History Of Fishery Research Articles

Reconstruction of demersal fisheries history on the Condor seamount, Azores archipelago (Northeast Atlantic)

Commercial fishing data were analyzed in order to reconstruct the history of the demersal fishery on Condor seamount, a temporarily protected area in the Northeast Atlantic (Azores). Considering the eight commercially most important demersal fish species, estimates for the period 1993–2009 revealed that on average landings from this area represented 2% of the annual landings by weight of these species in the Azores. Over this period the average estimated volume of the Condor landings was 71t/year, with the blackspot seabream (Pagellus bogaraveo) and the wreckfish (Polyprion americanus) representing about 54% of the landings, and the average value was €346 thousand per year. Annual trends of landings and of landings per unit effort suggest species-specific abundance responses to fishing, but most of the exploited species may have been significantly reduced at the Condor seamount. The proportion of large specimens may have declined in some of the studied species. Results suggest that artisanal fisheries are capable of causing important reductions in abundance levels of demersal species living on seamounts. Species life history characteristics, their degree of residency, and dependence on outside source areas may be important determinants for the status and the time scales required for recovery to previous abundances of the species. With the current Condor seamount fishing moratorium, exploitation rate has been reduced to zero and this is a unique opportunity to study the responses of the different previously exploited species to the reduced fishing mortality. New understanding may benefit seamount fisheries management in the region.

Perspectives on an ecosystem approach to ecogenic challenges in the Great Laurentian Basin and beyond

During the past three centuries in North America, the science and practice of fisheries emerged pragmatically based on experiences of Native Peoples and on practices imported by invading Europeans. Achieving sustainability of high-value harvests became progressively more difficult with expansion of harvesting to low value fish and intensification of other cultural stresses that undercut natural production of the valued species. The history of fisheries has parallels in trapping, forestry, agriculture and other features of ‘development’ including disposal of wastes of all kinds. Further, adverse consequences of ‘conventional progress’ in one sector spilled over to undercut benefits in others. Features of an heuristic mindscape termed ‘ecogeny’, within which to address sustainability in evolving natural/cultural complexes, may be as old as human history. An ecogenic mindscape subsumes implicitly-shared conceptual and practical traditions in ecology, economics, ekistics, ecosophy and other eco-studies. Here ‘eco’ refers to a natural/cultural complex as a holonistic reality, both part and whole. Experimentation, reductionist analyses and quantitative models play important, but not sufficient, roles in this evolving understanding. Here I have situated my personal account, some eight decades long, within this emerging ecogenic mindscape as focused initially on fish and fisheries in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin. Our lives are complex happenings, with events that cannot be forced into a linear spatio-temporal narrative. With many others, I participated in collaborative networks that addressed major issues in trans-cultural/trans-jurisdictional settings, each at several nested levels of ecogenic organization from local to global: identifying and correcting bad fishing and environmental practices to achieve sustainable high-value fisheries; diagnosing causes of observed degradation of aquatic ecosystems in order to suppress harmful, interacting stresses and achieve rehabilitation; strengthening earlier collaborative governance traditions among fishers and regulators; and assessing likely effects of climate warming on cold-blooded fish in their warming and otherwise stressed habitats. Large culturally-modified natural processes (sun, wind, rain) generate vast amounts of valued goods; but other culturally-modified natural processes (fire, flood, drought) also generate vast harm. Any manifestation of such goods and harms transcends the spatial boundaries of any particular private property or governmental jurisdiction. With just governance of good and/or bad ecogenic realities, both altruistic and selfish commitments need to be exercised fairly. Our networks’ policy goals were ecosystem integrity, sustainable use, just governance and caring stewardship, again at spatial levels of ecogenic organization from local to global. With ethical discourse, we engaged in adaptive co-management initiatives with iterative participation by scientific researchers, experts in computing, traditional knowledge stewards, resource harvesters, environmental users, governmental administrators, informed activists and econumenistic care-givers. Done carefully and transparently, this pragmatic kind of collaborative ‘science’ provides reliable insight that is relatively impervious to pseudo-scientific attacks from deniers promoting contrary agendas.

