scholarly journals Effects of depth and season on catch volume of bottom gillnets employed along the Fatsa coasts of the South-eastern Black Sea

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
İsmet BALIK

The study was conducted along the Fatsa coasts of the South-eastern Black Sea, to investigate the effects of depth and season on catch volume of the bottom gillnet fishery. During the study, fishing was carried out using multifilament gillnets with mesh sizes of 32, 34, 36 and 38 mm in each of the four different depth strata (0-14 m, 15-29 m, 30-49 m and ≥50 m) three times per month between March 2013 and February 2014 (except for July and August), with a total of 30 gillnet hauls performed. The results of the study revealed that in all seasons whiting (Merlangius merlangus) was caught most in the 30 m and deeper water layers. However, whiting catch increased with increasing water depth. Most red mullets (Mullus barbatus) were caught in the 0-14 m depth waters during spring, winter and autumn periods, while its catch was the greatest in the 15-29 m during the summer period. Catch of this species decreased gradually with increasing water depth. Another fish species was pontic shad (Alosa immaculata) which was caught least in the shallow waters. However, during all seasons its catch increased gradually with increasing water depth up to the 30-49 m depth strata. Nevertheless, it was determined that catch volume for this species decreased in the ≥50 m level again. On the other hand, Mediterranean horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus) was mostly caught in the shallow waters (0-14 m and 15-29 m) during all seasons. Especially in the ≥50 m waters, no Mediterranean horse mackerel was sampled during the study. This study presents that amounts of catch for the fish species sampled were affected especially by water depth and seasons.

Author(s):  
Ertugrul Agirbas ◽  
Ali Muzaffer Feyzioglu ◽  
Ulgen Kopuz ◽  
Carole A. Llewellyn

The phytoplankton community structure and abundance in the south-eastern Black Sea was measured from February to December 2009 using and comparing high performance liquid chromatography pigment and microscopy analyses. The phytoplankton community was characterized by diatoms, dinoflagellates and coccolithophores, as revealed by both techniques. Fucoxanthin, diadinoxanthin, peridinin and 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin were the main accessory pigments showing significant correlation with diatom-C r2 = 0.56–0.71, P < 0.05), diatom-C (r2 = 0.85–0.91, P < 0.001), dinoflagellate-C (r2 = 0.39–0.88, P < 0.05) and coccolithophore-C (r2 = 0.80–0.71, P < 0.05), respectively. Microscopy counts indicated a total of 89 species, 71% of which were dinoflagellates, 23% were diatoms and 6% other species (mainly coccolithophores). Pigment-CHEMTAX analysis also indicated the presence of pico- and nanoplankton. Phytoplankton carbon (phyto-C) concentrations were highest in the upper water column, whereas chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) showed a deep maximum. Average phyto-C was higher at the coastal station (291 ± 66 µg l−1) than at the offshore station (258 ± 35 µg l−1), not statistically different (P > 0.05). The coastal station also had higher Chl-a concentrations (0.52–3.83 µg l−1) compared to the offshore station (0.63–2.55 µg l−1), not significant (P > 0.05). Our results are consistent with other studies and indicate that the southern Black Sea is shifting towards mesotrophy with the increasing prevalence of dinoflagellates compared to diatoms.


2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (7) ◽  
pp. 1539-1544
Author(s):  
Ferhat Kalaycı ◽  
Tuncay Yeşılçıçek

The size selectivity of traditional gillnets for whiting, (Merlangius merlangus euxinus) was investigated in the eastern Black Sea between June 2010 and June 2011. Experimental fishing operations were carried out by using gillnets of 16, 17, 18, 20 and 22 mm mesh size. A total of 2038 specimens belonging to 16 different fish species were caught during the experiment. The Share Each Length's Catch Total method was used to fit gillnet selectivity curves. Gillnet selectivity was best described by a bi-modal selectivity curve. The modal catch sizes were estimated as 14.81, 15.74, 16.66, 18.51 and 20.37 cm for 16, 17, 18, 20 and 22 mm mesh sizes, respectively. Modal lengths and spread values increased with increasing mesh size. The majority of fish (71.8%) caught by 16 mm mesh size were less than the length at first sexual maturity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-324
Author(s):  
İsmet Balık

