Stock Collapse Research Articles

Per-recruit analysis and proposed sustainable harvest strategy for rednose labeo Labeo rosae and Mosambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus in Flag Boshielo Dam, Olifants River, South Africa

Inland fisheries development in South Africa has been proposed to improve rural livelihoods and food security. However, inland fisheries are susceptible to collapse through overfishing. Therefore, establishing biological reference points for these fisheries is essential for long-term sustainability. Here, spawner-biomass-per-recruit (SBR) analysis was used to set biological reference points for a gillnet fishery targeting the rednose labeo Labeo rosae and Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus at Flag Boshielo Dam on the Oliphants River in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Both species are currently exploited at the impoundment by subsistence fishers that keep their entire catch. The current yields are estimated at 59 and 172 g yr−1 for L. rosae and O. mossambicus, respectively. The per-recruit analysis showed that age-at-first-capture for both species should be 4 years, at minimum lengths of 280 mm TL and 250 mm TL for L. rosae and O. mossambicus, respectively, with fishers using a minimum mesh size of 100 mm to reduce the risk of stock collapse. To maintain a SBR value greater than 25% of a pristine population, the L. rosae yield could be increased to 98 g yr−1, while the O. mossambicus yield could be increased to 176 g yr−1, following implementation of the recommended mesh size and size limits. A per-recruit analysis for O. mossambicus that includes recruitment variability and error to accurately calculate the biological reference points is recommended.

Adding the risk of stock collapse over time to stock assessments and harvest allocation decisions

Abstract Globally, many fisheries have experienced collapse even though most of these fisheries had management plans with harvest control rules and were supported by scientific modelling that explicitly accounted for uncertainty. Recognizing that an informed decision on risks of a stock collapse versus harvest is only possible when the outcomes of the technical measures are described explicitly. We propose that the cumulative probability of stock collapse over a range of harvest levels would provide a perspective of the future consequences of harvesting decisions. Adding to the harvest level negotiations the consideration of how long a fishery should sustain the livelihoods of fishers may provide managers, fishers, and other stakeholders with a more tangible understanding of the risks within the context of precautionary principles in decision-making. We use a time series from the Canadian Cod fishery of the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, from which we construct and calibrate a simplified model as an emulator of more comprehensive models to demonstrate the approach. The implications of adding an analysis of the probabilities of stock collapse for a range of harvest levels and using a risk matrix to inform decision-making are discussed for four selected years 1974, 1986, 1993, and 2017.

Disappearing fish: Grey seal depredation in a Baltic net fishery

Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in the Baltic Sea commonly attempt to steal fish captured in net fisheries. Seal depredation reduces economic yields for small-scale net fishers in a region already highly impacted by the collapse of important fish stocks. Visible damages in looted nets consist of injured fish with bite marks, or holes in the gear, but additional losses from seals eating entire fish without leaving a trace can often remain unnoticed. In this study, we estimated the daily rates of injured and of stolen fish in a commercial gillnet fishery operating off coast of Bornholm in the Central Baltic Sea in 2021–2022. Our results show that the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is generally preferred over other target species [here, European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), European flounder (Platichthys flesus), and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus)]. Although the observed ratio of 5.65 cods disappearing for each cod retrieved with seal bite marks is similar to a study from the 2000’s, we show that average daily cod disappearance rates are linked to the duration a gear is left soaking in the same location.

Risks of regionalized stock assessments for widely distributed species like the panmictic European eel

Abstract In fisheries management, accurate stock assessment is pivotal to determine sustainable harvest levels or the scope of conservation measures. When assessment is decentralized and methods differ regionally, adopted approaches must be subjected to rigorous quality-checking, as biased assessments may mislead management decisions. To enable recovery of the critically endangered European eel, EU countries must fulfill a biomass target of potential spawner (“silver eel”) escapement, while local eel stock assessment approaches vary widely. We summarize local approaches and results of ground-truthing studies based on direct silver eel monitoring, to evaluate the accuracy of eel stock assessments in retrospect and identify bias sources. A substantial fraction of eel habitat is currently unassessed or assessed by unvalidated approaches. Across assessment models for which validation exists, demographic models frequently overestimated actual escapement, while misestimations of extrapolation (“spatial”) models were more balanced, slightly underestimating escapement. Stock size overestimation may lead to overexploitation or insufficient conservation measures, increasing the risk of stock collapse or slow recovery in coordinated frameworks. Underestimations may imply inefficient allocation of conservation efforts or negatively affect socioeconomy. Our work highlights the risks of regionalizing assessment responsibilities along with management decisions, calling for a common assessment toolbox and centralized quality-checking routines for eel.

