Fishers and whales in Iceland

In Iceland, as in many places globally, the detrimental impacts of whale interactions with fishing gear on both fisheries and whales are not well understood and managed. This study conducted anonymous questionnaires of Icelandic fishers and interviews of capelin purse seine boat captains to gather first-hand knowledge of the issues fishers face due to whale interaction with their fishing gear. Results suggest that the humpback whale is the large whale species that is most often entangled or encircled in fishing gear and causing damage, however on occasion other large whale species are interacting with gear as well. Interactions between humpback whales and fishing gear appears to be primarily concentrated in the north/northeast and southwest of the country where there is high fishing effort and known humpback whale feeding habitat. Humpback whale interactions with gear occurred most often with capelin purse seines, which are targeting humpback whale prey, and data suggests that bycatch of whales in this fishery may be underreported. Damage and losses due to whale collisions with gear were reported to cost fishers up to 55.000.000ISK, suggesting this can be a costly issue for which mitigation measures should be explored. The use of acoustic “pingers” is one mitigation measure that has been previously tested by capelin purse-seiners and is something that captains indicated they would be interested in continuing to try. The creation of a whale entanglement/whale-gear interaction reporting system in Iceland would aid in gathering more data and quantifying how often these events are witnessed and what the consequences of these events are to both the fishers and the whales. This study provides new information about the consequences of large whale interactions with Icelandic fisheries and suggests that future collaboration with fishers can provide insight contributing to best management practices for sustainable fishing and whale conservation.

Z badań nad łotewską leksyką gwarową

From the Research on Latvian Dialectal LexisReview Benita Laumane, Zvejasrīku nosaukumi latvijas piekrastē [Names of Fishing Gear on the Latvian Coast], Liepāja: Liepājas Universitāte, Kurzemes Humanitārais institūts, 2019, 507 pp.This article is a review of the work entitled Zvejasrīku nosaukumi latvijas piekrastē [Names of Fishing Gear on the Latvian Coast], written by the Latvian linguist from Liepāja – Benita Laumane. The study consists of two major parts. The first one, divided into thematic sections, presents the vocabulary related to coastal sea fishing (1: Sea fishing and fishing gear; 2: Hook gear; 3: The organisation of fishing; 4: Fish processing). The second part is devoted to the linguistic characteristics of the lexemes under discussion (phonetics, grammar, etymology, geographical extent). Z badań nad łotewską leksyką gwarowąRecenzjaBenita Laumane, Zvejasrīku nosaukumi latvijas piekrastē [Nazwy narzędzi połowowych na wybrzeżu łotewskim], Liepāja: Liepājas Universitāte, Kurzemes Humanitārais institūts, 2019, 507 pp.Tekst stanowi recenzję książki pt. Zvejasrīku nosaukumi latvijas piekrastē [Nazwy narzędzi połowowych na wybrzeżu łotewskim], napisanej przez łotewską lingwistkę z Lipawy, Benitę Laumane. Badaczka wydzieliła w monografii dwie podstawowe części. W pierwszej, z podziałem na grupy tematyczne, opisała słownictwo związane z przybrzeżnym rybołówstwem morskim (1. Rybołówstwo morskie i sprzęt połowowy; 2. Sprzęt rybacki; 3. Organizacja życia rybackiego; 4. Przetwórstwo ryb). Część druga poświęcona została charakterystyce językowej omawianych leksemów (fonetyka, gramatyka, etymologia, zasięg geograficzny).

Muarareja Fishermen Perceptions on The Prohibition of Arad and Environmentally Friendly Fishing Tool Assistance Programs

Arad has been prohibited because of its damages to the environment. However, fishers in Muarareja continue to operate the gear even though environmentally friendly fishing gear (traps) have been granted as a substitution. The reason behind the rejection of substitute fishing gear is interesting to be investigated. Therefore, the study aim to 1) analyze fishers' perceptions of arad prohibition, traps, and environmentally friendly fishing gear program; 2) evaluate fishers' perception on policies concerning arad prohibition and fishing gear substitution; and 3) formulate the recommendations. This study involved 35 arad fishers in Muarareja Village who has been granted with traps as substitute fishing gear. Variables in this study are fishers' perceptions on arad and trap, the policy of arad prohibition, and fishers' perception on the environmentally friendly fishing gear program. Data were collected through interviews and questionnaires. Data were analyzed by scoring respondents' answers based on provided statements. The results showed that fishers did not agree that arad is not environmentally friendly, while the trap is. Fishers are also against arad prohibition and refuse to use traps as a replacement. Furthermore, fishers who received traps are still very dependent on arad and use traps only for alternative fishing gear. Recommendations for the policy of arad prohibition are arad should be allowed with special regulation, and further education is required for fishers to understand the correlation between unselective fishing gear and environmental damages. Recommendations for the environmentally friendly fishing gear program are that the provision of traps should be continued with several adjustments following fishermen's preferences.Keywords: Prohibition of arad, environmentally-friendly fishing gear, traps.

UTILIZATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND SOCIAL SECURITY IN FISHERMEN FAMILIES ON SALEMO ISLAND AND WEST RANGAS, SOUTH SULAWESI PROVINCE

Purpose of the study: This study aims to reveal the social security of traditional fishers in Salemo Island and West Rangas, South Sulawesi Province. Methodology: The research method used is descriptive qualitative with a type of case study research. The research location was determined purposively, namely on Salemo Island, and West Rangas. Informants chose purposively, those who deserve used as sources of information. Data collection by in-depth interviews and observations, collect community ideas collectively with a Group Discussion Forum. Data collected and then reduced to the main findings following the focus of research. Main Findings: The utilization of income for social security’s is done by helping small fishers by providing loans for money to buy the equipment needed, among other anglers, borrowing mechanisms, especially fishermen who open businesses selling goods for daily necessities. Social securities are still running, such as fishers get a lot of results from the sea handing out their fish. Applications of this study: The implications of this research can be a social function in overcoming the basic needs of community members to be used as a strengthening of the nation's character. Salemo Island fishers traditionally use local assets to use the environmentally friendly fishing gear as a form of local cultural wisdom of coastal communities. Novelty/Originality of this study: The use of environmentally friendly fishing gear by Salemo Island fishers needs to be used as a model to be applied to other fishing communities, to avoid using explosives (fish bombs, anesthesia, and trawl) to catch fish.

Abandoned, Lost or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) in Tuna Pole-and-Line Fisheries

The fishing industry is recognized as one of the primary sources of at-sea marine litter, largely through its contributions via abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). Individual fleet’s contributions to ALDFG vary significantly across this global industry. While much information is available for some fisheries, the rate of ALDFG remains poorly known for many techniques. In this study, we used data collected by fisheries observers onboard pole-and-line fishing vessels in the Azores (Atlantic Ocean) and the Maldives (Indian Ocean) to provide an accurate and representative estimate of ALDFG for this gear. Our analysis of 993 fishing events demonstrated ALDFG contributions much lower than have been recorded for any other commercial tuna fishing gear. Overall, we found that an angler loses some monofilament line in 1.4% (±0.2) of fishing events. This informs that for every thousand tonnes of tuna harvested using this fishing technique, 0.3 kg of nylon is entering the marine environment. Globally, we estimate that all pole-and-line fisheries together contribute to 96 kg ± 42.6 kg of ALDFG per year. These results further evidence the low environmental impact of this traditional fishing practice, as well as the need for other methods to convert to less damaging gears.