Industrial Fisheries Research Articles

The implementation of ACAP Best Practice Advice to mitigate seabird bycatch in fisheries: Issues and options

The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) is a multilateral agreement which strives to conserve albatrosses and petrels by coordinating international activities to mitigate threats to their populations. One of the major threats that seabirds face is fisheries-induced mortality, or bycatch. In recognition of the serious nature of this problem, ACAP established a Seabird Bycatch Working Group (SBWG) to advise on actions that will assist in the mitigation and reduction of seabird interactions with fisheries. The SBWG regularly examines the range of measures available that can minimise bycatch and has developed “best practice advice” (BPA), a suite of tools and methods for trawl and longline fisheries. This BPA has been widely promoted by ACAP Parties and others within jurisdictions and at Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and CCAMLR other over the last 10 years. To assess the levels of implementation of ACAP’s BPA for industrial fisheries we employed both a qualitative and semi-quantitative multiple method research design that comprised content analysis of documents and meeting reports from ACAP meetings, a review of current seabird conservation measures of all tRFMOs that had members which were also ACAP parties, and by conducting a survey that asked 13 questions in relation to the uptake and adoption of ACAP BPA. We confined our analysis to pelagic longline and trawl fisheries within the jurisdictions of both ACAP parties and non-parties. Our research identified a number of key gaps in the uptake of the BPA guidelines in these fisheries. Complete uptake of BPA was poor by ACAP Parties both within their jurisdictions, and in high seas fisheries managed through RFMOs. For Parties, the level of uptake was difficult to assess accurately because reporting to the Agreement has thus far been inadequate for this purpose. Uptake of BPA in high seas fisheries by non-parties and RFMos was also poor and unlikely to improve while ACAP Parties are unable to demonstrate commitment to their use in all national fisheries. The study findings provided advice and recommendations on addressing impediments to uptake that could lead to improved management of seabird bycatch in commercial fisheries.

Migrant workers in Irish fisheries: exploring the contradictions through the lens of racial capitalism

Exploitative working conditions for migrant workers in industrial fisheries have recently drawn considerable attention among activists and scholars, often with a focus on Asian fisheries. Even so, fish work can offer a better livelihood option than migrant workers might have in their home countries. These contradictions are apparent in fisheries around the world, including those based in Europe and North America. In this paper we explore the incongruities and patterns of working conditions for migrant workers in Irish fisheries, situating how the global seafood industry relies on a racialised labour force that is devalued to produce raw materials for high-value seafood products, before turning to an analysis of a decades-long campaign to improve Ireland’s legal framework for migrant fish workers. Persistent campaign work illustrates how a multi-pronged approach, including legal strategies and actions to make the injustices in Irish fisheries more visible, is critical to provoking change, even as working conditions remain far short of most land-based sectors in that country.

Аналіз лінійно-вагових показників річкових раків (Astacus) у водоймах Дніпропетровської області

This research focuses on studying the narrow-clawed crayfish in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The narrow-clawed crayfish, Astacus leptodactylus, is a crucial component of industrial fisheries and plays a significant role in the development of aquatic ecosystems. Within the territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region, crayfish inhabit various freshwater bodies, including rivers, lakes, floodplains, and ponds. It is known that water bodies in the Dnipro region undergo substantial anthropogenic impact, leading to alterations in the life cycles and reproductive features of hydrobionts. Investigated areas of reservoirs were characterized by diverse levels and factors of pollution, such as contamination of water with chemical and radioactive substances, oil products, wastewater, and the use of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. These anthropogenic interventions may result in a decrease in populations of aquatic organisms, posing a serious threat to water ecosystems. The sensitivity to environmental changes makes crayfish a valuable bioindicator species. Fertility indicators and morphometric characteristics can be considered as bioindicators. The analysis of linear-weight parameters revealed that crayfish extracted from the Zaporizhzhia Reservoir had a body length 15–18% greater than those from the Kamianske and Samara Bay. Additionally, they exhibited larger cephalothorax dimensions by 18–20%, and their mass was almost 50% higher compared to individuals from other water bodies. Samara Bay demonstrated significantly lower fertility indicators compared to the Zaporizhzhia Reservoir, with crayfish fertility being reliably 63% lower. The established differences in morphometric indicators between crayfish from the Zaporizhzhia Reservoir, Samara Bay and Kamianske Reservoir may indicate heterogeneity in the living conditions within the water bodies of Dnipropetrovsk and might be induced by anthropogenic pressures.