Influence of life history characteristics on data-limited stock status assertions and minimum size limit evaluations using Length-Based Spawning Potential Ratio (LBSPR)

Data-limited fisheries frequently lack age-structure data and instead rely on length-based management and assessment methods. However, the performance of such length-based methods and control rules are often poorly understood when confronted with varying life-history characteristics. In this study, we used Length-Based Spawning Potential Ratio (LBSPR) to conduct a data-limited assessment for a subset of high-value recreational fisheries in California and make inferences about the cumulative performance of existing management regulations. We then simulated stock status under alternative size limit scenarios to estimate the benefit of new or alternative minimum size limits on a species-by-species basis. Here, we present a validated procedure for evaluating minimum size limit scenarios and provide valuable insight on the status of five unassessed fisheries in California, including one species that appears heavily overfished. Furthermore, we identified a range of situations with variable confidence in LBSPR results dependent on life-history characteristics. Most notably, failures in length-based inferences can occur with species that exhibit sporadic recruitment success and spawning aggregation-based fisheries, leading to a hyperstable size structure and potential stock collapse.

Variable forage fish biomass and phenology influence marine predator diet, foraging behavior, and species interactions in coastal Newfoundland, Canada

Abstract Forage fish species provide essential linkages for energy transfer within pelagic marine food webs. Capelin (Mallotus villosus), the focal forage fish in coastal Newfoundland, Canada, suffered a stock collapse in 1991 and has not recovered. Despite this collapse, capelin continue to provide locally abundant prey aggregations. Here, I synthesize the lessons learned from a long-term capelin-predator research program (2004–2022) on the northeast Newfoundland coast during the postcollapse period. I highlight the importance of simultaneously estimating forage fish biomass and predator responses in a multispecies and multiyear context. High interannual variation in capelin spawning timing and biomass was observed. Lower capelin biomass consistently resulted in predator species- and assemblage-level dietary shifts toward a higher diversity of lower trophic level, alternative prey. Energetic foraging costs of seabirds also increased under lower capelin biomass, but responses differed among species. Summer capelin consumption by dominant seabirds (9389 tonnes) and whales (778 tonnes) indicated predator energetic requirements and revealed higher natural mortality relative to fishery-based (1289 tonnes) mortality. Overall, this case study illustrated that, despite high observed behavioural plasticity, varying species-specific predator responses to changing capelin biomass integrated to increase potential competitive interactions under low capelin biomass, providing a basis for ecosystem-level change.

Equilibrium, transient dynamics and sustainable reference points under age-specific natural mortality rates and varying levels of population productivity: The case of the Northern cod stock

Scientific advisory bodies provide scientific advice for sustainable fisheries management based on the precautionary approach and maximum sustainable yield (MSY) reference points, such as spawning stock biomass (SSB) value Blim, and fishing mortality giving MSY, FMSY. The lack of a stock-recruitment function (SRF) to identify a clear breakpoint Blim has recently emerged in important stock collapses. It also precludes the use of equilibrium-based methods to analyze the sustainability of FMSY. Considering a hockey stick (HS) SRF, we propose here an equilibrium-based method that characterizes the equilibriums, their stability properties, transient dynamics, and changes in productivity (including age-specific natural mortality rates). We show that these relevant factors, not taken into account in standard methods, should play a central role in fisheries management and conservation. Considering the Northern cod stock (NCS) (Gadus morhua) by way of illustration, we properly estimate the HS and its associated Blim. We find that the HS fitted by the Fisheries Library in R underestimates Blim. Additionally, we determine the levels of productivity (medium-low or medium-high), and their corresponding growth rates of the SSB, which are consistent with the observed population dynamics. We find that the NCS was managed during the 1980s under myopic (unsustainable) harvest control rules, neglecting high age-specific natural mortality rates. We also find that recovery of the NCS remains a distant prospect, despite the current stable, positive equilibrium (sustainable FMSY).

