Induction of triploidy in Melicertus kerathurus (Forskal, 1775) with temperature shock

Triploidy in fertilized eggs of Melicertus kerathurus was induced by cold (8, 10, 12°C) and heat (34, 36, 38°C) shock for different duration times (2, 4 and 8 min) after 10 min of post spawning. The best individual treatment produced 64.5% triploid nauplii in cold shock application at a temperature of 10°C for a duration of 8 min. Temperature did not have significant effect (P > 0.05) on triploid rate but duration time had a significant effect (P < 0.05) for individual cold or heat shock. This study demonstrates that because of a wide variety of effective parameters, it is essential to optimize shock conditions for each species strain at each location.     

Catch rates, size structure and sex ratio of Melicertus kerathurus (Decapoda: Penaeidae) from an Aegean Sea trawl fishery

Otter-trawl catch rates and population structure of the prawn Melicertus kerathurus were studied at the fishing ground of Thermaikos Gulf (North Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean), where the stock is exploited both by otter-trawlers and the artisanal local fleet. Sampling was conducted on board commercial trawlers on a monthly basis in two consequent open fishing seasons (October to May 2000–2001 and 2001–2002) resulting to a total of 70 hauls. Samples were also obtained through experimental trawling (24 hauls) during the closed season. The main trawling ground is located near the border between the outer and the inner gulf, and along the western and northeastern coasts of the outer gulf in depths ranging from 35 to 70 m (most frequently at 40–50 m). Catch per unit effort (CPUE) varied significantly with month but not with fishing season (mean CPUE 3.18 and 1.78 kg/h for the 2 successive years) or depth. Catches were at maximum (up to 7.5 kg/h) at the beginning of the open season in autumn and decreased sharply as the season proceeded (<2.5 kg/h), which is likely to be due to induced fishing mortality in the preceding months, to prawn dispersal and/or to its tendency for longer burrowing. Commercial fishing trips consisted of multiple, short efforts when catches were high, whereas low yields during winter–spring led to less hauls of longer duration: ln CPUE = 2.974 − 2.047 ln HD, r = −0.57. Prawn size ranged from 17 to 60 mm CL, showing a consistent difference in favor of females. A weak recruitment to the fishery was observed from autumn through winter, while, as shown by experimental trawling, the main recruitment pulse to the fishery occurs just prior to the season's opening. The delayed arrival of the prawns on the fishing ground during the second fishing season, accompanied by smaller prawn size and shallower exploitation depth, was possibly related to decreased autumn rainfall. In both years, sex ratio showed a temporal pattern, which seems to be the result of sex-related differences in fishing vulnerability, in timing of inshore migration and in mating mortality.     

A biophysical model to assess the trade‐off between larval recruitment and catch in southern Australia's largest prawn fishery

Data from stock assessment surveys, published research and climate sensors were linked to model the interaction between fishing, physical‐oceanographic processes and spatial patterns of larval settlement for western king prawn [Penaeus (Melicertus) latisulcatus]. This information was used to evaluate the trade‐off between larval recruitment and catch during fishing periods that demand high prices but coincide with spawning. Total rates of larval settlement were maximized when tidal currents and atmospheric physical‐forcing components were coupled with simulations of larval swimming behaviour under average gulf temperatures. Average gulf temperatures sustained longer larval durations and increased larval settlement rates by over 12% compared with warmer gulf conditions simulated under a scenario of global warming. Reproductive data coupled with outputs from the biophysical model identified consistent inter‐annual patterns in the areas contributing to larval settlement success. Areas located in the north‐east, and central‐west of the fishery, consistently contributed to over 40% of all larvae reaching a settlement in each year. Harvest sensitivity analyses indicated that changes in the spatial patterns of pre‐Christmas fishing could lead to improvements in overall rates of the larval settlement while maintaining or improving the levels of catch. Future studies to refine the model inputs relating to physical processes, larval behaviour and mortality rates for P. latisulcatus coupled with surveys of juvenile prawn abundance to ground truth the modelled predictions, would allow stock recruitment relationships to be more closely examined and inform adaptive management of the fishery in the future.     

Genetic variation and population structure of the caramote prawn Penaeus kerathurus (Forskäl) from the eastern and western Mediterranean coasts in Tunisia

Ten populations of Penaeus kerathurus (Forskäl), a prawn of high commercial value, were sampled from the eastern and western Mediterranean coastal waters of Tunisia and screened electrophoretically for genetic variation at 13 allozyme loci. Four among the six polymorphic loci were out of Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (H–WE) in at least one population. In the same way, the multilocus test showed deviation from H–WE in six populations. These populations showed heterozygote deficiency whereas the average heterozygosity for the four remaining ones is quite similar to the expected levels. Genetic variability was low. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 1.2 to 1.5 (average=1.3), and the observed heterozygosity varied between 0.010 and 0.048 (average=0.021). Significant population differentiation (F_ST=0.076, P<0.05) in the total data set reflected the differentiation of the two populations, which were at the margins of the range sampled, from all the others (Pairwise F_ST values ranged from 0.035 to 0.208). Although there was no significant differentiation among the other populations (pairwise F_ST values ranged from ?0.006 to 0.201, P>0.05). Our data suggest a population structure consistent with separation by Mediterranean Sea basins that might reflect different local biogeographical zones.