Fish life history, angler behaviour and optimal management of recreational fisheries

AbstractTo predict recreational‐fishing impacts on freshwater fish species, it is important to understand the interplay between fish populations, anglers and management actions. We use an integrated bioeconomic model to study the importance of fish life‐history type (LHT) for determining (i) vulnerability to over‐exploitation by diverse angler types (generic, consumptive and trophy anglers), who respond dynamically to fishing‐quality changes; (ii) regulations [i.e., minimum‐size limits (MSLs) and licence densities] that maximize the social welfare of angler populations; and (iii) biological and social conditions resulting under such socially optimal regulations. We examine five prototypical freshwater species: European perch (Perca fluviatilis), brown trout (Salmo trutta), pikeperch (Sander lucioperca), pike (Esox lucius) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). We find that LHT is important for determining the vulnerability of fish populations to overfishing, with pike, pikeperch, and bull trout being more vulnerable than perch and brown trout. Angler type influences the magnitude of fishing impacts, because of differences in fishing practices and angler‐type‐specific effects of LHT on angling effort. Our results indicate that angler types are systematically attracted to particular LHTs. Socially optimal minimum‐size limits generally increase with LHT vulnerability, whereas optimal licence densities are similar across LHTs. Yet, both regulations vary among angler types. Despite this variation, we find that biological sustainability occurs under socially optimal regulations, with one exception. Our results highlight the importance of jointly considering fish diversity, angler diversity and regulations when predicting sustainable management strategies for recreational fisheries. Failure to do so could result in socially suboptimal management and/or fishery collapse.

Fisheries development strategy for developing Pacific Island Countries: Case study of Tuvalu

Fisheries are valuable resources for developing Pacific Island Countries. It is critical for these countries to establish a strategy for the development of coastal (artisanal) and offshore fisheries (access agreements). Tuvalu, a Pacific island microstate, consists of nine coral atolls with 26 km2 of land and 0.9 million km2 of exclusive economic zones. Fishing access fees are the second largest source of capital for the government. This study reviews the development history of Tuvalu's coastal fisheries and focuses on the political, social and economic impacts on Tuvalu of fisheries access agreements. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis was performed to develop a strategy by which Tuvalu can maximize its revenues from fisheries. To develop its coastal fisheries, Tuvalu should consult with local communities and make good use of fisheries access fees to invest in coastal fisheries. To maximize the benefit of access agreements, limitation in the number of fishing vessels, tuna prices, information sharing with other Pacific Island Countries should be considered to help with negotiation. In addition, more conservation regulations and monitoring actions should be taken to strengthen the management system to ensure marine resources sustainability.

Troubled waters: a social and cultural history of Ireland's sea fisheries

Troubled waters: a social and cultural history of Ireland's sea fisheries, by Jim Mac Laughlin, Dublin, Four Courts Press Limited, 2010, 414 pp., €55.00 (hbk), ISBN 978-1-84682-258-2 Understanding ...

Troubled waters: a social and cultural history of Ireland's sea fisheries – By Jim Mac Laughlin

Troubled waters: a social and cultural history of Ireland's sea fisheries – By Jim Mac Laughlin

Book Review: Troubled Waters: A Social and Cultural History of Ireland's Sea Fisheries

Book Review: Troubled Waters: A Social and Cultural History of Ireland's Sea Fisheries

The history and future of Lake Champlain's fishes and fisheries

In the last two centuries, physical, chemical, and biological alterations of Lake Champlain have resulted in the loss of two species, addition of 15 fish species, and listing of 16 species as endangered, threatened or of special concern. The lake currently supports 72 native fish species; lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were extirpated by 1900, American eel (Anguilla rostrata) and lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) populations are extremely low, and walleye (Sander vitreum) are declining. Dams on several rivers, and ten causeways constructed in the mid 1800s to early 1900s, cut off access to critical spawning areas and may have limited fish movements. Siltation and sediment loading from agricultural activity and urban growth have degraded substrates and led to noxious algal blooms in some bays. A commercial fishery targeting spawning grounds of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), lake trout, and walleye probably reduced numbers of these species prior to its closure in 1912. Non-native species introductions have had ecosystem-wide impacts. Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) populations were very high prior to successful control, possibly as a consequence of ecological imbalance and habitat changes. A paucity of historic survey data or accurate species accounts limits our understanding of the causes of current fish population trends and status; in particular, the effects of habitat fragmentation within the lake and between the lake and its watershed are poorly understood. Holistic, ecosystem management, including pollution reduction and examination of habitat impacts, is necessary to restore the general structure of native biological assemblages.