Impact of social Media and Google on stock Markets During a Pandemic: The Case of an Airline

The outbreak of the pandemic has dealt a tangible blow to the global economy, in particular by causing the collapse of stock markets. Most countries have taken measures to contain the coronavirus related to the restriction of human mobility. One of the main victims of such actions were airlines. In order to examine the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic, we investigated the long- and short-term effects on airline stock price volatility of the spread of coronavirus, social media attention to it, the vaccines against coronavirus and restrictive measures in relation to the pandemic. The ARDL model with MG and PMG estimates was applied after the preliminary stability tests for airlines in developed and developing countries. We analyzed the period of the greatest anti-COVID restrictions from 23 March 2020 to 23 March 2021. We reached the following conclusions. Firstly, the increase in the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 was accompanied by a short-term increase in the volatility of airline stock prices. Secondly, Twitter’s increased focus on COVID-19-related restrictive measures and vaccines against it was accompanied by a short-term increase in airline stock price volatility. Thirdly, the increasing attention at Google on airline restrictions has been accompanied by the long-term effects of rising stock volatility. Our results demonstrate that with the spread of the Internet and social media, the impact of the pandemic on stock markets occurs not only through direct effects on the determinants of Solow’s economic growth model, but also through indirect effects of social media and the Internet on investor behavior through the formation of fear and hysteria in them.

Perspective comes with time: What do long‐term egg and juvenile indices say about Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass productivity?

AbstractObjectiveThree hypotheses about poor recruitment and collapse of Striped Bass Morone saxatilis in Chesapeake Bay during the 1970s and 1980s (excessive larval mortality related to water quality, recruitment overfishing, or a combination) emerged from intense investigations during the mid‐1980s into the early 1990s. Stock collapse during the 1970s and 1980s and recovery in 1995 were largely attributed to fishing mortality and this premise largely drives management. Stock and larval habitat assessments were not available before the early 1980s and habitat assessments were discontinued after recovery. I used egg and juvenile index time‐series that extended back to 1955 to test these three hypotheses about changes in productivity.MethodsLong‐term (1955–2019) indices of recruitment (juvenile index [JI]), spawning dispersion in time and space (Ep, proportion of plankton net samples with eggs), and an index of relative larval survival (RLS = JI/Ep) for spawning areas in Maryland’s portion of Chesapeake Bay were used to investigate whether larval survival patterns were stable (supported the overfishing hypothesis) or changed (supported the larval mortality hypothesis).ResultBaywide Ep estimates were within similar higher ranges during 1957–1981 and 1989–2019, and were low enough to affect recruitment during 1982–1988. While there was a strong relationship of baywide Ep to spawning stock biomass (SSB) estimated by the stock assessment during recovery (1982–1995), estimates of Ep went from depleted to a high level earlier than SSB estimates. Estimates of postrecovery Ep and SSB were both high, but did not have a relationship. A decline in SSB that began in 2012 was not evident with Ep. A shift to low JIs in the early 1970s was followed by a decline in baywide Ep after 1979. Estimates of RLS were higher in 1960s, declined in the early to mid‐1970s, were mostly low into the early 1990s, and became higher afterward. Recovery of Ep after 1988 was accompanied by recovery of larval survival a few years later. Strong correlations of juvenile indices of Striped Bass, White Perch Morone americana, and Yellow Perch Perca flavescens further supported the larval survival hypothesis; these anadromous fish share larval nurseries in space and time, but have different life histories and fisheries that make simultaneous overfishing unlikely.ConclusionDeterioration of larval survival initiated the collapse of Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass and improvement contributed to recovery. The hypothesis that collapse and recovery was solely driven by fishing was not supported, but excessive fishing pressure lowered Ep and SSB and contributed to poor recruitment during 1982–1988. Long‐term climate patterns and warming, deterioration and improvement in acidic deposition, concurrent increases in freshwater salinization and alkalinization, and shifts in agriculture and watershed management indicated shifts in larval habitat suitability were plausible.

