Industry-collected target strength of high seas orange roughy in the Indian Ocean

Author(s):  
Ben Scoulding ◽  
Rudy Kloser

Abstract Visually verified in situ target strengths (TS) are the state of the science for determining the conversion from acoustic echo-integration surveys to biomass. Here, we show how these measurements can be made by high seas fisheries during normal operations using a net-attached acoustic optical system (AOS) without specialized personnel on board. In situ TS were collected from ∼45 cm standard length (SL) orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) in the southern Indian Ocean at 38 and 120 kHz. We use a multiple lines of evidence approach to demonstrate that the previous TS–SL equation developed for ∼10 cm smaller fish in Australia and New Zealand is not suitable for the larger orange roughy and instead propose new TS–SL equations. Our findings show that biomass estimates at 38 kHz will be reduced by ∼58% when using this new TS–SL compared to the existing TS–SL for smaller fish. This highlights the error of extrapolating TS–SL equations outside the measurement range. For this high sea region, the net-attached AOS represented a practical cost-effective method to obtain measurements and provide a result that could be used to inform the management of the stocks. We suggest that this method would be useful in all deep-water fisheries to monitor the TS of the fish for a range of environmental and ontogenetic conditions.

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 1986-1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudy J. Kloser ◽  
Tim E. Ryan ◽  
Gavin J. Macaulay ◽  
Mark E. Lewis

Abstract Kloser, R. J., Ryan, T. E., Macaulay, G. J., and Lewis, M. E. 2011. In situ measurements of target strength with optical and model verification: a case study for blue grenadier, Macruronus novaezelandiae. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1986–1995. In situ measurements of target strength (TS) of isolated fish surrounding dense schools need to be representative of the schooling fish to calculate their echo-integrated biomass. Using synchronous optical and acoustic measurements from a pelagic fishing net, the standard length (81 cm, n = 128), tilt-angle (−9°), and net-disturbed in situ TS (−34.4 dB) of Australian Macruronus novaezelandiae (blue grenadier) were confirmed at depth. In situ drift experiments of assumed undisturbed but dispersed blue grenadier recorded a mean TS of −31.8 dB (CI −33.1 to −30.9 dB) with attributed fish standard lengths of 83 cm (s.d. 7.5 cm) and weight 2.5 kg. Modelling the gasbladder showed that uncertainties in fish length, orientation, and gasbladder size could explain the differences observed. Blue grenadiers have negative buoyancy because the cavity size of their gasbladder is smaller than the volume of gas required for neutral buoyancy at depth. For the same species and length, New Zealand hoki weigh less and have smaller gasbladders than Australian blue grenadier, suggesting a conversion factor of 1.10 in length for comparative measurements. Net-attached acoustic and optical measurements indicate that model and drift in situ measurements are biased high by 2.9 and 1.0 dB, respectively. Net-attached acoustic and optical measurements are a cost-effective method of monitoring TS routinely at depth for changes in species length and weight.


2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 343-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey B. Wakefield ◽  
Julia Santana-Garcon ◽  
Stacey R. Dorman ◽  
Stuart Blight ◽  
Ainslie Denham ◽  
...  

To improve bycatch mitigation of chondrichthyans, reptiles and cetaceans for a tropical demersal fish-trawl fishery, species-specific responses to bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) were investigated using both in situ subsurface and onboard observations. There are few, if any, studies that have determined mitigation performances of BRDs from subsurface interactions for these species, as most are rarely encountered and thus require substantial levels of observer coverage for robust assessments. This study combined in-net and onboard (774 day trawls and 1320 day trawl hours of subsurface observer coverage) electronic monitoring on all fish-trawl vessels (n = 3) to compare bycatch mitigation performances among nine megafauna groups, based on escape rates and interaction durations for three BRDs over 6 months (June to December 2012). Overall, 26.9% of day trawls had no megafauna interactions and 38.3% of the 1826 interactions escaped, with most in rapid time (91.4% in ≤ 5 min). The upward inclined exclusion grid significantly improved the escape proportions for most chondrichthyans by 20–30%. All BRDs were highly effective in reducing reptile (turtles and seasnakes) bycatch, but irrelevant for the few sawfish (n = 13) that readily entangled in the anterior of the net. Cetacean (bottlenose dolphins only) interactions with BRDs were very rare (n = 7) despite high levels of attendance and depredation during trawling. Loss of targeted teleosts through the BRD hatch was rare (1.3% of day trawls). This relatively cost-effective method of electronic monitoring achieved very high levels of subsurface observer coverage (60% of day trawls or 56% of day trawl hours), and provided evidence that the subsurface expulsion of megafauna in poor condition is negligible. Furthermore, this study provides species-specific improvements toward bycatch mitigation strategies for demersal fish trawling.


Author(s):  
Gerry May

Pipe support functionality is critical to the long term life of piping system. Spring supports degrade with time due to flexing in the spring and wear in constant support bearings. It is not unusual to measure constant support hangers with resistance 25% to 50% different than the design load. This leads to excessive sustained pipe stress, pipe sag (or uplift), and in high temperature systems, accelerated creep damage. Supports may also not move properly from shut down to full operation, which can create excessive fatigue stress, failed hanger components, and other piping system damage. In-situ hanger testing has been found to be a reliable and cost effective method to determine the functionality of pipe supports. Results are used as input to set revised recommended loads, and to determine if any hangers need to be replaced. This paper provides examples of the types of problems that are often found in the field, the method to test, and typical resolutions to maximize the pipe life and minimize the risk of failure.