Estimating and comparing the direct economic contributions of reef fisheries and tourism in the Asia-Pacific

Global estimates of the economic value of coral reefs have been made using benefit transfer and other valuation methods, but it is unclear whether these estimates match actualized values (e.g. market values of reef fish and reef tourism) or how they scale to specific regions. Here we empirically estimated the (actualized) direct economic contribution of fishing and tourism on coral reefs (i.e., direct use values) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, which includes a majority (∼80%) of the global reef area. We found that coral reefs in the APAC region directly contributed $25 billion annually on average over the years 2008–2012 to the region’s economy from fishing and tourism alone. The majority of direct economic contributions (US$19.5 billion) was provided by reef tourism, while the remainder was divided between artisanal (US$2.4 billion) and industrial (US$3.2 billion) fisheries. The average economic productivity of coral reefs was estimated at US$112,000 per square kilometer of coral reef, although there were large deviations between countries in terms of economic utilization of their reefs. Our findings suggest that a highly-cited prior estimate of the global potential value of coral reefs (Cesar et al., 2003) is likely a significant underestimation of actual economic contributions. We discuss some of the implications for reef management. Most notably, our results indicate that the non-consumptive direct use of reef resources provide substantially more economic benefits than consumptive uses.

Ecological niches of bloom-forming cyanobacteria in brackish Baltic Sea coastal waters

Cyanobacterial blooms occur regularly during summer and fall in various freshwater and brackish environments worldwide causing harm to aquatic flora, fauna, and water quality in natural ecosystems as well as in aquaculture. They also interfere with industrial fisheries, tourism, and human health. Meanwhile, up to date limited knowledge exists about these detrimental phenomena in brackish waters, and patterns of their expansion across the freshwater-to-marine continuum remain unclear. In this study, we analyzed long-term (1972–2016) dynamics of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) in the brackish southern Baltic Sea coastal waters, refined the cyanoHAB criteria, and for the first time measured ecological niches of the dominant bloom-forming cyanobacteria. The ecological niches of selected cyanoHAB species were determined considering a set of abiotic parameters as niche dimensions: water temperature, salinity, and concentrations of basic nutrients (PO43−, SiO44−, dissolved inorganic nitrogen – DIN, total phosphorus – TP, total nitrogen – TN, and TN/TP ratio), with special emphasis on salinity. We hypothesized that in highly variable brackish environments, the cyanobacterial species with broader ecological niches occur and bloom more often compared to those with narrower niches. For testing this hypothesis, we evaluated the effects of ecological niche width on the occurrence of the dominant cyanoHAB species and frequency of their blooms. The results revealed a pronounced statistically significant (p < 0.05) positive correlation between salinity-niche width and frequency of cyanoHABs. Moreover, the occurrence of cyanoHAB species with wider DIN and PO43− concentration-niches was substantially higher than that of the species with narrower nutrient-concentration niches. The effect of temperature-niche width on the occurrence of cyanoHAB species, on the contrary, was negligible and statistically insignificant. The latter result concurs with the fact that most of these cyanobacteria are highly thermophilic: on average, they bloom at temperatures above 21 °C, and their realized temperature niches in the southern Baltic coastal waters are relatively narrow.

