Decline and fall of the salmon fisheries in the Netherlands: is restocking the Rhine a reality?

Abstract. The Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., was once of major importance to the fishing industry along the River Rhine. This paper discusses the Dutch and German salmon catches over the years 1863–1950. Even up to the end of the last century, it was not uncommon for Dutch and German fishermen to land 100000 salmon a year. However, factors such as the increased use of locks and weirs along the Rhine, coupled with growth in pollution, soon led to a rapid decline in numbers. By 1933, the salmon fishing industry in the Netherlands had virtually ceased to exist. Analysis of the available catch statistics suggests that the decline in the salmon population could have started before official records began. Although the degree of scatter in the data and uncertainties in the assumptions preclude the possibility of drawing firm conclusions about the survival rate of salmon, these figures illustrate how difficult it will be to maintain a stable population in the Rhine. Moreover, a number of changes have taken place since the heyday of salmon in western Europe, which could compound the problem. Of particular importance in the context of the Rhine are:

• 1 the closure of two of the major migration routes to the sea (Haringvliet and Zuiderzee);
• 2 morphological changes in the river;
• 3 chemical and thermal pollution;
• 4 the loss of accessible spawning and nursery areas of the required quality;
• 5 the disappearance of salmon from other rivers that flow into the North Sea such as the Rivers Elbe, Weser and Ems. If salmon were only reintroduced into the Rhine, a certain proportion would probably stray and infiltrate these other rivers.

The fact that the impact of these changes is difficult to quantify increases the uncertainty associated with maintaining a stable stock of salmon in the Rhine.     

What are the drivers of the occurrence of illegal fishing and conservation barriers of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea?

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Does the Intensity of Anisakis Infection Affect the Quality of Hake Muscle?

The distribution of Anisakis larvae in fresh caught hake was studied, and the influence of three infection levels of the viscera (low, medium, high) on quality changes of deep frozen muscle was followed over 220 days. Differences in quality were attributed more to the size of the individuals than to the infection degree of the three groups. The removal of belly flaps diminished the risk of consumers’ infection and sensitization as prevalence and intensity was reduced to 75.6 and 5.9%, respectively. Allergens were detected after 220 days frozen storage, which represents a risk for consumers already allergic to Anisakis.     

Life in the fast lane: Revisiting the fast growth—High survival paradigm during the early life stages of fishes

Early life survival is critical to successful replenishment of fish populations, and hypotheses developed under the Growth-Survival Paradigm (GSP) have guided investigations of controlling processes. The GSP postulates that recruitment depends on growth and mortality rates during early life stages, as well as their duration, after which the mortality declines substantially. The GSP predicts a shift in the frequency distribution of growth histories with age towards faster growth rates relative to the initial population because slow-growing individuals are subject to high mortality (via starvation and predation). However, mortality data compiled from 387 cases published in 153 studies (1971–2022) showed that the GSP was only supported in 56% of cases. Selection against slow growth occurred in two-thirds of field studies, leaving a non-negligible fraction of cases showing either an absence of or inverse growth-selective survival, suggesting the growth-survival relationship is more complex than currently considered within the GSP framework. Stochastic simulations allowed us to assess the influence of key intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the characteristics of surviving larvae and identify knowledge gaps on the drivers of variability in growth-selective survival. We suggest caution when interpreting patterns of growth selection because changes in variance and autocorrelation of individual growth rates among cohorts can invalidate fundamental GSP assumptions. We argue that breakthroughs in recruitment research require a comprehensive, population-specific characterization of the role of predation and intrinsic factors in driving variability in the distribution and autocorrelation of larval growth rates, and of the life stage corresponding to the endpoint of pre-recruited life.     

Are marine protected areas useful for the recovery of the Mediterranean mussel populations?

