scholarly journals Reference point based management of Norwegian Atlantic salmon populations

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 356-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
TORBJØRN FORSETH ◽  
PEDER FISKE ◽  
BJØRN BARLAUP ◽  
HARALD GJØSÆTER ◽  
KJETIL HINDAR ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Reproductive Capacity ◽  
Management Scheme ◽  
Average Maximum ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Catch Statistics ◽  
Management And Conservation

SUMMARYWhile management according to biological reference points is well established for many commercial marine fisheries, similar systems for more leisure based fisheries for freshwater fishes are less common. This paper describes the scientific foundation for management according to conservation limits and management targets for Norwegian populations of Atlantic salmon, a highly valued and heavily exploited anadromous fish species. Based on stock recruitment relationships during the freshwater phase, the biomass of females necessary to attain the carrying capacity (yielding average maximum recruitment) has been established as conservation limits for each of the 439 Norwegian populations. Using a simulation model based on reported catch and estimates of exploitation rates, the probability and percentage attainment of the conservation limits have been assessed annually since 2008, and exploitation advice provided for 176 of the largest populations. The number of populations that attained their conservation limits increased substantially after the new management scheme was introduced, despite that the number of returning salmon remained at historical low levels. Overall the populations evaluated in 2011 were at 95% of their conservation limits compared to 91% in 2008 and 85% in 2005. The improvement could largely be attributed to reduced exploitation rates, due to new restrictions in both the marine and river fisheries. The new management scheme also improved the catch statistics and stimulated data acquisition for management. Implementation of management according to conservation limits has been a success in terms of attaining the main management goal of protecting the Atlantic salmon populations by ensuring that an increasing number of the populations likely are at their maximum reproductive capacity. Long-term increases in fisheries yield, the secondary management goal, are likely to be attained, but remain to be documented. Reference point based management of Atlantic salmon exemplifies management within the intersection of fisheries management and conservation biology, borrowing principles from both sides.

An Alternative Perspective on Recruitment Overfishing and Biological Reference Points

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 913-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Sissenwine ◽  
J. G. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Alternative Perspective ◽  
Conventional Models ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Yield Per Recruit ◽  
Spawning Biomass

Biological reference points are used to guide fisheries management decisions. The reference points most often used are expressed in terms of fishing mortality rate (F). Fmsy relates to the maximization of sustainable yield. In principle, it is a most useful reference point, but in practice it is difficult to estimate. Fmax and F0.1 relate to certain levels of yield per recruit and are easily estimated, but they ignore conservation of the resource. Recruitment overfishing has usually been understood to occur when a population has been fished down to a point where recruitment is substantially reduced or fails. It has not been used as a basis for a biological reference point because the definition is vague and cannot be readily related to fishing mortality. Levels of spawning biomass below which recruitment seems to be reduced have been used, but their determination from available data is usually difficult and controversial. We propose an alternative definition of recruitment overfishing in terms of the level of fishing pressure that reduces the spawning biomass of a year class over its lifetime below the spawning biomass of its parents on average. Conventional models and types of data can be used to determine this level of F, denoted as Frep, which clearly relates to the replacement of spawning biomass and thus to sustainability of a population and yield in the long term.

scholarly journals Incorporating natural variability in biological reference points and population dynamics into management of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) stocks returning to home waters

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 1513-1524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan White ◽  
Niall Ó Maoiléidigh ◽  
Paddy Gargan ◽  
Elvira de Eyto ◽  
Gerald Chaput ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Sampling Error ◽  
Specific Weight ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Natural Variability ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Major Development ◽  
Stock Assessments ◽  
Population Structures ◽  
Stock Recruitment

Following advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas and North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, Irish salmon stocks have been managed on a river-by-river basis since 2007 with biological reference points (BRPs) based on maximum sustainable yield (MSY). A method for estimating BRPs at the river scale and the associated variability arising from observed variability in population structures and fecundities is presented here. Calculations of BRPs (referred to as conservation limits, CLs) were updated and their natural variability was included. Angling logbooks provided new river-specific weight data to give sea age and fecundity ranges, and improved estimates of river-wetted areas, to account for available nursery habitat for juveniles and river-specific carrying capacities, were introduced. To transport BRPs, Bayesian stock–recruitment analysis was re-run with an updated list of monitored rivers and smolt ages. Results were converted to salmon numbers per river in Monte Carlo simulations incorporating the variability in sea ages and fecundities. Minimum sample size rules were implemented to reduce sampling error effects. Results showed that average total CL increased by 7%, average one sea-winter (1SW) CL decreased by 5% and average multi-sea-winter (MSW) CL increased by 157%. Differences were attributed to increases in wetted areas, MSW proportions, and changes in both 1SW and MSW fecundities. While some changes were large, we believe that these updated CLs provide more accurate estimates and with associated confidence limits they are more robust, river-specific, and readily incorporated into stock assessments. As a significant improvement on their predecessors, they represent a major development for the conservation and management of salmon stocks. Additionally, the approach described is portable across stocks and has the potential to be implemented in other jurisdictions to improve the management of Atlantic salmon. Finally, this method of incorporating variation has application for the development of BRPs and management of other species.