Impacts of artisanal fishing on the reproductive biology and population structure of tigerfish (Hydrocynus vittatus) in the Ume Basin of Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe

AbstractFisheries studies concerning the related impacts of fishing on the aquatic environment have mostly dealt with industrial fisheries. Concerted large‐scale exploitation can lead to stock declines and potentially species extinction. Hydrocynus vittatus is a piscivore and popular recreational fish species that can grow up to 70 cm fork length and weigh up to 15 kg. Hydrocynus vittatus is also a fish of importance in Lake Kariba as local communities along lake shorelines depend on it for both income and food. There is an insufficient understanding of the impacts of artisanal fishing on tigerfish, H. vittatus population parameters and reproductive biology in Lake Kariba. Hence, this study investigated life history traits and population dynamics of H. vittatus in the Ume Basin of Lake Kariba, north‐eastern Zimbabwe. Scales were used to estimate the age of tigerfish and the Bertalanffy growth curve used to estimate the growth parameters. A gonadal reproductive stage determination index was used to determine sexual maturity and the logistic growth curve was used to estimate size at 50% sexual maturity (L50). Using the gonadal maturation index, the L50 for males was estimated ranging between 120 and 149 mm. On the other hand, L50 reached between 250 and 299 mm in females. Females had a higher average mean length (335 mm), compared to that of males (289 mm). The length‐at‐age data from scales had relatively few outliers and moderate scatter. Parameters for the von Bertalanffy growth curve were (L‐infinity = 641.5, k = 0.517, t0 = 3.07). This study highlighted the negative impacts (male‐biased sex ratio and small size at maturity) that artisanal gillnet fishing has on the population structure and reproductive potential of tigerfish in the Ume Basin of Lake Kariba. These impacts are a direct result of both legal and illegal fishing activities of the fishers operating in the Ume Basin and based at Musamba Fishing Camp. There is, therefore, an urgent need for the regulatory authority, the Matusadona Conservation Trust, to engage the fishers in developing long‐term strategies to reverse the observed unhealthy population status and allow the tigerfish stock to replenish itself.

Re-thinking Indonesian marine fisheries quota-based policy: A qualitative network of stakeholder perception at fisheries management area 718

As the largest archipelagic country, Indonesia has been unable to prioritize the ocean to improve its economy. Despite implementing various fisheries management approaches, Indonesia has consistently failed to establish the right policies. The Indonesian government's current breakthrough was to combine the ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM) and quota-based fisheries management (QBFM). Policies that combine these two concepts are known as 'perikanan terukur' (measurable fisheries). The observation views the perspective of local stakeholders on this measurable fisheries policy. Fisheries management area (FMA) 718 was conducted as research areas while designed as industrial fisheries and national fish supply areas. FMA 718 is also represented by Merauke Regency (South Papua) and Aru Islands Regency (Maluku). The perception of 67 key respondents was modeled using qualitative network modeling. The results showed at least 28 initial variables related to the response to QBFM. The developed model indicated that local stakeholders had rejected this policy. The implications that emerged to implement this policy were to ensure the distribution of authority between layers of government. The gap between local and commercial fishermen must be resolved immediately. There is a need for community involvement in policy, including efforts to develop policies based on data and factual conditions.

Regional (south‐eastern Pacific Ocean) population genetics and global phylogeography of two endangered highly migratory pelagic sharks, the blue shark Prionace glauca and shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus

Abstract The blue shark Prionace glauca and the shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus are two large and highly migratory sharks inhabiting temperate and tropical waters worldwide that are heavily targeted by artisanal and industrial fisheries. The International Union for Nature Conservation classifies the blue shark and shortfin mako as ‘Near Threatened’ and ‘Vulnerable’, respectively, in the Nature Red List of Threatened Species v. 2019‐2. This study examined the population genetics of the shortfin mako and blue sharks at a regional (south‐eastern Pacific Ocean) and global scale. The null hypothesis of no genetic discontinuities among ocean basins and/or between hemispheres was tested using two mitochondrial markers suitable for population genetics inference in these species: the non‐coding control region and the protein‐coding gene cytochrome c oxidase I in I. oxyrinchus, and the control region and cytochrome b in P. glauca. Spatial genetic analyses suggested a single and two genetic clusters co‐occurring along the south‐eastern Pacific Ocean in the shortfin mako and blue shark, respectively. Phylogeographic analyses, migration estimates, haplotype networks and AMOVAs demonstrated that the two species exhibit an overall pattern of high genetic connectivity among hemispheres and across ocean basins with a signature of shallow genetic structuring worldwide. This study has generated valuable information for the management and conservation of heavily exploited sharks and highlights the need for additional inclusive research programmes assessing inter‐regional genomic discontinuities using more statistically powerful genetic markers to determine with precision population genetic discontinuities (if any) in these and other highly migratory sharks.