• 1. Mussel beds are important intertidal communities in the Mediterranean Sea and have traditionally been exploited by humans.
• 2. Marine protected areas are management tools for recovering over‐fished populations, normally top predator populations, which may in turn undermine prey abundance. Therefore, mussel populations might not recover inside protected areas, as they are affected by increasing fish populations.
• 3. To study the effects of both human and fish predation on mussels, three locations were selected: the Reserve (R), where all types of exploitation were banned and fish were abundant; the Partial Reserve (PR), where only angling was permitted, and fish abundance was low; and the Non‐Reserve (NR), where no protection existed and fish were rare.
• 4. Data from mussel bed surveys indicate that recruitment is critical to sustain mussel populations, and similar size structures were found at all three locations. However, the overall biomass in the PR was nearly double that in both R and NR, suggesting disturbance of some sort at these latter two sites.
• 5. A tethering experiment showed that fish predation greatly affected mussels in R, while the analysis of harvester collections from the NR showed that the most harvested size classes were those least abundant in the mussel bed.
• 6. Both protected and non‐protected areas are unable to increase mussel populations due to trophic cascade effects, while partial reserves, where fish populations are exploited and mussels protected, are areas where the Mediterranean mussel populations can recover.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is the crown-of-thorns starfish a threat to the reefs of Lord Howe Island?

• 1 Lord Howe Island, a World Heritage Area which lies in the southern Pacific Ocean, has the most southern true coral reefs in the world.
• 2 In the past decade, populations of Acanthaster planci, the crown-of-thorns starfish, have significantly reduced coral cover at Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs, approximately 200 km to the north of Lord Howe Island, and a small population has been reported from Lord Howe Island.
• 3 The abundance and distribution of A. planci was evaluated using surveys by the local recreational diving industry and video-transects, and the potential rate of recovery of the coral community following predation was assessed by analysing coral recruitment patterns.
• 4 The starfish population at Lord Howe Island remained relatively small and localized between 1984 and 1993.
• 5 Coral recruitment was dominated by the juveniles of brooding corals, and these same species dominated the established coral community. There was limited recruitment of broadcast-spawning coral species during the study period, suggesting that southern dispersal of coral larvae from more northern sites may be a rare or sporadic event.
• 6 The results indicate that there is only a small probability that the present starfish population will result in a major starfish outbreak. However, the recovery of the coral community from a major outbreak would be slow because of the apparently low rate of input of coral larvae from sources external to the reef.
• 7 Management agencies need to consider whether the present small and localized starfish population should be removed, given the likely ramifications of an infestation and the economic importance of the reef to tourism.

     

The cooperation between the Chinese Bureau of Fisheries and the Norwegian Directorate of fisheries

Activities1994In 1994 Peter Gullestad(Present Director General of Fisheries in Bergen) headed a Norwegian delegationvisiting China.In his presentation of“The N orwegian exp erience in fisheries management and control” - hestressed the fact that overcapacity is“the root of all evil”.He also underlined that it is important not only toset up a legal system for fisheries management but also to establish reliable catch statistics.He further morepointed out that good scientific advice is th…     

Distribution and movement between habitats with growth of the hard clam Meretrix lusoria in the Shirakawa–Midorikawa estuary of the Ariake Sea

The distribution and movement between habitats with growth of the hard clam Meretrix lusoria were examined by comparing the size–frequency distributions among 17 sites in the Shirakawa–Midorikawa Estuary of the Ariake Sea. This clam is a commercially important bivalve in Japan, and its annual catch is largest in the Ariake Sea. At the study sites, new recruits were abundant at river mouths, and density was strongly affected by the distance from coastal tidal rivers and streams. In contrast, adults were widely distributed on tidal flats, although density was low at many sites. At marine site Oda, the density of adults was higher than that of new recruits at all sites and higher than that of juveniles at most sites. These results indicate that this species moves from riverine sites to marine sites with growth. Moreover, the observed low density of adult clams may indicate overfishing. The active movement of M. lusoria across the fishing grounds complicates the sustainable resource management of this species. Therefore, further studies are needed for effective resource management of M. lusoria.     

The effects of bioturbation by the Venus clam Cyclina sinensis on the fluxes of nutrients across the sediment–water interface in aquaculture ponds

