Improvement in school-size estimates of pelagic fish using information from sector-scanning sonar

School‐size estimates based on information from a sector‐scanning sonar were compared with those based on information from an echo sounder. Three pairs of size estimates of anchovy schools in the coastal waters, off Fukuoka Prefecture were shown as examples. They included the possibility of improving the size estimates by using information from sector‐scanning sonar to consider the size in the transverse direction. In these examples, the thickness and extent of the school varied in the transverse direction. A large difference was found between the estimates from the sounder information and those from the sector‐scanning sonar information, although whether or not the estimated size decreased differed according to each case. Also, whether the thickness information or the extent information is influential differed according to each case. The size information from the sector‐scanning sonar in the transverse direction caused a change in the estimated size from 66 to 16 (×10³ m³, mainly by different extent), 305 to 146 (×10³ m³, thickness increased but extent decreased), and 819 to 746 (×10³ m³, three seemingly separated schools fused into one).     

A preliminary reappraisal of the biomass of inshore fish stocks in Lake Kariba

The biomass of inshore fish in Lake Kariba, which is a large African man-made lake, was reassessed by sampling with explosives. This made it possible to sample a wide range of habitats, and fish biomass was found to be low along rocky, exposed shorelines. Because of this the total biomass of inshore fish was lower than earlier estimates indicated and may be < 10 000 t. It is concluded that low biomass is a major constraint on the development of an inshore gillnet fishery.     

Simulated effects of target switching on yield and sustainability of fish stocks

Many fisheries have alternative target stocks and selectively exploit the one with the highest expected income. Although target switching is very common in practice, few attempts have thus far been made to study target switching. In this paper, we investigated the potential effects of target switching on the yield and sustainability of fish stocks by equilibrium analysis and stochastic simulation. The equilibrium analysis showed that we can increase F_extinction by switching. The stochastic simulation revealed that well-planned target switching increases yields and simultaneously decreases the risk of the stocks collapsing. Target switching decreases fishing pressure on the less-abundant stock and helps the declined stock to recover. Therefore, the minimum stock level is increased by switching. As switching keeps both stocks at productive levels, the total yield is increased by switching. Target switching is effective, especially when the catchability increases with the depletion of a stock population. Target switching depends on the availability of information on stock abundance. Thus, we examined the vulnerability of switching to stock assessment errors. If the stock assessment is very uncertain, then little or no switching is recommended. Target switching can have substantial effects on fisheries. Therefore, we must investigate the mechanisms of switching and incorporate switching into management plans.     

The number of pelagic fish in Lake Paasivesi,Finland, monitored by hydroacoustic methods

A Craig and Forbes algorithm-based computer program was used to make an acoustic estimate of the number of fish in the pelagic zone of Lake Paasivesi. The acoustic data were collected at night. More than 95% of the estimated fish were counted as singlefish echoes. The vertical distribution of the fish in May was uniform from 4 m down to the bottom, but in August about 90% of the fish counted were between 4 and 18 m. The total number of fish in the research area was 1.3 × 10⁶ individuals in May and 2.7 × 10⁶ individuals in August. The mean fish density was 260 and 530 fish ha^?1, respectively. The horizontal fish distribution in this lake is unusually uniform and the fish density unusually low in comparison with many other lakes in central Finland.     

Patterns of population variability in marine fish stocks

Exploited marine fish and invertebrate stocks fluctuate in a myriad of complex patterns, exhibiting variability on interannual, decadal, and longer time scales. To characterize various patterns of variation, time series of catch, catch per unit effort, or biomass from 30 stocks were examined with a variety of statistical methods including autocorrelation analysis and Lowess smoothing. A hierarchical cluster analysis classified the stocks into six identifiable groups: steady-state; low-variation, low-frequency; cyclic; irregular; high-variation, high-frequency; and spasmodic. The observed patterns are consistent with life history traits; for example, stocks with high variability are generally small, pelagic species whereas low-variability stocks are generally slow-growing, demersal fish. Each of the six general patterns of variability can be produced from a simple multiple-equilibrium population model by varying the intrinsic rate of population growth, and the time scale and amplitude of environmental variability. Suitable management policies depend on the type of variation observed, and the vast majority of stocks examined do not correspond to the steady-state assumptions of classical fisheries models. For example, management of spasmodic stocks may alternate between periods of active exploitation and periods of rebuilding, a process enhanced by the existence of alternative fisheries.     

