Evaluating the suitability of coupled biophysical models for fishery management

Abstract Hinrichsen, H-H., Dickey-Collas, M., Huret, M., Peck, M. A., and Vikebø, F. B. 2011. Evaluating the suitability of coupled biophysical models for fishery management. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1478–1487. The potential role of coupled biophysical models in enhancing the conservation, management, and recovery of fish stocks is assessed, with emphasis on anchovy, cod, herring, and sprat in European waters. The assessment indicates that coupled biophysical models are currently capable of simulating transport patterns, along with temperature and prey fields within marine ecosystems; they therefore provide insight into the variability of early-life-stage dynamics and connectivity within stocks. Moreover, the influence of environmental variability on potential recruitment success may be discerned from model hindcasts. Based on case studies, biophysical modelling results are shown to be capable of shedding light on whether stock management frameworks need re-evaluation. Hence, key modelling products were identified that will contribute to the development of viable stock recovery plans and management strategies. The study also suggests that approaches combining observation, process knowledge, and numerical modelling could be a promising way forward in understanding and simulating the dynamics of marine fish populations.

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Fishery Management Strategies for Addressing Complex Spatial Structure in Marine Fish Stocks

Stock Identification Methods ◽

10.1016/b978-0-12-397003-9.00003-5 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 29-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jacob P. Kritzer ◽

Owen R. Liu

Keyword(s):

Spatial Structure ◽

Marine Fish ◽

Fishery Management ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Fish Stocks

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Spatio-temporal distribution of eggs and larvae of half-fin anchovy Setipinna taty (Valenciennes, 1848) in the inshore waters off Jiangsu, China

Indian Journal of Fisheries ◽

10.21077/ijf.2019.66.1.79858-01 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yan Jin ◽

Zun-Lei Liu ◽

Jian-Hua Tang ◽

Yong Liu

Keyword(s):

Fishery Management ◽

Life Stage ◽

Temporal Distribution ◽

Early Life Stage ◽

Additive Models ◽

Significant Shift ◽

Larvae And Juveniles ◽

Inshore Waters ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Eggs And Larvae

Understanding the spatial distribution and environmental characteristics of fish spawning grounds is essential to design effective fishery management. The half-fin anchovy Setipinna taty (Valenciennes, 1848) plays an important role in the marine food web. A survey with 54 stations was conducted in 2014 to study the spatio-temporal distribution of eggs and larvae of half-fin anchovy around the inshore waters of Jiangsu, China. Half-fin anchovy eggs, larvae and juveniles were collected every month from April to July 2014. Generalised additive models were used to investigate the relationship between distribution of eggs, larvae and juveniles and environmental variables. A total of 4150 eggs and 685 half-fin anchovy larvae and juveniles were caught during the survey. During the spawning season, the highest egg densities were located in the inshore water area (121°-122°E, 32.5-33.5°N), with no significant shift in location of egg densities through time. The distribution of larvae and juveniles mostly overlapped with the egg distribution, suggesting that the early life stage of half-fin anchovy are distributed within the inshore waters of Jiangsu. The optimal water temperature, salinity and depth for eggs and larvae were in the range of 14.0-24.6°C, 28.7-29.8 ‰ and 15.9-17.4 m, respectively.

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Environmental Preferences and Fish Handling Practice among European Freshwater Anglers with Different Fishing Specialization Profiles

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su132313167 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (23) ◽

pp. 13167

Author(s):

Emil Andrzej Karpiński ◽

Andrzej Robert Skrzypczak

Keyword(s):

Fishery Management ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Predatory Fish ◽