Machine learning modeling to forecast uncertainty between capital sudden stop and boom

In emerging economies, sudden stops of capital inflows boost the collapse of stock and exchange rate markets and plunge countries into unemployment, loss of production, and diminishing exports, leading to a financial crisis. Recently, the nonlinear relationship-based machine learning (ML) model for analyzing the complexity and uncertainty of financial and economic systems has been in the spotlight, but they are still poorly used for predicting sudden stops of capital. Because there is no verified tool that elaborately measures the indicia of rapid suspension or expansion of capital for prediction purposes, ML models learned from domains with inadequately defined economic characteristics of capital movements can suffer from poor predictive power and reliability. In addition, many economists do not trust the ML model due to the lack of interpretability caused by the black box structure of ML models. In this study, three approaches are proposed for better prediction and decision-making. First, using data for 37 emerging economies from 1990 to 2019, we apply various ML techniques such as extreme gradient boost (XGB), which is well known for the latest ensemble learning technology. Second, we analyze the causal relationship to the outcomes of our models using SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) methods, a powerful technique for ML interpretation. Particularly, from the perspective of post-COVID-19, our model predicts an increased probability of sudden stops in countries where a sharp decline in real interest rates and exports is evident. Finally, we propose a tool to measure capital flows and assess excessive levels for forecasting purposes. Particularly, our tool extracts credit boom events that are highly correlated with sudden stops, and the ML models with credit boom events have significantly improved predictive performance. Specifically, in the forecast of a sudden stop after one year, the prediction accuracy of the models with a credit boom event is improved by 11.2% on average compared to models without credit boom information. In addition, the gap between the predicted hit and the miss rate in the proposed models was reduced to −16.2% on average compared to the original, improving the balance of classification.

Spatial patterns of within-stock connectivity provide novel insights for fisheries management

While concepts of connectivity are increasingly used in determining locations for marine protected areas, they are much less applied in the management of fish stocks, which are assumed to be well-mixed populations. However, due to seascape structure and often asymmetrical dispersal, the stocks of many species are unlikely to be well mixed and there is potential to enhance management by utilising emerging ecological modelling approaches that incorporate functional connectivity. Here, we apply a new model, MerMADE, that couples biophysical modelling of dispersal with spatial population demography, to predict within-stock patterns of connectivity of sandeels in the North Sea. By deriving origin- and destination-centrality measures, we highlight a set of key origin sites within the area occupied by the stock that contribute immigrants to many other sites and also identify patches that are particularly isolated, unlikely to receive immigrants from elsewhere. We show that the connectivity characteristics of the stock have a strong impact on how rapidly it recovers following a major harvesting event that leads to a patch depletion. Furthermore, the recovery of a local population will depend on the demographic status of the sites from which it can obtain immigrants. Thus, sites that provide strong out-centrality (especially if they themselves have weak in-centrality) and sites that are especially isolated should be harvested less heavily. To reduce the potential for local or regional stock collapse, models incorporating both biophysical dispersal and local demography are needed to support spatially explicit management of commercial marine species.

Marine mollusk biodiversity in Northeastern islands of Vietnam, impact factors and proposing conservation solutions

A biodiversity and water-quality monitoring campaign was conducted in the Northeastern archipelago of Vietnam, including Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong, in 2017–2018. Mollusks are selected as the critical proxy indicator, and water-quality parameters are tested against National acceptability standards. The study revealed that, despite declining trends over the past two decades, mollusks are still highly diverse, with 647 species belonging to 227 genera, 95 families, and five classes (76% of all the species identified in the Tonkin Gulf). Of these, 253 species of 39 families (39% of the whole stock) are of high economic value, supporting an active trade in the region and thousands of livelihoods. Several species (abalone, blood cockle, green mussel, pearl oysters, Pacific oysters, double-headed clams, Asian hard clams, white clams, and squids) are intensively farmed. However, aquaculture still needs to be derdeveloped as capture from the wild is preferred. Water quality is unexpectedly high despite impacting factors such as urban development, industry, mass tourism, and demographic increase, mainly within the limits of acceptability set by the Government. Salinity, pH, and temperature are compatible with marine life, and a limited impact is represented by dissolved nitrates and suspended hydrocarbons in suspension. Despite favorable conditions of the aquatic environment, biodiversity decline has been a steady trend over the past decade. The causes are the urban encroachment over the coastal tract, the intertidal spawning grounds, breeding grounds, and nurseries, overexploitation, IUU fishing, lack of management, and failed establishment of conservation areas and MPAs. Spawning and breeding grounds identification and demarcation, their participated co-management, investments in environmental protection, technologies, and capacity building, and promotion of aquafarming of marketable species are among the measures recommended to be implemented with priority, to relieve the pressure over the wild stock and promote regeneration. The role of science in monitoring and detecting environmental changes guiding the adoption of proactive measures to prevent depletion and stock collapse, is the pathway to the sustainability of resource use and human well-being.