Catch Density: A New Approach to Shifting Baselines, Stock Assessment, and Ecosystem-Based Management

Since 1995, researchers have worked to incorporate historical perspectives into fisheries management. however, problems of scale and distribution, data incompatibilities, and strictures of standard stock assessment models have limited success so far. here we offer a new metric, catch density (CD = catch/area fished), as a simple way to examine fish concentration that standardizes historical and modern catch by geographical area fished. we present three case studies based on historical gulf of maine fisheries. The first compares five discrete datapoints of annual catch and CD for american shad from 1634 to 1999. Changes in fish habitat, fishing effort, and geographical area make direct comparison of catch alone misleading, but CD declined three orders of magnitude over four centuries. The second study compares discontinuous and continuous time series of yearly catch and CD for 18 species and two species groups from 1887 to 1945 and from 1989 to 2005. modern catch is aggregated over each stock's entire range; the historical area is the gulf of maine. in each case, historical context explains the results. overall catch is higher today, while CD was higher historically, likely reflecting expanded vessel range and catch per unit effort. finally, when catch, CD, and average trophic level are compared for functional groups over the same time periods, CD accurately reflects shifts in trophic level not seen in catch alone. CD standardizes catch across spatial and temporal scales, timeframes, and geographic distribution. By integrating fisheries history with fisheries science, it offers a new perspective, quickly obtained, that may aid in developing ecosystem-based management.

尖閣諸島における漁業の歴史と現状

尖閣諸島における漁業の歴史と現状

An Empirical Analysis of the Social and Ecological Outcomes of State Subsidies for Small-Scale Fisheries: A Case Study from Chile

Mondaca-Schachermayer, C. I., J. Aburto, G. Cundill, D. Lancellotti, C. Tapia, and W. Stotz. 2011. An empirical analysis of the social and ecological outcomes of state subsidies for small-scale fisheries: a case study from Chile. Ecology and Society 16(3): 17. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-04239-160317

Conference Report: Twelfth Conference of the North Atlantic Fisheries History Association, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 19–22 August 2009

History has different meanings to the various groups studying North Atlantic fisheries. For natural and social scientists, ‘history’ may extend back no more than a few years. In the humanities, chronologies may stretch over centuries. There is an increasing recognition that history matters in understanding fisheries, as represented by the historical component to the Census of Marine Life, and that there are benefits to multidisciplinary approaches that incorporate an historical dimension. The North Atlantic Fisheries History Association (NAFHA) has advanced new approaches to the history of fisheries, and promoted the scholastic value of this subject. NAFHA’s twelfth conference, the second held in North America, drew speakers considering different countries, historical periods, and perspectives, but nonetheless created the sense of a shared research agenda. The conference adopted the theme of fisheries management. Twenty-one papers offered a series of case studies that reflected the spread of issues arising from the exploitation of marine animal populations. In this respect, the conference was sympathetic to modern ap- proaches to maritime history, in considering how relationships with the sea pervade numerous spheres, such as occupation and community, the construction of knowledge, and the manifestation of conflict.

An Environmental History of Nacre and Pearls: Fisheries, Cultivation and Commerce