The future of the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands marine protected area in a changing environment: The choice between industrial fisheries, or ecosystem protection

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) comprise an Overseas Territory of the UK. For over two centuries, the islands and surrounding waters were subject to serial over-exploitation of commercially valuable marine species. First seals, then whales, and later some species of fish were harvested to virtual economic extinction. Today, exploitation is strictly regulated: through the multilateral Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources; through the commercial whaling moratorium of the International Whaling Commission; and now, increasingly, through local sovereign government legislation. Commercial fisheries still operate for three species of fish and one species of crustacean, Antarctic krill. Here, I consider aspects of these fisheries, to help inform the current review of the SGSSI Marine Protected Area (MPA), highlighting how future management must take into account important ongoing changes in this biodiverse ecosystem. Two issues are of paramount importance: ongoing recovery of baleen whale species; and climate change. Both increase uncertainty for fisheries managers, so that considerations about their implications must now be directly included into the management of harvested and dependent species. With the recovery of some previously exploited species, and ongoing recovery of others, the MPA could now be managed with additional ecologically-appropriate large no-take areas, commensurate with increasing levels of ocean protection advocated for by a growing number of scientists and governments. Spatial protection reflecting the habitat use of baleen whales and their prey, krill, would, through umbrella protection, also protect other biodiversity integral to the operation of the marine ecosystem.

Estimation of Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda) stock status in the Senegalese Exclusive Economic Zone (SEEZ) from the catch-based model (CMSY) and length-based bayesian estimation (LBB) method

Among the seven major small tuna species defined in the ICCAT priority list for future studies, Atlantic bonito (Sarda sarda) is the most heavily targeted by artisanal and industrial fisheries in many coastal areas. Considering this high pressure and the limits of previous studies on its status in some areas of the Atlantic Ocean, this study focused on assessing the Atlantic bonito stock mainly harvested by the artisanal fisheries in the Senegalese Exclusive Economic Zone (SEEZ) using two data-limited approaches (LBB and CMSY). These models used the recorded length composition, catch, and CPUE data for Atlantic bonito caught by various fishing gears to provide significant fisheries reference points to evaluate the stock status of this species. The LBB model indicated an Atlantic bonito healthy stock status with B/BMSY values ranging from 1.3 to 1.6 and B/B0 values varying from 0.47 to 0.61 of the main scenarios performed (BON_AFG_CL, BON_GN_Length, and BON_PS_Length). The results estimated by LBB are consistent with those obtained by CMSY. The CMSY model results demonstrate that the SEEZ Atlantic bonito stock is in a sound condition in the final year of the main scenarios analyzed (BON, BON-bt, BON-GN-bt, and BON-PS-bt) with sustainable relative stock biomass (B2018/BMSY= 1.13 to 1.3) and fishing pressure levels (F2018/FMSY= 0.52 to 1.43). However, the results of the two models show that longlines and sleeping nets negatively affect this species’ stock in this area, showing a slightly overfished and overfished stock status, respectively. The results of the scenarios formulated by these two fishing gears (BON_LL_Length, BON_SN_Length for LBB and BON-LL-bt, BON-SN-bt for CMSY) are below the reference values. LBB shows Lc/Lc_opt values ranging from 0.61 to 1, B/BMSY from 0.49 to 1, and B/B0 from 0.18 to 0.39. For CMSY, these two scenarios show a B/BMSY varying between 0.33 and 0.8.