A mesocosm experiment was conducted to study the effects of bioturbation by the marine bivalve Cyclina sinensis in an aquatic system and to examine how the bioactivities of this clam alter the rate at which nutrients are exchanged across the sediment–water interface. A dark incubation experiment was performed to determine the fluxes of inorganic nutrients (NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^? + NO₂ ^? and PO₄ ^3?), benthic chlorophyll a (Chl a), organic matter and sediment oxygen consumption (SOC) on days 1, 10, 20 and 30. C. sinensis destroyed the initial sediment surface and partially enhanced oxygen penetration into the sediment. The clam also increased the water content and volume of the oxic sediment. The analysis showed that increases in the clam density and time period produced higher fluxes of all the nutrients (NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^? + NO₂ ^? and PO₄ ^3?) in the bioturbated chambers compared with the control (non-bioturbated chambers). The concentration of Chl a in the sediment increased significantly at the end of the experiment (day 30) (p < 0.05). The SOC rate increased significantly with the increase in density and with the time period from day 10 to day 30 (p < 0.05). As a result, the fluxes of nutrients increased with increased SOC, producing oxygen-induced sediment mineralization. Our findings suggest that the activities of the clams could positively influence SOC and cause an increase in the fluxes of inorganic nutrients. These effects may substantially improve the primary productivity and water quality of earthen pond ecosystems.     

Does the wild‐caught Chinese mitten crab megalopae perform better than the hatchery‐produced seed during the juvenile culture?

Although wild Yangtze Eriocheir sinensis juveniles (coin‐sized seed) have better culture performance than the pond‐reared juveniles during the adult crab culture stage, the culture performance of wild‐caught megalopae (WC) remains unknown. Therefore, this study was designed to compare the growth, survival rate, crab yield, feed conversion rate (FCR), precocity, final weight and size distribution between WC and hatchery‐produced megalopae (HP) during the juvenile culture stage. Wild‐caught megalopae had significantly higher body weight, weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) during 0–4 weeks but lower WGR and SGR than HP during 4–8 weeks (p < .05). Although WC had a significantly lower survival rate and yield of normal juvenile crabs than HP, total yields of normal juveniles and precocious crabs were similar. Wild‐caught megalopae had a significantly higher precocious rate and yield of precocious crabs than HP (p < .05). Regardless of sex, no significant differences were found in the gonadosomatic index (GSI), hepatosomatic index (HSI) and final weight of normal juveniles and precocious crabs between WC and HP. As for the size distribution of normal crabs, WC had a higher percentage of small female juveniles (<3 g) but a lower proportion of middle size ranges (3–5.99 g and 6–8.99 g) than HP for females (p < .05), and there was no significant difference for males. In conclusion, wild megalopae of the Yangtze E. sinensis had worse culture performance than the hatchery‐produced seeds; therefore, wild megalopae would not be recommended for commercially juvenile culture of E. sinensis.     

Is the use of recombinant cGnRH may be a future alternative to control the fish spawning? Let us go with the goldfish example

The use of recombinant gonadotropin-releasing hormone (rGnRH) has very rarely been tested in fish to promote spawning. This study evaluated the impact of recombinant chicken gonadotropin-releasing hormone (rcGnRH) with metoclopramide on the release of sex steroids and final maturation induction in goldfish (Carassius auratus) broodstock. For this purpose, goldfish broodstock was divided into four groups and treated with 0.9% NaCl with 20 mg/kg metoclopramide (Met) (C); 10 μg/kg body weight (BW) rcGnRH with 20 mg/kg metoclopramide (rcGn10); 15 μg/kg BW rcGnRH with 20 mg/kg metoclopramide (rcGn15); and 20 μg/kg BW rcGnRH with 20 mg/kg metoclopramide (rcGn20). The capability of the rcGnRH for eliciting biological response was tested in vivo by evaluating the changes of 17β estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), and 17α, 20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (DHP) and the induced spawning. Blood samples were obtained at 0 h, 12 h, and 24 h after injection. The rcGn10, rcGn15, and rcGn20 treatments induced lower E2 concentration, especially 24 h post-injection. T levels were significantly higher in rcGn10, rcGn15, and rcGn20 treatments 12 h post-injection than at 0 h and then decreased at 24 h post-injection. Furthermore, the rcGnRH tested significantly enhanced DHP secretion in rcGn10, rcGn15, and rcGn20 treatments 12 h post-injection before a decline at 24 h post-injection. No significant difference between the sampling times was found in the C treatment for the 3 sex steroids tested. The results also displayed that rcGnRH at 10–20 µg/kg of body weight can trigger spawning with the highest speed and efficiency of spawning at 20 µg/kg. The obtained results represent a possible strategy for enhancing the artificial reproduction and ovulation of broodstock fish by rGnRH and further support the use of recombinant hormones to promote reproduction in aquaculture.