Impact of Brand Capital on the Stock Price Crash Risk, an Empirical Study

The factors influencing the financial market are rapidly becoming more complex. The impact of non-financial factors on the performance of a company’s common stock can increase in ways that were not previously expected. This study investigated how brand capital affects the risk of stock prices in Iraqi private banks listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange failing by identifying the likelihood of a crash caused by a negative deviation in the distribution of returns on ordinary shares. As a result, the current study’s concept is to review an analytical knowledge framework of the nature of that relationship, its changes, and its impact on the pricing of ordinary shares of the banks of the researched sector for the years 2009 to 2017, as well as by the 21 banks listed during that time and by the 588 observations using the expanded market model to determine quarterly changes in stock prices. In addition to testing the negative coefficient of skewness and the down-to-up volatility models to test the contribution of brand capital in reducing the risk of stock collapse, The test results showed that brand capital is closely related to the significant and adverse risks of a stock crash. Additionally, the first’s impact is inverse, as its content highlights the role that the research sample banks’ brand capital played in lowering the dangers of stock price crashes.

A comprehensive functional form of the optimal harvest control rule for multiple fishery management objectives

For many of the world's fisheries, harvest control rules (HCRs) are the main tools for supporting decision-making. We previously clarified the optimal shape of the HCR to achieve multiple fisheries management objectives (maximising average catch, reducing variation in yields, and avoiding stock collapse) and ensure robustness to estimation errors in biomass by numerically estimating the optimal values of the 21 biological reference points (BRPs) comprised in the HCR. However, for actual management, a simple but comprehensive functional form to emulate the optimal HCR is desirable, as numerical HCR optimisation with many BRPs is time-consuming. Here, we introduced three objective utility functions ( U1– U3) representing HCR performance for composite management objectives: mean–variance utility functions, where the performance indicator for variation in yields is the standard deviation ( U1) or the annual average variance ( U2) of yields, and the constant relative risk aversion utility function ( U3). We derived two equations to emulate the optimal HCRs with three adjusting parameters corresponding to the management objectives and different magnitudes of estimation errors. These equations will help stakeholders discuss desired management strategies by showing expected catch and risk by adjusting the parameter values.

"A prized Pacific shark": the rise and fall (and rise again…?) of the world's first ecolabel certified sustainable shark fishery.

There is intense public interest surrounding the conservation and management of sharks, including a debate over whether sustainable shark fisheries are possible or fishing bans on sharks are needed to conserve these animals. An important but rarely discussed datapoint in discussions of global shark fisheries is the case of British Columbia's fishery for Pacific spiny dogfish, Squalus suckleyi, which in 2011 became the first Marine Stewardship Council certified shark fishery anywhere in the world. A few years later, despite reportedly healthy local stocks and thriving global markets for this shark, the fishery voluntarily withdrew their MSC certification, and in recent years more than 95% of the quota for Pacific spiny dogfish has been left in the water. This study provides insight into what happened to this fishery through a review of grey literature and a series of stakeholder interviews with British Columbian fishermen, fish processors, managers, and environmentalists. It is a rare case study of a fishery that largely ceased operations without a clear mechanistic explanation like a stock collapse, a government mandate to limit fishing, or a clear shift in market demand. This fishery appears to have been affected by the combination of several factors, including a temporary reduction in biomass due to oceanographic effects, potential blowback from overly broad environmental messaging that didn't distinguish between sustainable and unsustainable shark fisheries, management changes resulting in altered fishing incentives, and changes to processing capacity associated with consolidating the fishing industry into ownership by relatively few large companies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

A New wto Protocol on Fisheries Subsidies: Potential Implications for the South China Sea Disputes

Abstract For close to two decades, wto member countries have discussed the possibility of disciplining the practice of subsidizing fishing activities. Concrete progress has been made as there is now a consensus on eliminating certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute towards overcapacity, overfishing and illegal unreported and unregulated fishing. In June 2022, at the end of 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (afs) was finally adopted. Against this backdrop, this paper will attempt to investigate the role that the afs might play in arresting the collapse of global fish stocks. Part i provides a brief background on the state of global fisheries and the role of subsidies in their depletion. Part ii discusses the key features of and contentious issues in the afs. Finally, Part iii considers the potential implications of the afs on disputed waters such as the South China Sea.