台湾海峡及其邻近海域鲐鲹鱼类群聚资源的评估

:以初级生产力为基础 ,应用Steele模式估算台湾海峡及其邻近海域中上层鱼类资源年生产量为16 9.88× 10 4 t。估算鲐鱼类群聚资源量为 10 2 .0 8× 10 4 t。Gulland模式和简单模式估算鲐鱼类群聚资源的MSY分别为 50 .6 6× 10 4 t和 51.0 4× 10 4 t。Schaefer和Fox 2种剩余产量模式所估算的MSY分别为52 .4 1× 10 4 t和 51.73× 10 4 t,估算的fMSY换算为福建灯围渔船分别为 10 17组和 10 75组 ,并从海峡南、北 2个不同群系的鲐鱼类主要种群结构和生态学变化及渔业现状 ,讨论该 2个鲐群聚资源的开发利用程度     

Long-term dynamics of pelagic fish density and vendace (Coregonus albula (L.)) stocks in four zones of a lake differing in trawling intensity

Abstract – An 11-year time series of hydroacoustic fish density estimates and fisheries statistics of vendace ( Coregonus albula (L.)) from four zones of a lake differing in trawling intensity was analyzed in order to test the hypothesis that intensive trawling has detrimental effects on pelagic fish stocks, especially vendace recruitment. The standardized fish density estimate in trawled zones showed no decrease in comparison to the non-trawled zone. No signs of recruitment failure associable with trawling intensity were found. The growth of vendace at the end of the study period was slower than that at the beginning, indicating a higher density, most clearly so in the zone with highest trawling intensity. No significant correlations were detected between 3-year mean trawling intensity and yield per unit effort of over-1-year-old vendace or fish density in any zone. Thus, no evidence to support the hypothesis was found. This was suggested to be due to density-dependent compensatory processes in recruitment and/or natural mortality effectively counteracting the population change induced by exploitation. ^Note     

Potential movement of fish and shellfish stocks from the sub‐Arctic to the Arctic Ocean

An assessment of the potential for 17 fish or shellfish stocks or stock groups to move from the sub‐Arctic areas into the Arctic Ocean was conducted. A panel of 34 experts was convened to assess the impact of climate change on the potential movement of the 17 stocks or stock groups. The panel considered the exposure of species to climate change, the sensitivity of species to these changes and the adaptive capacity of each stock or stock group. Based on expert opinions, the potential for expansion or movement into the Arctic was qualitatively ranked (low potential, potential, high potential). It is projected that the Arctic Ocean will become ice‐free during the summer season, and when this happens new areas will open up for plankton production, which may lead to new feeding areas for fish stocks. Five stocks had a low potential to move to, or expand in, the high Arctic. Six species are considered as potential candidate species to move to, or expand in, the high Arctic. Six stocks had a high potential of establishing viable resident populations in the region. These six stocks exhibit life history characteristics that allow them to survive challenging environmental conditions that will continue to prevail in the north. This study suggests that several life history factors should be considered when assessing the potentiality of a species moving in response to changing climate conditions.     

The effect of large-scale spatial variation of pelagic fish on hydroacoustic estimates of their population density in Windermere (northwest England)

From July 1989 to December 1992, an echo sounder provided monthly estimates, usually for both day and night, of pelagic fish densities in the north and south basins of Windermere, the largest natural lake in England. Sampling was along contiguous transects, 3 in the north basin and 5 in the south basin. It was impossible to separate records for Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from those for brown trout (Salmo trutta), but previous sampling by gill-nets and anglers showed that charr formed about 90% of this mixed population in the north basin and 60–75% in the south basin. In each basin, estimates of population density for the combined transects did not agree with estimates obtained by treating the transects as a contiguous sample of 9 sampling units; only the latter, of course, provided a measure of the precision of each estimate. Analyses of the contiguous samples showed that the variance was significantly greater than the arithmetic mean in most samples, indicating that the fish were distributed nonrandomly in a patchy or clumped pattern. The relationship between the large-scale spatial variance and mean for these samples was well described by a power function; the parameter estimates did not vary significantly between basins, day and night samples or years. As the power in this equation did not differ greatly from 2 (value for pooled data was 1.70 ± 0.11, n= 136), the variance was stabilized by a log transformation of the data, and the geometric mean, rather than the arithmetic mean, provided the best estimate of population density when some measure of precision was required. These conclusions may be applicable to other echo-sounding estimates of population abundance, and similar comparisons should be made for pelagic fish in other lakes.     

