scholarly journals Spatial and Temporal Differences in Fecundity of Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) off Nova Scotia and Consequences for Biological Reference Points

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J Barrett ◽  
Adrian R. Hordyk ◽  
Melanie A Barrett ◽  
Michael R van den Heuvel
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Clupea Harengus ◽  
Atlantic Herring ◽  
Spawning Areas ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Over Time

The relationships between fecundity and size of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) were estimated within five different spawning areas off the coast of Nova Scotia in 2019 and 2020. Statistically significant differences in fecundity relative to body weight were observed among spawning areas and between years. Fecundity-at-length on the German Bank spawning ground was 29-36% and 22-28% lower than estimates from 2001 and 1970, respectively. Temporal changes in weight- and relative fecundity- at-age resulted in a decrease in the number of eggs-per-recruit (in an equilibrium unfished state) by 50% and a decrease of 27% in the egg production per tonne of spawning stock biomass (SSB) in 2020 relative to 1970. Decreases in SSB-per-recruit and eggs-per-recruit over time resulted in proportional decreases in equilibrium SSB at maximum sustainable yield (MSY); however, the fishing mortality rate (F) at MSY remained relatively stable over time. Total egg production was shown to be disproportional to SSB. Equilibrium SSB at MSY was greater (and F at MSY lower) when estimated using eggs-per-recruit compared to SSB-per-recruit. Failing to account for fecundity and assuming that egg production is proportional to SSB resulted in an overestimate of stock status

scholarly journals Seabird diets as bioindicators of Atlantic herring recruitment and stock size: a new tool for ecosystem-based fisheries management

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
pp. 1215-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren C. Scopel ◽  
Antony W. Diamond ◽  
Stephen W. Kress ◽  
Adrian R. Hards ◽  
Paula Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Fishery Management ◽  
Gulf Of Maine ◽  
Clupea Harengus ◽  
Data Series ◽  
Atlantic Herring ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Stock Assessments ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Fishery Data ◽  
Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management

Ecosystem-based fishery management requires understanding of relationships between exploited fish and their predators, such as seabirds. We used exploratory regression analyses to model relationships between Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) in the diet of seabird chicks at nine nesting colonies in the Gulf of Maine and four types of fishery- and survey-derived herring data. We found several strong relationships, which suggests spatial structuring in herring stocks and likely patterns of herring movements before they recruit into the fishery. Some types of herring data seldom used in stock assessments — notably acoustic surveys, fixed-gear landings, and mass-at-age (i.e., weight-at-age) — correlated as strongly with seabird data as more commonly used series, such as mobile-gear landings and modeled spawning stock biomass. Seabird chick diets collected at specific locations thus offer a promising means to assess the size, distribution, and abundance of juvenile herring across a broad area prior to recruitment, which is a major source of uncertainty in fisheries. Common terns (Sterna hirundo) showed the most potential as a bioindicator, correlating well and showing consistent spatial patterns with 11 of 13 fishery data series.

scholarly journals Evaluating the parameters of a MSY control rule for the Bristol Bay, Alaska, stock of red king crabs

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 995-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. M. Siddeek ◽  
J. Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Stochastic Simulations ◽  
Bristol Bay ◽  
Control Rule ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
Control Rules ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Spawning Potential Ratio

Abstract Siddeek, M. S. M. and Zheng, J. 2007. Evaluating the parameters of a MSY control rule for the Bristol Bay, Alaska, stock of red king crabs. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 995–1005. A maximum sustainable yield (MSY) control rule, which defines the level of overfishing, and determines the control rule parameters based on an age-, sex-, and size-structured assessment for Bristol Bay red king crabs (Paralithodes camtschaticus) is developed. Fx% (F corresponding to x% spawning potential ratio) is used as a proxy for FMSY and a minimum spawning-stock biomass (to open the fishery) for incorporation into the MSY control rule. The performance of the selected MSY control rule and the associated target control rule is evaluated using stochastic simulations. F50% is a reasonable proxy for FMSY when effective spawning biomass is used as the stock biomass in the stock-recruitment relationship. This method with appropriate modifications might be used for determining biological reference points and developing control rules for any crustacean stock with discrete growth, complex reproductive dynamics, and single sex exploitation.

scholarly journals Fecundity variation in Icelandic summer-spawning herring and implications for reproductive potential

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guðmundur J. Óskarsson ◽  
Christopher T. Taggart
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Clupea Harengus ◽  
Maturation Stage ◽  
Oocyte Diameter ◽  
Potential Fecundity ◽  
Residual Variation ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Spawning Time