The aim of this study is to estimate population parameters of pontic shad, Alosa immaculata Bennett, 1835 in the Fatsa coast of the south-eastern Black Sea. A total of 314 pontic shad specimens were collected from study area using artisanal fishing gears from March 2013 to February 2014. In the study, parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth equation were found as L∞=43.05 cm; k=0.430 per year and t0=-0.451 year. The growth performance index (Φ') was estimated as 2.90. The total mortality (Z), natural mortality (M), fishing mortality rates (F) were calculated as 1.33 year-1, 0.75 year-1 and 0.58 year-1, respectively. The annual instantaneous fishing mortality rate was greater than both the target (Fopt=0.375 year-1) and limit (Flimit=0.50 year-1) biological reference points. Similarly, the present level of exploitation rate (E=0.43) was higher than the exploitation ratio for maximum yield per recruit (Emax=0.375) suggesting that overexploitation occurred. These results showed that this species has been over-exploited in the Fatsa coast of the south-eastern Black Sea. Measures should be taken to reduce the current exploitation rate for sustainable fishing of pontic shad in the Fatsa coast of the south-eastern Black Sea.


Author(s):  
Tatia Kuljanishvili ◽  
Levan Mumladze ◽  
Bella Japoshvili ◽  
Namig Mustafayev ◽  
Shaig Ibrahimov ◽  
...  

The South Caucasus (SC) region is recognized for its high biological diversity and various endemic animal taxa. The area has experienced many fish introductions over the years, but the overall information about non-native fishes in the three SC countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia did not exist. Although these three countries belong to the Kura River drainage, Caspian Sea basin (only the western half of Georgia drains into the Black Sea), the legislative framework for each country regarding introduction of non-native fish species and their treatment is different and poorly developed. The goal of the present study was to make an initial inventory of non-native fish species in the three SC countries, and summarize the existing knowledge as a basis for future risk assessment models and formulation of regional management policies. Here, we present a unified list of 27 non-native species recorded in the wild in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Among these 27 species, eight were translocated from the Black Sea basin to the Caspian Sea basin. Out of these 27 non-native fishes, 15 species have become established (three of them being considered invasive) and six fish species could not survive in the wild.


2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (7) ◽  
pp. 1651-1659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuğçe Şensurat-Genç ◽  
Okan Akyol ◽  
Aytaç Özgül ◽  
Uğur Özden

AbstractThe food composition of whiting, Merlangius merlangus, caught around the sea-cage fish farms off the coast of Perşembe, was analysed and compared with the diet of whiting from a control site off the coast of Fatsa (Ordu Province, south-eastern Black Sea). A total of 815 stomach samples were collected during the study, and of these, 195 (23.9%) were empty. According to the percentage of relative importance index (IRI%), pellet food (47.8%) and Annelida (25%) were the main prey groups of whiting in the sea-cage fish farms area, while unidentified teleost (85.3%) and Engraulis encrasicolus (8.2%) were dominant in the control site. The other prey groups in both areas were Crustaceans (Mysidae, Amphipoda, Upogebia sp.), Sprattus sprattus and Gobius spp. Seasonally, pellet food was the most consumed food in all seasons, but Mysidae was the first preference of whiting around the sea-cage fish farms in spring. In the control site, unidentified teleost was the first preference in all seasons, except winter, where E. encrasicolus was the first choice, followed by crustaceans and S. sprattus in winter. Bray–Curtis analysis shows that seasonally, there is no significant difference in the sea-cage fish farms, while there is significant difference in the control site, and two-dimensional nMDS of IRI% revealed a clear separation between both sites. SIMPER analysis revealed that the most contributing factors to the differences between seasons were pellet food in the sea-cage fish farms, and E. encrasicolus in the control site.


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