太湖鲢(Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)种群生长特征和适宜捕捞量的初步研究

对2015年9月在太湖采集的200尾鲢鱼(Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)样本进行了年龄结构和生长特征的研究,结果显示:年龄结构由0~+—5~+龄共6个年龄组组成,1~+龄鱼的数量比例最大,约占42.0%,体长与体质量呈显著的幂指数关系,方程为W=1.96×10-5 L~(2.9842),太湖鲢为匀速生长类型,生长性能良好。Von Bertalanffy生长方程为L_t=105.27[1-e~(-0.1855(t+0.670))],W_t=21.2388[1-e~(-0.1855(t+0.670))]~(2.9842),其生长呈现先快速增长后逐步趋于稳定的过程,生长拐点年龄为5.22龄,建议将此年龄时的体长(约70.0 cm)作为太湖鲢开捕体长,现阶段宜将太湖鲢的捕捞量控制在614.0 t左右。研究结果为太湖鲢资源的保护与合理利用提供了参考依据。     

小型中上层海洋鱼类资源评估研究进展

小型中上层海洋鱼类是重要的渔业资源,目前其捕捞产量约占到全球海洋渔获量二分之一。小型中上层海洋鱼类具有生命周期短、生长速度快、分布不均匀、易受环境因素影响等生物学特点,近年来,一些小型中上层海洋鱼类渔获量出现下降趋势,为保证其资源的可持续利用,对其进行准确的资源评估研究和制定合理有效的管理策略显得尤为重要。以文献计量统计分析为基础,对20多年来应用于小型中上层海洋鱼类资源评估的模型方法以及所需数据类型进行归纳与回顾,同时对模型中重要的参数估计、不确定性来源进行总结。分析认为,由于缺乏完整、准确的生物学信息导致无法对小型中上层海洋鱼类使用传统的资源评估方法进行评估,因此,其资源评估研究仍处在发展阶段。建议今后研究中应开展以下工作:1)努力提高现有模型的评估精度,尽可能考虑更多影响因素; 2)要进行长期系统的渔业资源独立调查; 3)充分利用体长等易获得数据,开发体长结构模型和基于生态系统的评估模型,降低模型选择的局限性。     

鱼类自然死亡系数评估研究进展

自然死亡系数是渔业资源评估中不可或缺的重要参数,其准确度直接决定了资源评估结果的可靠性,进而影响渔业管理策略的制定。本文从生活史参数、标志回捕和年龄结构3个方面列举了国内外自然死亡系数的常用评估方法,讨论了相关方法的优缺点及影响因素,并以犬齿牙鲆(Paralichthys dentatus)和中国近海鱼类为例对比分析不同模型的计算结果。在此基础上,着重介绍了Pauly经验公式在中国近海主要经济鱼类自然死亡系数评估中的应用进展及存在问题。根据渔业资源调查和研究数据现状,认为现阶段使用Pauly经验公式评估中国近海经济鱼类自然死亡系数具有积极作用。     

Experimentally increased turbidity causes behavioural shifts in Lake Malawi cichlids

Abstract – The aquatic environment is being perturbed globally through increases in turbidity, which can have detrimental effects for the maintenance of fish diversity, especially in species dependent on visual cues for reproduction and species recognition. We performed a short‐term manipulation of the visual environment in Lake Malawi to test for an immediate behavioural response to increased turbidity in territorial rock‐dwelling cichlid fishes that use colourful visual cues to maintain territories near the substrate and attract mates. We found a significant movement of fish away from the substrate, with a concomitant shift from displaying territorial and courting behaviours to foraging behaviours, during the five minutes following the release of a turbidity plume over the area. This study is the first to test for and demonstrate an immediate behavioural response of a natural fish population to a short‐term increase in turbidity that might mimic the initial (i.e., immediate) stage of a run‐off event after rainfall in a deforested area.     

On the variable subsurface environment of fish stocks in the Bering Sea

Data from 1971 to 1993 are used to examine characteristics and variability of the subsurface temperature maximum in the Aleutian Basin of the Bering Sea. The temperature of this feature varies from ∼3.5C to 4.6C at depths of ∼150–400 m, and sigma-t density is usually in the range 26.6–26.9. The variability is caused mainly by the absence or presence of inflow of warm, low-density Alaskan Stream water through Amukta Pass. Thus the environment offish stocks is far from uniform.     