Abstract An exploration of fish fecundity aimed at estimating the reproductive potential of a stock requires comprehensive and quantitative examinations of the influencing factors. Here, Icelandic summer-spawning herring (Clupea harengus) are used to quantify potential fecundity (FP, number of eggs) and relative fecundity [RFP = FP (body weight − ovary weight)−1] as functions of length (L) and weight (W) in mature prespawning herring. Using a coupled examination of atresia (oocyte degeneration in the ovary) and the maturation stage of oocytes as characterized by size, we show that atresia has no meaningful effect on fecundity estimates if determined near the spawning time. Among prespawning herring, FP is a strong function of L or W (r2 = 0.84 in either case). Fulton's condition factor K (=100WL−3) explains a trivial (1.5%) but significant (p < 0.0001) amount of the residual variation in FP, and appears to have the greatest effect among smaller length classes. RFP is also a function of L (r2 = 0.56), and oocyte diameter explains 36% of the residual variation (p < 0.001). Therefore, stock-specific total egg production in herring can diverge from the assumed proportionality between total egg production and spawning-stock biomass through variations in the length structure of the stock, and to a lesser extent through the condition of prespawning herring.

scholarly journals A two-stage biomass model to assess the English Channel cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis L.) stock

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 2457-2468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaël Gras ◽  
Beatriz A. Roel ◽  
Franck Coppin ◽  
Eric Foucher ◽  
Jean-Paul Robin
Keyword(s):  
Reference Points ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sepia Officinalis ◽  
Sustainable Utilization ◽  
English Channel ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Exploitation Rate ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Age Structured

Abstract The English Channel cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is the most abundant cephalopod resource in the Northeast Atlantic and one of the three most valuable resources for English Channel fishers. Depletion methods and age-structured models have been used to assess the stock, though they have shown limitations related to the model assumptions and data demand. A two-stage biomass model is, therefore, proposed here using, as input data, four abundance indices derived from survey and commercial trawl data collected by Ifremer and Cefas. The model suggests great interannual variability in abundance during the 17 years of the period considered and a decreasing trend in recent years. Model results suggest that recruitment strength is independent of spawning–stock biomass, but appears to be influenced by environmental conditions such as sea surface temperature at the start of the life cycle. Trends in exploitation rate do not reveal evidence of overexploitation. Reference points are proposed and suggestions for management of the sustainable utilization of cuttlefish in the English Channel are advanced.

scholarly journals An explicit solution for calculating optimum spawning stock size from Ricker’s stock recruitment model

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Scheuerell
Keyword(s):  
Explicit Solution ◽  
Model Fitting ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Stock Size ◽  
Points Of Interest ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Explicit Formulae ◽  
Recruitment Model

Stock-recruitment models have been used for decades in fisheries management as a means of formalizing the expected number of offspring that recruit to a fishery based on the number of parents. In particular, Ricker’s stock recruitment model is widely used due to its flexibility and ease with which the parameters can be estimated. After model fitting, the spawning stock size that produces the maximum sustainable yield (SMSY) to a fishery, and the harvest corresponding to it (UMSY), are two of the most common biological reference points of interest to fisheries managers. However, to date there has been no explicit solution for either reference point because of the transcendental nature of the equation needed to solve for them. Therefore, numerical or statistical approximations have been used for more than 30 years. Here I provide explicit formulae for calculating bothSMSYandUMSYin terms of the productivity and density-dependent parameters of Ricker’s model.

scholarly journals MSY-orientated management of Baltic Sea herring (Clupea harengus) during different ecosystem regimes

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noel M. A. Holmgren ◽  
Niclas Norrström ◽  
Robert Aps ◽  
Sakari Kuikka
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Clupea Harengus ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Planktonic Food ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Food Shortages ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract Holmgren, N. M. A., Norrström, N., Aps, R., and Kuikka, S. 2012. MSY-orientated management of Baltic Sea herring (Clupea harengus) during different ecosystem regimes. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 257–266. The Baltic Sea ecosystem has undergone dramatic changes, so-called ecosystem regime shifts, during the past four decades. Baltic Sea herring (Clupea harengus) spawning-stock biomass has declined to a third, and weight-at-age has halved as a result of food shortages and competition with sprat (Sprattus sprattus). The management objective for the herring stock is currently in transition from precautionary to maximum sustainable yield (MSY). The main basin Baltic Sea herring was modelled under the current ecosystem regime and the effect of a recovery of the cod (Gadus morhua) stock and the availability of planktonic food to levels found in the early 1980s analysed. A target of FMSY = 0.16 for herring, which should decline to FMSY = 0.10 with recovery of the cod stock, is proposed. An increase in the availability of planktonic food is estimated to more than double the yield at FMSY = 0.27, overriding the negative effects of cod predation should there be a simultaneous increase in both cod and availability of planktonic food. The estimated net increase in yield is 40% at FMSY = 0.20. Functions are presented to calculate FMSY and to estimate the expected yield depending on the abundance of cod and food availability. Retrospective application of the functions is indicative of overfishing of herring in the 1990s and early 2000s, and a net loss in yield, with a landing value of some €440 million.