Abstract Pearls are the most ancient gems known in history. Nacre became an important raw material used in various industries during the nineteenth century. Both products came from the world's tropical seas, in pearling regions whose resources and people were exploited by local and foreign businessmen. We distinguish eleven pearling regions. These were opened to fisheries at different times in three historical periods, each marked by phases of wealth and scarcity. The world history of nacre and pearl fisheries, culture, and trade is the history of the efforts of divers and sailors, the tenacity of scientists striving to elucidate the phenomenon of pearl formation, the ambition and greed of empresarios seduced by the luster and commercial value of pearls, as well as the marketing and selling techniques specific to these commodities. It is the history of environmental modifications induced by humans as they strove to gain profit from the most valuable natural marine resource that ever existed. In this essay we highlight the role played by capitalism in the intensification of pearls and nacre harvesting that brought the resource to speedy exhaustion. We also illustrate the positive results of the application of scientific research based on sustainability principles to production. Our historical approach to pearling has led us to two fundamental conclusions: 1. It is possible to aim at sustainability in the profitable use of renewable natural resources, and 2. Environmental history can reveal the conditions under which this has been possible. Our intention here is also to show that environmental history is an approach allowing historical syntheses, the incorporation of vast comparative analyses, and the fleshing out of explanations of economic and social processes with an understanding of the natural resources that sustain these processes. Finally, this work looks to filling up the great gap in knowledge that afflicts the history of the sea.

Fishery of the Goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara (Teleostei: Epinephelidae) based on local ecological knowledge and fishery records in Yucatan, Mexico

The Goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara, a large-bodied (approximately 2.5 m TL, > 400 kg) and critically endangered fish (Epinephelidae), is highly vulnerable to overfishing. Although protected from fishing in many countries, its exploitation in Mexico is unregulated; a situation that puts its populations at risk. Fishery records of E. itajara are scarce, which prevents determination of its fishery status. This work aimed to elucidate the E. itajara fishery in the northern Yucatan Peninsula by 1) analyzing available catch records and 2) interviewing veteran fishermen (local ecological knowledge) from two traditional landing sites: Dzilam de Bravo and Puerto Progreso. Historic fishery records from two fishing cooperatives were analyzed in order to elucidate the current situation and offer viable alternatives for conservation and management. Catches have decreased severely. Local knowledge obtained from fishermen represented a very important source of information for reconstructing the fisheries history of this species. Conservation measures that incorporate regional and international regulations on critically endangered fish species are suggested.

Cod: An Ecological History of the North Atlantic Fisheries: A Roundtable Response

<i>Cod: An Ecological History of the North Atlantic Fisheries</i>: A Roundtable Response

Past and present status of sturgeons in Hungary and problems involving their conservation

Sturgeons had played an important role in the history of Hungarian fisheries, but over-fishing, followed by extensive river regulations and deterioration of habitat quality have caused a decrease in populations to the verge of extinction in the middle Danube and its tributaries. Stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus) and great sturgeon (Huso huso) are practically vanished from the Hungarian waters and Russian sturgeon (A. gueldenstaedti) and ship sturgeon (A. nudiventris) have sporadic occurrence only, while Atlantic sturgeon (A. sturio) was never resident of this stretch of the Danube River. Sterlet (A. ruthenus) is the only common species caught for commercial and recreational purposes. The paper describes the past and recent status of the Middle Danubian sturgeon populations and emphasizes problems of restricted availability or lack of essential spawning and nursery habitats. Impacts of floods on sterlet population dynamics are demonstrated by long-term data of commercial fishery. Existing conservation measures, restocking and fishing regulations in Hungary are evaluated.

The cost of overfishing and management strategies for new fisheries on slow-growing fish: orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) in New Zealand

The history of orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) stocks, primarily in New Zealand and Australia, is commonly used as an example of the inability to manage fisheries resources. We review the history and status of the New Zealand orange roughy fishery and show that the total loss of potential biological yield from overfishing is no more than 8.3% (1260 tonnes (t)·year–1) of the potential yield. The losses from underfishing are estimated to be 810 t·year–1. We consider the biological and economic consequences of alternative management approaches to the New Zealand orange roughy fishery. We suggest that given the uncertainty in stock abundance and productivity and market and processing capacity limits, the management of New Zealand orange roughy stocks has been close to economically optimal and has produced near maximum sustainable yield from the resource.