Environmental Preferences ◽

Fish Stocks ◽

Recreational Specialization ◽

Negative Environmental Impact ◽

Engagement Factors ◽

Important Form ◽

Insight Into

Recreational specialization is characteristic of many activities, including recreational fishing, which is a popular and important form of recreation throughout the world. The pressure on the environmental resources used by anglers is increasing. It is becoming crucial to understand the preferences and behaviors of anglers, which can accumulate and multiply the risk of damage to fish stocks and aquatic habitats. The main objective of the study was to comprehensively analyze the differences between anglers with diverse specialization profiles. By investigating the fishing preferences within the context of the socioeconomic, demographic and engagement factors, three groups of anglers were identified: anglers who specialize in predatory fish, anglers who specialize in non-predatory fish and unspecialized anglers. Specialized anglers, regardless of type, were found to be more supportive of releasing caught fish (71% on average) and were less likely to keep them (16%) than unspecialized anglers (55% and 27%, respectively). Unspecialized anglers (26.5% of the surveyed population) show less commitment to ethical values. The potential negative environmental impact of the least specialized anglers is an accumulation of the preferences for the use of ground bait, artificial lures, and live fish as bait. Anglers specializing in predatory fish are the most critical in their evaluation of fish resources and water quality and are least attached to specific fisheries. This work provides insight into angler experience and it may help to better identify anglers who are disrespectful towards the fishing laws in place. The results of this work may be incorporated into fishery management strategies, including strategies to reduce naïve anglers and deter disrespectful anglers, which are lucrative in the fishing process.

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Explaining Recruitment Stochasticity at a Species’ Range Margin

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.659556 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Mats Westerbom ◽

Patrik Kraufvelin ◽

Olli Mustonen ◽

Eliecer Díaz

Keyword(s):

Species Distribution ◽

Environmental Variability ◽

Blue Mussel ◽

Adult Population ◽

Life Stage ◽

Early Life Stage ◽

Wave Exposure ◽

Spatiotemporal Variability ◽

Recruitment Failure ◽

Seawater Salinity

Advancing our understanding of how environmental variability affects the distribution of organisms is crucial for ecology and conservation. The exploration of changes in demographic patterns close to species distribution margins is important as populations here may provide a window into future population changes also elsewhere. However, the knowledge of factors causing recruitment variation is still inadequate in many systems and this deficiency is particularly evident close to species’ distribution borders. We studied the spatiotemporal variability in recruit-adult dynamics in a blue mussel, Mytilus trossulus, population to get insights into how environmental variables drive variation in recruitment and how this variability affects adult population growth. Thirty sites along a wave exposure gradient were monitored during four consecutive years. From each site, mussels were collected both from artificial recruitment units and from natural mussel beds. Our results showed high year-to-year variation in recruitment strength with high spatial variation. Mussel recruitment to artificial units and later recruitment to the benthos correlated highly. Juvenile abundances 1 year later paralleled prior recruitment strengths and caused synchronous but time-lagged changes in adult cohorts. Seawater salinity was the strongest predictor for recruitment variation, whereas sea temperature and wave exposure had low predictive power for this early life stage. For juveniles and for adults in the benthos, wave exposure explained the variation best, whereas temperature and especially salinity explained less. The results indicate that (a) the studied blue mussel population is strongly driven by variation in recruitment strength that (b) drives the size of the later cohorts, and the population is possibly even (c) recruitment limited in some years. Our study predicts a challenging future for this range population, resulting from a higher frequency of recruitment failure caused by a deteriorating sea climate. Knowledge about factors underlying variation in recruitment is thus essential for forecasting the future of this range population and for conserving its future state.

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Using the LBB Method for the Assessments of Seven Fish Stocks From the Yangtze Estuary and Its Adjacent Waters

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.679299 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Yuanchao Wang ◽

Cui Liang ◽

Weiwei Xian ◽

Yibang Wang

Keyword(s):

Fishery Management ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Yangtze Estuary ◽