Assessment of catch, effort and species changes in the pair-trawl fishery of southern Lake Malawi, Malawi, Africa

Abstract  Catch per unit effort (CPUE) and species composition in the pair-trawl fishery in commercial Area A of southern Lake Malawi were assessed from 1991 to 2001. CPUE declined from 1.7 t day⁻¹ in 1995 to 0.5 t day⁻¹ in 2001 and the fishery is considered depleted. In 2000/2002, catch composition differed significantly from a 1991 survey, and was dominated by haplochromine cichlids (92% by weight). Of 98 haplochromine cichlid taxa identified in the catch, 18 contributed ≥1% by weight. The artisanal fishery targeted similar species of a similar size. It was recommended that: (1) renewed investment and increased effort in the pair-trawl fishery is not advisable; (2) there was a need for effort limitation in Area A and (3) the pair-trawl fishery should not be managed in isolation of the artisanal fishery.     

Changes in the spawning habitat of two small pelagic fish in the Northwestern Mediterranean

We investigated the effects of three sea surface oceanographic variables (temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll a) on the abundance of eggs and larvae of two summer‐spawning species in the NW Mediterranean Sea, the anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and the round sardinella Sardinella aurita, based on data from ichthyoplankton surveys carried out in the 1980s, 2000s, and 2010s. The environmental data showed an increase in seawater temperature and salinity along time, coupled with a decrease in chlorophyll a (proxy for primary production). These long‐term directional changes in environmental conditions helped explain the important reduction observed in the abundance of eggs and larvae of anchovy, as well as shrinking of spawning habitat in this species. At the same time, the probability of occurrence of round sardinella has increased from practically zero in the 1980s to probabilities near 1 along the coastal area of the study region in the two decades of the 21st century. Given that the trends observed in the environmental variables along the three decades of study are expected to continue during the 21st century, as a consequence of climate change, the spawning habitat of anchovy is expected to continue decreasing, while round sardinella habitat can expand. Considering that anchovy is of high commercial importance in NW Mediterranean fisheries, while round sardinella has very low commercial interest, our results show that the viability of small pelagic fisheries in the area may be compromised.     

The unexploited potential of tilapia hybrids in aquaculture

Abstract. Hybridization between tilapia species, to produce all-male broods, was at one time considered a promising method to prevent uncontrolled reproduction (Hickling 1963). It has been tested with a number of tilapia species, but most attempts at large-scale hybrid production did not succeed. The major reason for this failure is the instability in production of all-male hybrids. Sooner or later the system broke down, and females began to appear in increasing proportions among progenies which, up to then, had been all male. It appears that this breakdown is largely due to the infiltration of parental broodstock by individuals of a different genotype, predominantly hybrids between the two species involved, which are difficult to distinguish from their parents. This problem may be solved by a careful examination of the broodstock, often including thousands of individuals, and culling doubtful cases. It requires trained and permanent personnel. Hybridization has been largely superseded by hormonal sex inversion as a method of producing all-male tilapias. In this paper, the two methods are considered as alternatives, if problems of broodstock purity are solved. Establishing a pilot scheme for hybrid tilapia production is recommended.     

Recruitment sources for fish stocks inside a floodplain river impoundment in Bangladesh

Abstract The sources of fish recruitment in the hydrologically modified, impounded Pabna Irrigation and Rural Development Project (PIRDP) flood control and irrigation scheme in NW Bangladesh were investigated. Catches at sluice gates were analysed to determine the migratory behaviour of fish. Fish attempted to migrate through the undershot sluice gates when they were opened, both with and against the currents, and both in and out of the PIRDP. Many fish were caught by the fishermen at such locations, but it is argued that some fish were probably able to enter the PIRDP from outside. One to two percentage of fish survived the dry season at the PIRDP, mostly in the deeper, perennial water bodies, both in rivers and lakes, and both inside and outside the flood control scheme. Fewer species survived inside the scheme, and the numbers of species remaining declined as the dry season progressed. It was shown in companion papers that fish production inside the PIRDP was lower than outside in both 1995 and 1996 even though the growth and reproductive potential of individual fish were at least as good inside as outside. The apparently negative impact of the PIRDP was explained by the reduced accessibility of the scheme to some migrant fish, as reflected by the inside/outside species compositions. It was concluded that fish catches within the PIRDP are sustained mainly from recruits produced by residing annual populations, while the biodiversity of the stocks was augmented by limited recruitment of fish migrating through the sluice gates from external sources. Two management approaches were proposed for increasing recruitment to the impounded PIRDP fishery as cheap alternatives to fish stocking: the use of dry season reserves to protect the residing spawning stocks; and the management of flood control sluice gates to maximise recruitment from external sources.