The estimation and robustness of FMSY and alternative fishing mortality reference points associated with high long-term yield

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 1468-1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Horbowy ◽  
Anna Luzeńczyk
Keyword(s):  
Total Yield ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Equilibrium Yield ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Yield Per Recruit ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Recruitment Model

Equations for equilibrium yield and biomass are presented and used to derive FMSY and alternative reference points (ARPs). ARPs are analogues of the traditional points based on yield-per-recruit (YPR) or spawning stock-per-recruit (SPR) (F0.1, F40%, F50%), but refer to the equilibrium total yield or biomass. The method combines YPR and SPR analysis with stock–recruitment relationships. The sensitivity of FMSY and ARPs to the range of available stock–recruitment data, recruitment variance, various steepness levels in the stock–recruitment models, assessment variance, and bias are tested. The analysis showed that in most cases, F40%B and F50%B, defined by the equilibrium biomass (B), were the most robust relative to the different sources of uncertainty. However, in the case of the misspecification of the stock–recruitment relationship, FMSY showed superior performance. F40%B for the Beverton and Holt stock–recruitment model and F50%B for the Ricker recruitment model can be recommended as conservative fishing mortalities associated with high long-term yield. For the considered steepness, they produced yield up to 5%–10% lower than yield at FMSY.

Cognitive Reflection Effects on Time Discounting

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Białek ◽  
Przemysław Sawicki
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Individual Difference ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Cognitive Reflection Test ◽  
Process Information ◽  
Time Discounting ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
The Way

Abstract. In this work, we investigated individual differences in cognitive reflection effects on delay discounting – a preference for smaller sooner over larger later payoff. People are claimed to prefer more these alternatives they considered first – so-called reference point – over the alternatives they considered later. Cognitive reflection affects the way individuals process information, with less reflective individuals relying predominantly on the first information they consider, thus, being more susceptible to reference points as compared to more reflective individuals. In Experiment 1, we confirmed that individuals who scored high on the Cognitive Reflection Test discount less strongly than less reflective individuals, but we also show that such individuals are less susceptible to imposed reference points. Experiment 2 replicated these findings additionally providing evidence that cognitive reflection predicts discounting strength and (in)dependency to reference points over and above individual difference in numeracy.

Are hybrids between Atlantic salmon and brown trout suitable long-term hosts of Gyrodactylus salaris during winter?

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 1299-1307
Author(s):  
R Knudsen ◽  
E H Henriksen ◽  
K Ø Gjelland ◽  
H Hansen ◽  
D K Hendrichsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Brown Trout

scholarly journals Quirky patterns in time-series of estimates of recruitment could be artefacts

2014 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Dickey-Collas ◽  
N. T. Hintzen ◽  
R. D. M. Nash ◽  
P-J. Schön ◽  
M. R. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Modelling Assumptions ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Recruitment Model ◽  
Recruitment Time

Abstract The accessibility of databases of global or regional stock assessment outputs is leading to an increase in meta-analysis of the dynamics of fish stocks. In most of these analyses, each of the time-series is generally assumed to be directly comparable. However, the approach to stock assessment employed, and the associated modelling assumptions, can have an important influence on the characteristics of each time-series. We explore this idea by investigating recruitment time-series with three different recruitment parameterizations: a stock–recruitment model, a random-walk time-series model, and non-parametric “free” estimation of recruitment. We show that the recruitment time-series is sensitive to model assumptions and this can impact reference points in management, the perception of variability in recruitment and thus undermine meta-analyses. The assumption of the direct comparability of recruitment time-series in databases is therefore not consistent across or within species and stocks. Caution is therefore required as perhaps the characteristics of the time-series of stock dynamics may be determined by the model used to generate them, rather than underlying ecological phenomena. This is especially true when information about cohort abundance is noisy or lacking.