Storm-Induced Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) Egg Mortality in Baltic Sea Inshore Spawning Areas

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothee Moll ◽  
Paul Kotterba ◽  
Lena von Nordheim ◽  
Patrick Polte
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Clupea Harengus ◽  
Atlantic Herring ◽  
Egg Mortality ◽  
Spawning Areas

Recruitment variation in abalone: Its importance to fisheries management

1995 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 555 ◽  
Author(s):  
PE McShane
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
High Fecundity ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Recruitment Failure ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Many Sources

Recruitment failure has been implicated in the decline of several abalone fisheries. Traditionally, fisheries scientists invoke theoretical stock-recruitment relationships to predict trends in abundance of an exploited stock under various harvest regimes. The empirical evidence in support of a positive relationship between spawning stock and recruits is not strong. A further problem in interpretation of such relationships is that both 'stock' and 'recruitment' have various definitions in fisheries and ecological literature. The definition of a stock for abalone is not clear. As emphasized in this review, which considers each stage in the life history of abalone, the abundance of spawners is one of many sources of variation in recruitment. The evidence for invertebrates, particularly those with high fecundity, is that recruitment varies independently of the abundance of spawners. This is also the case for abalone, where recruits have been measured as the density of immediate post-settlement individuals, juveniles, or as adults entering the exploitable stock. A problem with stock-recruitment hypotheses is that they have intuitive appeal. It is considered 'dangerous' to manage fisheries under the assumption that a reduction in the number of spawners by fishing will not affect recruitment. Such danger to abalone stocks has been more recently assessed by egg-per-recruit analyses, whereby various harvest strategies are examined relative to reference points for egg production. These studies are reviewed and assessed relative to the often conflicting aims of managers and scientists. This review of studies of recruitment variation in abalone emphasizes the need for a more rigorous, autecological approach to stock assessment in which field experiments are conducted over realistic spatial and temporal scales, permitting robust testing of hypotheses.

scholarly journals Evaluating management strategies to implement the recovery plan for Iberian hake (Merluccius merluccius); the impact of censored catch information

2009 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Jardim ◽  
Santiago Cerviño ◽  
Manuela Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Sustainable Yield ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Merluccius Merluccius ◽  
Total Allowable Catch ◽  
Recovery Plan ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Jardim, E., Cerviño, S., and Azevedo, M. 2010. Evaluating management strategies to implement the recovery plan for Iberian hake (Merluccius merluccius); the impact of censored catch information. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 258–269. Iberian hake assessment revealed an increase in fishing mortality (F) despite enforcement of a recovery plan. Recent landings exceeded the total allowable catch and discarding rates were high. Alternative management strategies based on F control were evaluated with respect to the probability of recovering spawning-stock biomass (SSB), expected profits, and robustness to uncertainty on catch information and stock dynamics. Results showed that the use of censored catch data, i.e. excluding the Gulf of Cádiz or discards, may lead to inappropriate conclusions. Reducing fishing mortality was necessary for SSB to recover. An Fmax strategy with discard reduction showed the highest probability of rebuilding SSB and led the fishery to sustainable exploitation, with an expected %SPR of 30–40% in 2025, mean individual weight in the landings of 450 g in 2015, and yield increasing by >20%. Because of uncertainty in the estimates of maximum sustainable yield, management strategies based on FMSY were least robust, but all strategies were robust to alternative stock–recruit models.

A reanalysis of North Sea plaice spawning-stock biomass using the annual egg production method

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 1999-2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy J. G. van Damme ◽  
Loes J. Bolle ◽  
Clive J. Fox ◽  
Petter Fossum ◽  
Gerd Kraus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Population Analysis ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Production Method ◽  
Southern Bight ◽  
The North ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock

Abstract van Damme, C. J. G., Bolle, L. J., Fox, C. J., Fossum, P., Kraus, G., Munk, P., Rohlf, N., Witthames, P. R., and Dickey-Collas, M. 2009. A reanalysis of North Sea plaice spawning-stock biomass using the annual egg production method. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1999–2011. Uncertainty about the quality of current virtual population analysis-based stock assessment for North Sea plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) has led to various abundance indices. We compared biomass estimates from the annual egg production (AEP) method with current stock assessments based on catch-at-age to validate the current and historical perception of exploitation. The AEP method was also used to investigate the dynamics of the spatial components of plaice in the North Sea. We corrected for fecundity down-regulation and changes in sex ratio. Estimates from both methods were similar in trend and absolute biomass. On the Dogger Bank, there was a dramatic decline in biomass from 1948 and 1950 to 2004, and in the Southern Bight, the stock appeared to increase from 1987 and 1988 to 2004, although not reaching the historically high levels of 1948 or 1950. The timing of spawning of North Sea plaice does not appear to have changed throughout the period of high exploitation. We conclude that the AEP method is a useful way to hindcast the spatial dynamics of heavily exploited flatfish stocks.

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