Author(s):  
A. M. Joshi ◽  
S. Shahnawaz ◽  
B. Ranjit

Abstract. Pinus roxburghii is one of the important and most widely planted tree species in Nepal. Despite its large abundance and high economic values, limited studies on its AGB have been conducted in Nepal, especially using in situ non-destructive method. There are different methods to study the AGB. Regression equation based on the correlation between VI and AGB is cost effective method, and replicable in another sites of similar environment by just acquiring satellite images. Numerous methods have been developed to calculate VIs and each calculated VI shows different relation with AGB in different environments for same species. Therefore, there is a need to identify a most appropriate VI that has the highest correlation with AGB of P. roxburghii. The current study was carried out in Hattiban and Dollu community forests of Kathmandu district, using ResourceSat-2 imagery. In this study, Slope based VIs were used. Regression analysis between slope based VIs and AGB showed that relation between all VIs and AGB were significant. However, NDVI had the highest relation with AGB compared to others. Therefore, it was concluded that NDVI was the most appropriate VI to estimate AGB of P. roxburghii, and the regression equation with NDVI was used to estimate the AGB of P. roxburghii in the study area.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Bram Setyadji ◽  
Irwan Jatmiko

Indonesian tuna longline fleets have been fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and high seas of the Indian Ocean for quite some time. However, effort has never been made to separate catch from the EEZ and the high seas as it important for fisheries management. A total of 2,430 set-by-set longline fishing data had been collected by scientific observers based in the Research Institute of Tuna Fishery in Bali since August 2005 to December 2014 on which present analysis was made. The research aims to compare between trend of tuna catch of the EEZ and of the high seas of Indian Ocean. The results show that the mean hook rate of both catches of big eye tuna (BET) and southern Bluefin tuna (SBT) caught in the high seas was significantly higher than that the EEZ (two sample t-test, p<0.05), while for yellow fin tuna (YFT) it was in the opposite direction (two sample t-test, p<0.05). As for albacore (ALB), the mean hook rate value was statistically similar in both fishing grounds (two sample t-test, p>0.05).


2019 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 03024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolae Cioica ◽  
Cătălina Tudora ◽  
Dorin Iuga ◽  
György Deak ◽  
Monica Matei ◽  
...  

Heavy metals are among the most common types of contaminants in agricultural soils, especially those bordering the cities, due to the uncontrolled use of sewage sludge, compost, mining waste and chemical fertilizers. Excessive accumulation of heavy metals, which do not degrade over time, adversely affects crop yields by decreasing microbial activity and fertility of contaminated soils. Also, excess of heavy metals in the soil poses a serious threat to plant and animal health and, through their entry into the food chain, to human health. For this reason, the decontamination of soils contaminated with heavy metals has become a necessity. This review presents the current state of phytoremediation research as the most cost-effective method of in-situ environmental decontamination of soils contaminated with heavy metals.


Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1043
Author(s):  
Noor Zaman ◽  
Rizwan Ahmed Malik ◽  
Hussein Alrobei ◽  
Jaehwan Kim ◽  
Muhammad Latif ◽  
...  

In this research, a facile and cost-effective method of graphene synthesis by the modified carburization process and its applications for supercapacitor electrodes is reported. In this simple approach, carbon was diffused into nickel foam and naturally cooled to obtain carbon precipitation for the in situ growth of graphene by decarburization. Phase-structure and surface-morphology analysis revealed the presence of a highly reduced structure of the graphene layer. Furthermore, the large-intensity D, substantial G, and 2D bands in Raman spectra were attributed to disordered multilayer graphene. The three-electrode systems were used to measure electrochemical efficiency. The electrode sample exhibited enhanced current density of 0.6 A/g, electrode energy of 1.0008 Wh/kg, and power density of 180 W/kg, showing significant electrochemical performance for supercapacitor electrode applications.


1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 1015 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Kloser ◽  
JA Koslow ◽  
A Williams

Orange roughy, which spawn in an aggregation around a seamount off north-eastem Tasmania, were surveyed acoustically with vessel-mounted and deep-tow transducers from 1990 to 1993. Orange roughy dominated at 700-900 m (95% of individuals) and were less numerous both shallower and deeper. Echo integration estimates from the vessel-mounted transducer were consistently lower than those from the deep-tow transducer by a factor of ~1.8, owing to surface bubble attenuation, vessel movement and acoustic beam thresholding among other factors. The absolute estimate from the deep-towed transducer of the prefishery orange roughy biomass (98200 t ; coefficient of variation, 6.7%) compared well with estimates from stock reduction analysis (95000 to 110000 t) and an egg survey (96900 t; CV, 47%). The acoustic surveys had lower sampling error (CV, 7-15%) than that of the egg survey and required less survey time. The present results support the use of initial absolute acoustic biomass estimates to set a management strategy for the fishery. Stock reduction analysis based on the relative acoustic estimates and catch over the four years indicated that orange roughy target strength was -50 dB � 3 dB, which is consistent with results from models of target strength and from measurements in situ and on dead specimens.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document