Performance of a northwestern Mediterranean bottom trawl fleet: How the integration of landings and VMS data can contribute to the implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management

The European Union has established a framework to achieve or maintain good environmental status in the marine environment by 2020. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires the application of the ecosystem approach to the management of human activities, covering all sectors having an impact on the marine environment. However, fisheries in the Mediterranean are far from a systematic implementation of an ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM). Aiming to address this issue, this study explores the potential of the relationship between daily yield by vessel (landings and income by species) and vessel position (known via vessel monitoring system) as a tool for fleet management. This approach is possible due to the current dynamics of Mediterranean fleets, with vessels returning daily to the harbour where landings are registered as weight and income by vessel. Moreover, vessels of >15 m total length have been compulsory monitored by VMS since 2005. A bottom trawl fleet that operates in the northwestern Mediterranean was chosen to develop this approach. Different groups of trawlers were identified, which could be linked to the strategies displayed by the fishermen that were mainly driven by the target species dynamics. Accurate knowledge of the fishing targets driving the fleet dynamics and of the fishing strategies at the vessel level (i.e. fishing ground habitat where the fishing pressure is exerted and corresponding landings) are shown to be a feasible tool for fleet management.     

Modelling of sediment movement in the surf and swash zones

Under the action of marine currents, non-cohesive sediments evolve by bed-load, by saltation or suspension depending on their granulometry. Several authors have considered that the movement of sediment...     

Second-guessing uncertainty: Scenario planning for management of the Indian Ocean tuna purse seine fishery

An important task of natural resource management is deciding amongst alternative policy options, including how interventions will affect the dynamics of resource exploitation. Yet predicting the behaviour of natural resource users in complex, changeable systems presents a significant challenge for managers. Scenario planning, which involves thinking creatively about how a socio-ecological system might develop under a set of possible futures, was used to explore uncertainties in the future of the Indian Ocean tuna purse seine fishery. This exercise stimulated thinking on how key social, economic and environmental conditions that influence fleet behaviour may change in the future, and how these changes might affect the dynamics of fishing effort. Three storylines were explored: an increase in marine protection, growing consumer preference for sustainable seafood, and depletion of tuna stocks. Comparing across several possible future scenarios, a number of critical aspects of fleet behaviour were identified that should be important considerations for fishery managers, but which are currently poorly understood. These included a switch in fishing practices, reallocation of effort in space, investment in new vessels and exit from the fishery. Recommendations for future management interventions in the Indian Ocean were offered, along with suggestions for research needed to reduce management uncertainty.     

Th sorption and export models in the water column: A review

Over the past few decades, the radioisotope pair of ²³⁸U / ²³⁴Th has been widely and increasingly used to describe particle dynamics and particle export fluxes in a variety of aquatic systems. The present paper is one of five review articles dedicated to ²³⁴Th. It is focused on the models associated with ²³⁴Th whereas the companion papers (same issue) are focused on present and future methodologies and techniques (Rutgers van der Loeff et al.), C / ²³⁴Th ratios (Buesseler et al.), ²³⁴Th speciation (Santschi et al.) and present and future applications of ²³⁴Th [Waples, J.T., Benitez-Nelson, C.R., Savoye, N., Rutgers van der Loeff, M., Baskaran, M., Gustafsson, Ö., this issue. An Introduction to the application and future use of ²³⁴Th in aquatic systems. Marine Chemistry, FATE special issue]. In this paper, we review current ²³⁴Th scavenging models and discuss the relative importance of the non-steady state and physical terms associated with the most commonly used model to estimate ²³⁴Th flux. Based on this discussion we recommend that for future work the use of models should be accompanied by a discussion of the effect that model and data uncertainty have on the model results. We also suggest that future field work incorporate repeat occupations of sample sites on time scales of 1–4 weeks in order to evaluate steady state versus non-steady state estimates of ²³⁴Th export, especially during high flux events (> ca. 800 dpm m^− 2 d^− 1). Finally, knowledge of the physical oceanography of the study area is essential, particularly in ocean margins and in areas of established upwelling (e.g., Equatorial Pacific). These suggestions will greatly enhance the application of ²³⁴Th as a tracer of particle dynamics and flux in more complicated regimes.     