Nowhere to hide: Sea turtle bycatch in Northwest Africa

Abstract Fisheries bycatch is considered the largest threat to sea turtle populations globally. However, it has been challenging to assess the impact of bycatch on sea turtles in some regions such as Northwest Africa (i.e. Cabo Verde, Guinea, Guinea–Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone and The Gambia) owing to large data gaps. This hampers effective management actions and interferes with conservation efforts in the region. Five sea turtle species occur in Northwest Africa (i.e. green turtle Chelonia mydas, hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata, leatherback Dermochelys coriacea, loggerhead Caretta caretta and olive ridley Lepidochelys olivacea). The region has regionally and globally important sea turtle nesting and foraging habitats and is a global fishing hotspot, with high and increasing fishing pressure. Available information on sea turtle bycatch in Northwest Africa was compiled from peer‐reviewed and grey literature from 2010 onwards to determine the impact of artisanal and industrial fisheries (by gear type) on regional sea turtle populations and assess the level of threat to individual species. All sea turtle species occurring in the region are impacted by bycatch. Reports suggest that green turtles and loggerheads have the highest bycatch rates, probably owing to their regional abundance and widespread distribution. Some of the potentially highest reported global bycatch rates (14,000–90,000 turtles/year/country) are noted, particularly in gillnets, longlines and handlines. However, further research is needed to understand mortality levels from artisanal fisheries and assess the impact of trawl fisheries operating in the region. Additional sources of mortality include deliberate capture for consumption or trade. To strengthen regional sea turtle conservation and reduce sea turtle bycatch and mortality, urgent action is needed to implement and enforce national protection, establish a bycatch reduction framework (including gear modifications and spatio‐temporal closures), improve fisheries data collection and build capacity.

Industrial fisheries have reversed the carbon sequestration by tuna carcasses into emissions.

To limit climate warming to 2°C above preindustrial levels, most economic sectors will need a rapid transformation toward a net zero emission of CO2 . Tuna fisheries is a key food production sector that burns fossil fuel to operate but also reduces the deadfall of large-bodied fish so the capacity of this natural carbon pump to deep sea. Yet, the carbon balance of tuna populations, so the net difference between CO2 emission due to industrial exploitation and CO2 sequestration by fish deadfall after natural mortality, is still unknown. Here, by considering the dynamics of two main contrasting tuna species (Katsuwonus pelamis and Thunnus obesus) across the Pacific since the 1980s, we show that most tuna populations became CO2 sources instead of remaining natural sinks. Without considering the supply chain, the main factors associated with this shift are exploitation rate, transshipment intensity, fuel consumption, and climate change. Our study urges for a better global ocean stewardship, by curbing subsidies and limiting transshipment in remote international waters, to quickly rebuild most pelagic fish stocks above their target management reference points and reactivate a neglected carbon pump toward the deep sea as an additional Nature Climate Solution in our portfolio. Even if this potential carbon sequestration by surface unit may appear low compared to that of coastal ecosystems or tropical forests, the ocean covers a vast area and the sinking biomass of dead vertebrates can sequester carbon for around 1000 years in the deep sea. We also highlight the multiple co-benefits and trade-offs from engaging the industrial fisheries sector with carbon neutrality.

Local fishery, global commodity: the role of institutions in mediating intersectoral conflict, cooperation, and competition in a globalized fishery

Commons scholarship has improved our understanding of how to govern resources for sustainability. However, it has also been critiqued for its focus on traits (e.g. well-defined system boundaries) that are increasingly threatened by social and environmental trends. Fisheries are a key example of this challenge. While small-scale fisheries are critically important to the diets and livelihoods of millions, industrial fisheries from developed countries now dominate fishing around the world. While these two systems are governed separately, there is substantial overlap between them, conceptualized as the growing influence of globalization on local common pool resource (CPR) systems. One of the most impactful, but least understood consequences of this convergence are the emerging conflicts and competition between small-scale and industrial fisheries. In these systems, the interaction between small-scale CPRs and globalized commodity chains has meant the creation of a new, hybrid resource system, addressed by neither conventional industrial nor traditional small-scale governance approaches. We use empirical data from 396 cases of interactions at sea between globalized industrial and local small-scale fishers in Ghana from 1984 to 2013 to examine the conditions under which resource users conflict or cooperate, linking them to broader political and economic dynamics across scales. We consider the institutional factors that mediate these interactions, identifying policies to promote cooperative, and avert conflictual incidents. We further consider the long-term effects of these patterns of conflict and cooperation for the resilience or vulnerability of the resource base, the fishers, and the institutions governing the system. We suggest that specific governance arrangements that reduce disparities between groups, promote bridging social capital, and enhance hybrid and cross-scale institutions offer the best potential to govern resource systems where traditional CPRs and market-oriented industries converge.