Reference Points ◽

The Yangtze Estuary ◽

Fish Stocks ◽

Effective Implementation ◽

Stock Biomass ◽

The Status ◽

Growth Features

The status of fishery resources in the Yangtze estuary and its adjacent waters is still unclear for the effective implementation of fishery management strategies. To help address this gap, a new method especially for data-limited fish stocks (LBB) was applied to assess seven commercially and ecotrophically important fish stocks. Fish specimens were collected in the estuary by bottom trawling quarterly from May 2018 to February 2019. Two historical datasets were collected with the same method in the same area for Indian perch (Jaydia lineata) and sickle pomfret (Pampus echinogaster). To explore the growth features and resilience of fish stocks, auximetric plots and growth performance indices (Φ′) were used. Results showed that common hairfin anchovy (Setipinna tenuifilis) in 2018 and Indian perch in 2018 showed a healthy stock biomass status with complete length structures under a sustainable fishing pressure. The others were outside of safe biological limits or overfished. The Lmean/Lopt < 0.9 in six (67%) of nine LBB models for seven fish stocks suggested that most of the stocks were truncated in length structures. This contribution provides the main fishery reference points regarding stock status that can inform managers and form the basis for various management strategies.

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Satellite Observations Are Needed to Understand Ocean Acidification and Multi-Stressor Impacts on Fish Stocks in a Changing Arctic Ocean

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.635797 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Hannah L. Green ◽

Helen S. Findlay ◽

Jamie D. Shutler ◽

Peter E. Land ◽

Richard G. J. Bellerby

Keyword(s):

Ocean Acidification ◽

Arctic Ocean ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Satellite Observations ◽

The Arctic ◽

Fish Stock ◽

Stock Management ◽

Fish Stocks ◽

Space And Time

It is widely projected that under future climate scenarios the economic importance of Arctic Ocean fish stocks will increase. The Arctic Ocean is especially vulnerable to ocean acidification and already experiences low pH levels not projected to occur on a global scale until 2100. This paper outlines how ocean acidification must be considered with other potential stressors to accurately predict movement of fish stocks toward, and within, the Arctic and to inform future fish stock management strategies. First, we review the literature on ocean acidification impacts on fish, next we identify the main obstacles that currently preclude ocean acidification from Arctic fish stock projections. Finally, we provide a roadmap to describe how satellite observations can be used to address these gaps: improve knowledge, inform experimental studies, provide regional assessments of vulnerabilities, and implement appropriate management strategies. This roadmap sets out three inter-linked research priorities: (1) Establish organisms and ecosystem physiochemical baselines by increasing the coverage of Arctic physicochemical observations in both space and time; (2) Understand the variability of all stressors in space and time; (3) Map life histories and fish stocks against satellite-derived observations of stressors.

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The role of marine reserves in achieving sustainable fisheries

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2004.1578 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 360 (1453) ◽

pp. 123-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 228

Author(s):

Callum M. Roberts ◽

Julie P. Hawkins ◽

Fiona R. Gell

Keyword(s):

Fishery Management ◽

Environmental Variability ◽

Marine Reserves ◽

Management Tools ◽

Important Species ◽

Fish Stocks ◽

Management Measures ◽

Commercially Important ◽

Age Structures

Many fishery management tools currently in use have conservation value. They are designed to maintain stocks of commercially important species above target levels. However, their limitations are evident from continuing declines in fish stocks throughout the world. We make the case that to reverse fishery declines, safeguard marine life and sustain ecosystem processes, extensive marine reserves that are off limits to fishing must become part of the management strategy. Marine reserves should be incorporated into modern fishery management because they can achieve many things that conventional tools cannot. Only complete and permanent protection from fishing can protect the most sensitive habitats and vulnerable species. Only reserves will allow the development of natural, extended age structures of target species, maintain their genetic variability and prevent deleterious evolutionary change from the effects of fishing. Species with natural age structures will sustain higher rates of reproduction and will be more resilient to environmental variability. Higher stock levels maintained by reserves will provide insurance against management failure, including risk–prone quota setting, provided the broader conservation role of reserves is firmly established and legislatively protected. Fishery management measures outside protected areas are necessary to complement the protection offered by marine reserves, but cannot substitute for it.

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