Hydroelastic response of marine risers subjected to internal slug-flow

It is the purpose of this study to investigate the dynamic behaviour of catenary pipelines for marine applications, assuming the combined effect of harmonic motions imposed at the top, and the internal slug-flow. The analysis is based on the assumption of a steady slug-flow inside the pipe that results in a relatively simplified model for the formulation of the internal flow. The slug-flow model is described using several assumptions and empirical correlations which attempt to reveal the ill-understood and concealed properties of the slug-flow. The pipeline dynamics are investigated in the two dimensional space omitting the out-of-plane vibrations. The system of differential equations is generic and accounts for the steady effect of the internal liquid as is conveyed through the structure.The two models, those of the internal slug-flow and the pipeline’s dynamical model, are properly combined through the internal flow terms of the dynamic equilibrium system. The solution provided is achieved using a frequency domain technique which is applied to the linearized governing set. The effect of the slug-flow is assessed through comparative computations with and without internal flow effects. The conclusions are drawn having the structure excited under axial and normal motions paying particular attention to the variation of the dynamic components along the complete length of the pipeline.     

Impact of mega-scale sand extraction on tidal dynamics in semi-enclosed basins: An idealized model study with application to the Southern North Sea

Long-term considerations of repeated and increasing sand extraction on the Netherlands Continental Shelf (North Sea) may lead to the creation of a mega-scale extraction trench in front of the Dutch coast (length hundreds of km, width over 10 km, depth several m). We investigate the impact of such a huge topographic intervention on tidal dynamics, which is a key aspect in hydrodynamics, and indirectly also affecting morphodynamics and ecology.     

Vertical zonation and aggregated distribution of the Manila clam on subtidal sand flats in a coastal brackish lagoon along the Sea of Japan

The Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, has maintained small‐sized populations in a semi‐enclosed brackish lake along the Sea of Japan, the Honjo area of Lake Nakaumi, although the environment and biota of this area have changed dramatically due to a large‐scale reclamation project. There should be underlying processes that enable the restoration of this species from small‐sized populations, such as the existence of source (i.e. reproductive) populations in other areas and depth zones of the lake. However, there has been no robust, properly designed evaluation of the distribution of the Manila clam in the subtidal sand flats. In order to elucidate the possible mechanisms that allow for the persistence of populations of the Manila clam, we examined the spatiotemporal and vertical variation in distributions of 0‐age clams in the subtidal zone of sand flats. Seasonal effects on population variations showed erratic changes among depth zones without a decreasing trend along the depth gradient. Further, many local populations became extinct even in the shallower zones due to seasonal (summer) hypoxia at deeper zones and hypoxia by the accumulation of key benthic species (Asian mussel and decaying macroalgae) in mats at shallower zones. A few surviving local populations were stable with a spatial‐fragmental (patchy) distribution, associated with fragmented accumulations of Asian mussels and macroalgae. Efforts to maintain stable populations and to restore this species in the subtidal area may depend on these small, restricted, patchy local populations. These findings suggest that high fertility and productivity of the Manila clam as well as patchy distribution of small populations may contribute to the maintenance of the population and the avoidance of extinction (by spatially diffusing the risk of extinction) in harsh environments resulting from the reclamation project.     

中国北部黄海近岸水体周丛硅藻的群落群集动态特征的研究

The colonization features of periphytic diatoms were studied in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China from May to June 2010, using glass slides as an artificial substratum. Samples were collected at a time interval of 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21 and 28 d from two depths of 1 and 3 m. The dynamics of diatom colonization process had a similar pattern in community structure and fitted the logistic model in growth curve at both depths. The maximum abundance and the time for reaching 50% maximum abundance （10 d） showed no significant differences （P〉0.05） between two depths 1 and 3 m. Although the diatom communities repre- sented similar taxonomic composition, they differed in the temporal pattern of structural parameters and in succession dynamics of dominant species between the two layers. The species richness showed significantly higher values during the colonization period more than 14 d, while the species diversity and evenness rep- resented a higher variability with significantly different values （P〈0.05） at a depth of 1 m than at a deeper layer. The results suggest that the diatom colonization follows the logistic model growth curve and differs in colonization features between different depths in the coastal waters, and that the sampling strategy at i m is more effective to detect the ecological features for bioassessment in marine ecosystems.     

微焦X射线扫描成像技术在岩石物性特征研究的现状

微焦X射线扫描成像技术是在微米—纳米级尺度上对储层岩石物性特征的重构及透视表征,是目前国际范围内较为先进的储层定性定量研究技术。在系统文献资料研究基础上,对微焦X射线扫描成像技术的原理及研究主要内容进行归纳总结,指出该技术是为研究岩石基质及赋存于不同岩石孔隙空间之中的流体而开发建立的不断成熟起来的油气储层定性定量研究技术。可以实现岩石整体、岩石骨架和孔隙三维重构,能够以透视岩心成像的方式直观清晰地观察分析岩石内部三维孔隙空间的分布、大小及其连通性。通过阈值分割,可对孔隙三维组构、孔隙网络中流体流动、天然气水合物生成与分解等特征进行建模分析,达到四维研究的水平。分析探讨了原理及前人研究实例,对其在油气和天然气水合物实际勘探开发运用中的现状及前景做出展望。