physical model experiments and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. Different extreme wave conditions have been tested using irregular and regular wave conditions. The device was moored to the tank floor via four vertical taut lines and the effect of the mooring line pre–tension on the device response was studied. It was found that the instantaneous position of the floating device was a key factor in the survivability analysis such that a certain irregular wave train that might not include the largest wave could induce the maximum response. Reducing the pre–tension minimized the maximum surge, but significantly increased the maximum tension due to mooring slack events causing snatch loads. A design regular wave with a period equal to the peak period and a height of 1.9–2.0 times the significant wave height could reasonably predict the same maximum line tension as the irregular sea state, but a smaller wave height was required to achieve the maximum surge. A single failure in the mooring system increased the maximum tension by 1.55 times the intact tension. For a damaged mooring system, using the same design regular wave condition derived from the survivability analysis with an intact mooring system could result in overestimating the maximum tension by more than 20% in comparison to the tension from the irregular sea state, but a smaller regular wave height or a different regular wave condition representing another sea state could lead to the same maximum tension. This highlighted the importance of investigating survival conditions with a damaged mooring system instead of simply using the same conditions derived for the intact mooring system.     

Toward a quick evaluation of the performance of gravity installed anchors in clay: Penetration and keying

Gravity installed anchors (GIAs) are the most recent generation of anchoring solutions to moor floating facilities for deepwater oil and gas developments. Challenges associated with GIAs include predicting the initial embedment depth and evaluating the keying performance of the anchor. The former involves high soil strain rate due to large anchor penetration velocity, while the later influences the subsequent behavior and pullout capacity of the anchor. With the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian method, three-dimensional large deformation finite element models are established to investigate the penetration and keying of GIAs in non-homogeneous clay. In the penetration model, a modified Tresca soil model is adopted to allow the effects of soil strain rate and strain softening, and user-defined hydrodynamic drag force and frictional resistance are introduced via concentrated forces. In the keying model, the anchor line effects are incorporated through a chain equation, and the keying, diving and pulling out behaviors of the anchor can all be replicated. Parametric studies are undertaken at first to quantify the effects of various factors on the performance of GIAs, especially on the penetration and keying behaviors. Based on the results of parametric studies, fitted formulae are proposed to give a quick evaluation of the anchor embedment depth after the installation, and the shackle horizontal displacement, shackle embedment loss and anchor inclination at the end of the keying. Comparative studies are also performed to verify the effectiveness of the fitted formulae.