Reviews of John G. Butcher, The Closing of the Frontier: A History of the Marine Fisheries of Southeast Asia, c. 1850–2000 with John G. Butcher

Reviews of John G. Butcher, <i>The Closing of the Frontier: A History of the Marine Fisheries of Southeast Asia, c. 1850–2000</i> with John G. Butcher

Atlantic bluefin tuna: population dynamics, ecology, fisheries and management

AbstractBoth old and new information on the biology and ecology of Atlantic bluefin tuna have confronted scientists with research challenges: research needs to be connected to current stock‐assessment and management issues. We review recent studies on habitat, migrations and population structure, stressing the importance of electronic tagging results in the modification of our perception of bluefin tuna population dynamics and behaviour. Additionally, we question, from both scientific and management perspectives, the usefulness of the classical stock concept and suggest other approaches, such as Clark's contingent and metapopulation theories. Current biological information confirms that a substantial amount of uncertainty still exists in the understanding of reproduction and growth. In particular, we focus on intriguing issues such as the difference in age‐at‐maturity between West Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna. Our description of Atlantic bluefin tuna fisheries places today's fishing patterns within the two millennium history of exploitation of this species: we discuss trap fisheries that existed between the 17th and the early 20th centuries; Atlantic fisheries during the 1950s and 1960s; and the consequences of the recent development of the sushi–sashimi market. Finally, we evaluate stock status and management issues since the early 1970s. While important uncertainties remain, when the fisheries history is confronted with evidence from biological and stock‐assessment studies, results indicate that Atlantic bluefin tuna has been undergoing heavy overfishing for a decade. We conclude that the current exploitation of bluefin tuna has many biological and economic traits that have led several fish stocks to extreme depletion in the past.

Retrospective evaluation of data-limited fisheries: a case from Hong Kong

This study reconstructs the likely historical changes of the data-limited Hong Kong’s inshore fisheries and evaluates their probable effects on the marine ecosystem, based on multiple information sources. Local knowledge on changes in the fisheries and the marine ecosystem is collected from commercial fishers, recreational divers and fishery officials. We combine this knowledge with results from simulation modelling and information from published and unpublished literature and reports to generate hypotheses on the historical changes in the fisheries and ecosystem between 1950 and 2000. The analyses suggest that traditionally targeted fishes had already been over-exploited by the 1970s, following a rapid drop in catch per unit effort in the 1960s. This paralleled a dramatic expansion of fishing effort. Ecosystem structure shifted as the large predatory species became depleted and small fishes and benthic invertebrates gained dominance. High demand for small fishes as fish-feed for aquaculture farms, high market price of benthic knowledge from resource users and managers provided an important, sometimes the sole, source of information to understand the fishery (Johannes, 1998; Johannes et al., 2000). In this study, we demonstrated that the use of the best available information obtained from limited landings and effort statistics, expert knowledge from resource users and managers, andAEresults from simulation modelling, provided informative qualitative and, to a certain degree, quantitative descriptions of fishery development, contributing to an understanding of fishery history and identification of management challenges. Caution is urged since the approach is based heavily on a number of assumptions that need to be carefully validated. We assumed that the interviews provided an unbiased description of the changes in fisheries and the marine ecosystem. However, psychological studies have suggested that autobiographic memory - memory that is specific, personal, and long-lasting, and usually of significance to the self-system (e.g., Thompson et al., 1996) – could be biased as a result of affective association. For instance, study on university students’ abilities to recall the grades they obtained in various subjects during high schools generally showed that memory was best for experiences that were affectively pleasant, intermediate for experiences that are unpleasant, and worst for experiences that are neutral (Koch, 1930; Waters and Leeper 1936; Thompson, 1985; Bahrick et al., 1996). Moreover, the ability to recall autobiographical memory was shown to decline with age, particularly when the events occurred in the distant past (Pascale et al., 2002). The interviewees’ memories on past marine resource abundance were generally autobiographic memory and might have affectively associated the past with the most productive years of their fishing experience. Thus the description of the past they provided might be positively biased. Information and descriptions from other independent sources help to assess the validity of the interview data and in the present study, information from different sources seemed to converge. However, future studies on autographic memory of fishers’ fishing experience could enhance the validity of the approach. The approach described in this paper is useful in retrospective analysis and diagnosis of a fishery in a data-sparse condition. However, more conventional fishery data and analytical tools may be required for fine-tuning future management and there is little substitute for regular fishery monitoring.