scholarly journals Objective determination of the sea age of Atlantic salmon from the sizes and dates of capture of individual fish

2010 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Bacon ◽  
William S. C. Gurney ◽  
Eddie McKenzie ◽  
Bryce Whyte ◽  
Ronald Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Individual Fish ◽  
Bivariate Probability ◽  
Management And Conservation ◽  
Objective Determination

Abstract Bacon, P. J., Gurney, W. S. C., McKenzie, E., Whyte, B., Campbell, R., Laughton, R., Smith, G., and MacLean, J. 2011. Objective determination of the sea age of Atlantic salmon from the sizes and dates of capture of individual fish. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 130–143. The sea ages of Atlantic salmon indicate crucial differences between oceanic feeding zones that have important implications for conservation and management. Historical fishery-catch records go back more than 100 years, but the reliability with which they discriminate between sea-age classes is uncertain. Research data from some 188 000 scale-aged Scottish salmon that included size (length, weight) and seasonal date of capture on return to the coast were investigated to devise a means of assigning sea age to individual fish objectively. Two simple bivariate probability distributions are described that discriminate between 1SW and 2SW fish with 97% reliability, and between 2SW and 3SW fish with 70% confidence. The same two probability distributions achieve this accuracy across five major east coast Scottish rivers and five decades. They also achieve the same exactitude for a smaller recent dataset from the Scottish west coast, from the River Tweed a century ago (1894/1895), and for salmon caught by rod near the estuary. More surprisingly, they also achieve the same success for rod-caught salmon taken at beats remote from the estuary and including capture dates when some fish could have been in the river for a few months. The implications of these findings for fishery management and conservation are discussed.

scholarly journals Can stock–recruitment points determine which spawning potential ratio is the best proxy for maximum sustainable yield reference points?

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 1075-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Legault ◽  
Elizabeth N. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Sustainable Yield ◽  
Marine Science ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Scatter Plots ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Spawning Potential Ratio

Abstract Legault, C. M., and Brooks, E. N. 2013. Can stock–recruitment points determine which spawning potential ratio is the best proxy for maximum sustainable yield reference points? – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70: 1075–1080. The approach of examining scatter plots of stock–recruitment (S–R) estimates to determine appropriate spawning potential ratio (SPR)-based proxies for FMSY was investigated through simulation. As originally proposed, the approach assumed that points above a replacement line indicate year classes that produced a surplus of spawners, while points below that line failed to achieve replacement. In practice, this has been implemented by determining Fmed, the fishing mortality rate that produces a replacement line with 50% of the points above and 50% below the line. A new variation on this approach suggests FMSY proxies can be determined by examining the distribution of S–R points that are above or below replacement lines associated with specific SPRs. Through both analytical calculations and stochastic results, we demonstrate that this approach is fundamentally flawed and that in some cases the inference is diametrically opposed to the method's intended purpose. We reject this approach as a tool for determining FMSY proxies. We recommend that the current proxy of F40% be maintained as appropriate for a typical groundfish life history.

Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) and Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) Populations and Fisheries of the Red Lakes, Minnesota, 1930–75

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1774-1783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lloyd L. Smith Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Yellow Perch ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Perca Flavescens ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Commercial Fishery ◽  
Class Strength ◽  
Parent Stock ◽  
Catch Statistics

In an investigation of the commercial fishery of Red Lakes, Minnesota, for the 46-yr period 1930–75, catch statistics were analyzed, and the dynamics of the perch and walleye populations were examined. Mean annual yields of walleye for two statistical periods, 1930–53 and 1954–75, were 309,900 and 245,100 kg, respectively for walleyes, and 96,400 and 109,500 kg for perch. Annual abundance (CPE based on average catches per day per 5-net units of gill nets) varied from 3.8 to 64.6 kg for walleye, and from 2.5 to 34.4 kg for perch. Causes of fluctuations in harvestable stock were directly related to strength of year-classes and to growth rate during the season of capture. Year-class strength was not related to the abundance of parent stock or of potential predators. The respective strengths of year-classes of perch and walleye in the same year were positively correlated (r = 0.859, P < 0.01), and are directly related to climatic factors. Growth rate of walleye in different calendar years varied from +30.7 to −42.2% of mean growth, and that of perch from +13.4 to −8.6% (1941–56). Growing season began in mid-June and was almost over by September 1. Walleye yield could be enhanced by starting harvest July 1 instead of early June. Perch yield could be improved by harvesting small perch. Key words: Percidae, Perca, population dynamics, Stizostedion, long-term yield

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