Topluluk Destekli Balıkçılık: İstanbul'daki Küçük Ölçekli Balıkçılık Kooperatiflerinde Doğrudan Satış Pratikleri

Purpose: This article aims to understand diverse forms of direct sales practices of small-scale fishers in Istanbul, Turkey. The research focuses on small-scale fishing cooperatives in Istanbul and examines their livelihood strategies from the perspective of Community Supported Fisheries models.&#x0D; Design/Methodology/Approach: We have used qualitative research methods and conducted 34 in-depth interviews with representatives from 19 small-scale fishing cooperatives in Istanbul as well as from NGOs, researchers and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.&#x0D; Findings: We found that small-scale fishers and their cooperatives are suffering from economic, ecological, and political pressure of industrial fisheries and industrialized food system, and they use diverse forms of livelihood strategies in order to confront these challenges. In Istanbul, we scrutinized these diverse models and examined their benefits, challenges, and limitations as well as discussed their links to different Community Supported Fisheries practices from around the world.&#x0D; Originality/value: The study thus contributes to literatures on agricultural and fisheries economics, political economy, and small-scale fishing governance with a specific focus on community supported models used in agriculture and fisheries.

‘The prettiest house of the region’: Performance and imagination of the industrial fishery heritage in Bonne-Espérance, Canada

ABSTRACT Between 1855 and 1960, a fishing industry developed on Bonne-Espérance Island, locally known as ‘Bony,’ on the Lower North Shore of Quebec, Canada. The site now abandoned and in ruins, is a symbolic place of local history and strongly linked to the fishing identity of Rivière-Saint-Paul village, where many of the descendants of those who lived and worked in that maritime extractive industry currently reside. I study this site using digital recording tools and a 3D reconstruction of its visible features. The house of the Whiteley family, owners of this fishing industry, is presented here to examine the industrial heritage of the recent past and the role that performance and imagination, encouraged by a collaborative archaeological project, play in the persistent resonance of the past in the present.

Bioaccumulation and potential impacts of persistent organic pollutants and contaminants of emerging concern in guitarfishes and angelsharks from Southeastern Brazil

The present study aimed to determine persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and contaminants of emerging concern in endangered angelshark and guitarfish species from southeastern Brazil, and to investigate potential impacts of these compounds on morphometric indexes. Pesticides of emerging concern, pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined in hepatic and muscular tissues of Pseudobatos horkelii, P. percellens, Squatina guggenheim, and Zapteryx brevirostris obtained from artisanal and industrial fisheries operating in southeastern Brazil. Accumulation profiles and effects of contaminants on condition factor and hepatosomatic index were investigated. No differences were detected regarding species contaminant concentration, potentially due to similarities in habits, occurrence and trophic position shared by guitarfishes and angelsharks. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (23.2–495.3 ng g −1), and PPCPs such as diclofenac (<LOQ – 448.4 ng g−1) and methylparaben (<LOQ – 645.5 ng g−1) presented the highest concentrations, regardless of the species. Effects of elasmobranch size were not significant on contaminant levels, indicating the lack of bioaccumulation over time. We suggest that the exposure to contaminants in elasmobranchs inhabiting this region is highly dependent on the economic activities and high urban development in southeastern Brazil. Regarding potential impacts of such exposure, the condition factor was only negatively influenced by PBDEs concentrations, whereas the hepatosomatic index was not influenced by any contaminant. Despite this, our results indicate that guitarfishes and angelsharks are exposed to POPs and contaminants of emerging concern potentially toxic to aquatic organisms. In this context, more refined biomarkers should be used to predict potential impacts of these contaminants on elasmobranch's health.

