Peraltilla, S., & Bertrand, S. (2014). In situ measurements of the speed of Peruvian anchovy schools. Fisheries Research, 149, 92–94.
Résumé: While speed of fish schools is critical information for parameterizing numerous ecosystem models and evaluating fishery management options, it is poorly documented. Here we present results of in situ measurements of the speed of Peruvian anchovy schools, a small pelagic species that sustain the world's largest mono-specific fishery. Instantaneous school speed was in average 0.6 ms(-1), authorizing theoretical maximum displacements of similar to 26 km day(-1).
|
Pikitch, E. K., Rountos, K. J., Essington, T. E., Santora, C., Pauly, D., Watson, R., et al. (2014). The global contribution of forage fish to marine fisheries and ecosystems. Fish and Fisheries, 15(1), 43–64.
Résumé: Forage fish play a pivotal role in marine ecosystems and economies worldwide by sustaining many predators and fisheries directly and indirectly. We estimate global forage fish contributions to marine ecosystems through a synthesis of 72 published Ecopath models from around the world. Three distinct contributions of forage fish were examined: (i) the ecological support service of forage fish to predators in marine ecosystems, (ii) the total catch and value of forage fisheries and (iii) the support service of forage fish to the catch and value of other commercially targeted predators. Forage fish use and value varied and exhibited patterns across latitudes and ecosystem types. Forage fish supported many kinds of predators, including fish, seabirds, marine mammals and squid. Overall, forage fish contribute a total of about 16.9 billion USD to global fisheries values annually, i.e. 20% of the global ex-vessel catch values of all marine fisheries combined. While the global catch value of forage fisheries was 5.6 billion, fisheries supported by forage fish were more than twice as valuable (11.3 billion). These estimates provide important information for evaluating the trade-offs of various uses of forage fish across ecosystem types, latitudes and globally. We did not estimate a monetary value for supportive contributions of forage fish to recreational fisheries or to uses unrelated to fisheries, and thus the estimates of economic value reported herein understate the global value of forage fishes.
|
Putman, N. F., Abreu-Grobois, F. A., Broderick, A. C., Ciofi, C., Formia, A., Godley, B. J., et al. (2014). Numerical dispersal simulations and genetics help explain the origin of hawksbill sea turtles in Ascension Island. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 450(Special Issue), 98–108.
Résumé: Long-distance dispersal and ontogenetic shifts in habitat use are characteristic of numerous marine species and have important ecological, evolutionary, and management implications. These processes, however, are often challenging to study due to the vast areas involved. We used genetic markers and simulations of physical transport within an ocean circulation model to gain understanding into the origin ofjuvenile hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) found at Ascension Island, a foraging ground that is thousands of kilometers from known nesting beaches. Regional origin of genetic markers suggests that turtles are from Western Atlantic (86%) and Eastern Atlantic (14%) rookeries. In contrast, numerical simulations of transport by ocean currents suggest that passive dispersal from the western sources would be negligible and instead would primarily be from the East, involving rookeries along Western Africa (i.e., Principe Island) and, potentially, from as far as the Indian Ocean (e.g., Mayotte and the Seychelles). Given that genetic analysis identified the presence of a haplotype endemic to Brazilian hawksbill rookeries at Ascension, we examined the possible role of swimming behavior by juvenile hawksbills from NE Brazil on their current-borne transport to Ascension Island by performing numerical experiments in which swimming behavior was simulated for virtual particles (simulated turtles). We found that oriented swimming substantially influenced the distribution of particles, greatly altering the proportion of particles dispersing into the North Atlantic and South Atlantic. Assigning location-dependent orientation behavior to particles allowed them to reach Ascension Island, remain in favorable temperatures, encounter productive foraging areas, and return to the vicinity of their natal site. The age at first arrival to Ascension (4.5-5.5 years) of these particles corresponded well to estimates of hawksbill age based on their size. Our findings suggest that ocean currents and swimming behavior play an important role in the oceanic ecology of sea turtles and other marine animals.
|
Torres-Irineo, E., Gaertner, D., Chassot, E., & Dreyfus-Leon, M. (2014). Changes in fishing power and fishing strategies driven by newtechnologies : the case of tropical tuna purse seiners in the easternAtlantic Ocean. Fisheries Research, 155, 10–19.
Résumé: Technological advancements can influence both the fishing power of a fleet and the fishing strategies itemploys. To investigate these potential linkages, we examined almost three decades of data (1981&8211;2008)from French tropical tuna purse seiners operating in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Applying a sequence ofstatistical methods at different temporal and spatial scales, we analyzed two indicators of fishing power(sets per boat-day on fish aggregating devices (FADs) and sets per boat-day on free-swimming schools)each of which represent a distinct fishing mode. Our results show that the increasing modernizationof this fleet has led to increases in both fishing power and the available number of fishing strategies tochoose from. A key output of this analysis was the breakdown of fishing power time series (for each fishingmode) into separate periods of continuous years during which catchability was assumed to be constant,thus identifying regime shifts. This partitioning allowed us to identify when key changes occurred inthe fishery. Changes in FAD-associated fishing were mostly driven by the introduction of radio beacons(early 1990s) which lead to an increase in fishing effort and an expansion of fishing grounds (directeffect) and the implementation of time-area management measures which resulted in a fragmentationof the traditional fishing grounds in the 2000s (indirect effect). During the same period, fishing on free-swimming schools also increased despite the biomass of stocks decreasing and fishing grounds remainingunchanged. This suggests these increases were driven by improvements in fish detection technology (e.g.,bird radars, sonar). These identified increases are not entirely unexpected: indeed it is widely recognizedthat fishing power in the purse seine tuna fishery has increased over time. However, these increases donot necessarily occur linearly. Thus, understanding how fishing power is changing over time (such asdetermining when regime shifts occur) is critical to improving the CPUE standardization procedure intropical tuna purse seine fisheries.
|
Travis, J., Coleman, F. C., Auster, P. J., Cury, P., Estes, J. A., Orensanz, J., et al. (2014). Integrating the invisible fabric of nature into fisheries management. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(2), 581–584.
Résumé: Overfishing and environmental change have triggered many severe and unexpected consequences. As existing communities have collapsed, new ones have become established, fundamentally transforming ecosystems to those that are often less productive for fisheries, more prone to cycles of booms and busts, and thus less manageable. We contend that the failure of fisheries science and management to anticipate these transformations results from a lack of appreciation for the nature, strength, complexity, and outcome of species interactions. Ecologists have come to understand that networks of interacting species exhibit nonlinear dynamics and feedback loops that can produce sudden and unexpected shifts. We argue that fisheries science and management must follow this lead by developing a sharper focus on species interactions and how disrupting these interactions can push ecosystems in which fisheries are embedded past their tipping points.
|