Machine Learning Approaches in Stock Price Prediction

The stock market is becoming more widespread. One of the convoluted things to do in the stock market is to do a prediction or analysis of the stock price. Market volatility and sovereign factors are impacting stock values. As a result, any stock market expert will have difficulty predicting the growth or collapse of a particular stock. So, here we are studying various algorithms for the prediction purpose, comparing all those algorithms via RSME metrics, and using the best one for the prediction.

Size-fractioned zooplankton biomass in the Barents Sea ecosystem: changes during four decades of warming and four capelin collapses (1980–2020)

Abstract Zooplankton in the Barents Sea has been monitored by the Institute of Marine Research in Norway on autumn cruises since 1986, using a standardized procedure with determination of dry weight biomass in three size fractions following splitting of the sample in two halves. Along with summer data for the early 1980s, we can now describe changes of zooplankton biomass over four decades. The biomass of the central Barents Sea has fluctuated inversely with collapses and recoveries of the Barents Sea capelin stock, which is a major planktivore. Zooplankton biomass in the central Barents Sea was low in 1983 and 1984, driven by low abundance of Calanus finmarchicus, followed by a pronounced peak in 1987 associated with a “first” collapse of the capelin stock. Biomass showed another pronounced peak in 1994, driven by the small size fraction and interpreted to reflect an advective signal from the adjacent Norwegian Sea. In the two most recent decades, there have been divergent trends, with a relatively high biomass in the inflowing Atlantic water, reflecting a second summer generation of C. finmarchicus, and decreased biomass in the central area, reflecting a lower abundance of Calanus glacialis driven by a combined effect of capelin predation and climate.

Stochastic growth and regime shift risk in renewable resource management

Renewable resources are affected by both environmental variability, which makes the year-to-year stock growth uncertain, and the risk of irreversible events (e.g., a stock collapse). Little is known about how a renewable resource harvester would optimally respond to the combined effects of both sources of risk. In this paper, we propose a simple dynamic resource model to investigate this issue. For some structures of the harvesting cost function, we find that anticipating a higher variability in biological growth induces a cautious management policy, but only when regime shift risk is accounted for. Accounting for the risk of regime shift may prescribe large changes in management responses to anticipated random changes in biological growth whereas ignoring such a risk prescribes small changes in management. Optimal escapement is not constant but varies across all periods when the planning horizon is finite and the regime shift risk is endogenous.

요코미쓰 리이치 『침원(寢園)』에 묘사된 섬유산업의 의미 －나나에(奈奈江)의 총기사건을 중심으로－

Yokomitsu Riichi’s “Chimwon” is a full-length novel published in 1930 during the Showa Depression. This novel deals with the unfortunate love of ‘Kaji’ and ‘Nanae’, who work in the textile industry and the shooting accident where Nanae injure husband ‘Niwa’ after Kaji’s bankruptcy.BR Particularly noteworthy in this novel is the fact that all characters are engaged in the textile industry; moreover, the occurrence of the stock collapse determines the flow of the novel. All of these textile manufacturers pursue the hobby of shooting. During a social gathering at the shooting range run by the ‘Okura Gun Shop’ under the OkuraGumi, which has dominated the textile industry through a textile cartel since around 1930, the scene depicts textile manufacturers seeking to eliminate individual capitalists like Kaji and pursue stock investment and price fixing using capital from the Japanese government. As part of the Japanese military’s invasion of the continent, the process of transforming Japan’s textile industry into a military industry is revealed through the shooting of textile manufacturers, a character riding an armored vehicle ‘Crossley’ to the shooting range, and a description of the production of new uniforms. Through social gatherings of textile manufacturers held at the shooting range, Yokomitsu shows readers the tone of the Japanese industry, which strengthens the national monopoly capital, while also illustrating the military expanding its invasion of the continent after the Manchurian Incident.