The bycatch of piramutaba, Brachyplatystoma vaillantii industrial fishing in a salinity and depth gradient in the Amazon estuary, Brazil

ABSTRACT The piramutaba, Brachyplatystoma vaillantii is a freshwater catfish that is the most abundant fishery resource in the Amazon estuary. Piramutaba trawling is done on industrial fishing scale and is characterized by the presence of many freshwater and marine bycatch species, with and without commercial value. Here we describe the bycatch of the industrial fishery of piramutaba in the Amazon estuary and evaluate the relationship of two important environmental factors, depth and salinity, with the accidental capture of freshwater and marine fishes in the Amazon estuary in the rainy and dry seasons. We identified 21 cartilaginous fish species (19.1% freshwater and 80.9% marine) and 125 bony fish species (25.6% freshwater and 74.4% marine). The bycatch included 64 species without commercial value (43% of all bycatch species), which are always discarded. Freshwater and estuarine fishes exhibited significantly higher abundances in shallower environments, while marine fishes were similarly abundant along the entire depth gradient. On the contrary, the abundance of freshwater fishes significantly decreased, and that of estuarine and marine fishes significantly increased with increasing salinity. Regarding the conservation status of the bycatch species, one is classified as vulnerable (VU), and seven as critically endangered (CR). The information on the bycatch of piramutaba fishery in the Amazon estuary is important to subsidize regional fisheries policies and the management of protected areas.

Life history and stock synthesis assessment of Prionotus punctatus (Teleostei, Triglidae) in southern Brazil

AbstractAge, growth, and maturity of the bluewing searobin Prionotus punctatus were studied to assess its stock status in southern Brazil. Total length compositions, weight, sex, and maturity stage were recorded from commercial landings, and ages were estimated from transverse sections of the sagittal otolith. The oldest observed specimen was a 12‐year‐old female. Females grew to a larger asymptotic length (L∞ = 384.4 mm) than males (L∞ = 311.7 mm) but at a slower instantaneous rate (kfemales = 0.41 year−1, kmales = 0.75 year−1). Reproduction occurred from spring to early fall. Females size‐ and age‐at‐maturity was estimated at 246.8 mm and 1.66 years, while males were at 237.2 mm and 1.38 years. Based on a statistical catch‐at‐age stock assessment, the spawning biomass declined 84% from 1976 to 2000 being classified as overfished and suffering from overfishing (B/Bmsy = 0.62; F/Fmsy &gt;1). P. punctatus was regularly discarded by industrial fisheries before 2000 but suffered from high exploitation in the last decades. These results highlight the need for the species to be included in Brazil's fishery management plans.

Unsustainable practices among contemporary maritime fishing communities of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain): A socioecological and historical approach

AbstractIn this research, we address the relationship that exists between the development of certain unsustainable fishing practices among professional small‐scale fishery, industrial fishery and recreational fishing and the historical and social changes observed in the configuration of maritime fishing communities in Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). We also explore the impact that European, Spanish and regional policies have had on the strategies of exploitation of the marine environment and the forms of social organisation of these communities. To do this, we apply a multiproxy approach that includes several kinds of data: field research, photographic archives, oral interviews, local newspapers, legislation, official reports and published literature. The anthropological and historic viewpoints applied in the research delve into how the disappearance of traditional professional small‐scale fishing and the surge of both a bottom‐trawl fleet and recreational marine fishing have not only promoted a loss of sustainability and environmental balance in such coastal environments but have also led to a significant loss regarding key cultural and identity assets.

Intertwined realities - hybrid institutions in the Peruvian fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

Following pro-market policies, the Peruvian state has aimed to regulate profitable fisheries and aquaculture activities in order to increase their production. However, informal and illegal activities not only persist but are also interlinked with formal practices and frameworks, creating intertwined realities in fostering processes of institutional hybridization. This article analyses the (re)production of informal and illegal activities by explaining the formation of hybrid institutional entanglements in the Peruvian anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) fishery in Pisco and the Peruvian bay scallop (Argopecten purpuratus) aquaculture industry in Sechura. It argues that state policies to promote industrial fisheries and entrepreneurial aquaculture for the global market coupled with limited interest in supporting small-scale fisheries and aquaculture activities have resulted in processes of institutional hybridization. Within these processes, social actors resist and accommodate formal regulatory frameworks to suit their respective needs, while intertwining formal and informal practices and institutional arrangements, based on their political leverage or ability to produce hybrid institutional entanglements in a context where regulation is limited and state authority is negotiated. Under these forms of hybrid governance, the article shows that interactions between state and non-state actors do not lead to collaborations for solving problems but to the persistence of sustainability problems.