     

On sightings of (vagrant?) monk seals,Monachus monachus,in the Mediterranean Basin and their importance for the conservation of the species

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The effect of α-MSH treatment on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis in the cichlid fish Oreochromis mossambicus

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry - In this investigation, we examined the influence of alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), a proopiomelanocortin-derived peptide, along the...     

How fast can the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) larvae cross the Atlantic Ocean?

The migration duration of European eel ( Anguilla anguilla ) larvae (leptocephali) from the spawning areas in the Sargasso Sea to the European continental shelf remains highly controversial, with estimates varying from 6 months to more than 2 yr. We estimated the fastest migration period and the shortest distance travelled by eel larvae by simulating Lagrangian particles released in the Sargasso Sea and by simulating a range of larval behaviours (fixed-depth drift, vertical diurnal migration and active-depth selection to maximize current velocity). This enabled us to compute (i) a passive drift speed, and (ii) a hypothetic swimming speed needed for European eel larvae to cross the Atlantic in 6 months (i.e., the migration duration estimated from otolith daily growth increments). Our results show that the minimum travel time for an eel larva that is passively drifting was 10 months and 3 days. Active behaviours (vertical diurnal migration and rheotaxis) paradoxically increased the migration period. We found that for leptocephali to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 6 months, they would need to swim a minimum of 3.4 body lengths per second for 8200 km. No larvae have been observed with such swimming capabilities. These results provide evidence that leptocephali cannot cross the Atlantic in 6 months.     

Can the polyculture with South American catfish improve the feeding efficiency of rainbow trout culture?

The objective of this study was to determine if the South American catfish (Rhamdia quelen) is suitable to be farmed in polyculture with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in intensive systems during the juvenile phase to maximize feed efficiency. Juveniles of rainbow trout (3.94?±?0.11 g) and South American catfish (2.07?±?0.04 g) were distributed in 16 tanks (100 L) with continuous water renewal at the density of 50 fish/tank. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments (proportions between species) and four replicates. The treatments were 100% trout (100T), 70% trout and 30% catfish (70T30C), 50% trout and 50% catfish (50T50C), and 100% catfish (100C). Fish were fed twice daily with pelleted commercial feed (45% crude protein) during an experimental period of 56 days. No feed was provided for the catfish in polyculture. The weight gained by the trout was higher in polyculture. Fish survival did not differ among the treatments. The average survival of the trout in all tanks was 99.6?±?1.0%, while the survival of the South American catfish was 97.9?±?2.7%. The total feed conversion ratio was lower in the 70T30J treatment, followed by the 100T treatment. Rainbow trout and South American catfish are compatible species for farming together in the first phase of their juvenile development. The different spaces occupied by these species inside tanks probably prevent competition or agonistic behavior. Catfish eat the non-ingested leftover diet from the trout, which improves feed conversion and increases sustainability.     

Can we increase haddock yield within the constraints of the Magnuson–Stevens Act?

Georges Bank haddock is a recently recovered fish stock in the New England groundfish fishery. Due to federal constraints under the Magnuson–Steven Act, however, this stock cannot be optimally exploited due to the bycatch of other critical species in the New England groundfishery such as cod and yellowtail flounder which are overfished. The Ruhle trawl and Separator trawl are examples of recent advances in gear technology that have been shown to significantly increase haddock to bycatch ratios. This study models the groundfish fishery through a mixed-stock yield model which incorporates technological interactions. We also develop a socio-economic model that quantifies the amount of employment and producer surplus associated with three trawl types. Our results explore policy situations regarding the use of the new trawls. By bridging the biological and socio-economic models, we are able to view the fishery as a system that more accurately represents stakeholder views. Our model shows that each trawl, when used exclusively, produces different optimum strategies and therefore an optimum management strategy would most likely include a combination of trawl types. Our results also support the logic of using modified trawls for haddock fishing trips in which bycatch is strictly regulated (“B days”) as the Ruhle trawl is able to maintain 80% of catches caught by a conventional trawl while reducing bycatch up to over 60%. This paper is a first step towards an aid for policy makers to examine fishery gear trade-offs and the resulting biological and socio-economic consequences of different management actions within the constraints of the Magnuson–Stevens Act.