Taxonomy of the genus Dactylanthias Bleeker (Teleostei: Serranidae: Anthiadinae)

The anthiadine genus Dactylanthias is reviewed. Two species, Dactylanthias aplodactylus (Bleeker, 1858) and Dactylanthias baccheti Randall, 2007 are currently recognised, each known only from their holotypes. A specimen of Dactylanthias matching D. baccheti in coloration was recently collected from Nauru in the West Pacific Ocean. It was retained by a recreational fisher and deposited into the CSIRO Australian National Fish Collection, Hobart. Data collected from this specimen and comparison to images of and data from the holotypes of both nominal species indicate that Dactylanthias baccheti Randall, 2007 is a junior synonym of Dactylanthias aplodactylus (Bleeker, 1858). Additional records of specimens from Ambon, Indonesia (type locality of D. apolodactylus) and the Maldives Islands, Indian Ocean are reported. The genus is briefly compared with other anthiadine genera.

First record of the mottled spinefoot Siganus fuscescens (Houttuyn, 1782) in Mediterranean waters: a Facebook based detection

The occurrence of Siganus fuscescens was recorded on March 1st 2020, within the harbour of Gioia Tauro, southern Tyrrhenian Sea (38.44428 N, 15.90459 E). The capture was realized by a recreational fisher and shared through a Facebook group. Here we illustrate this new record and discussed its relevance for Mediterranean bioinvasion research.

The ‘nature’ of fisheries governance: narratives of environment, politics, and power and their implications for changing seascapes

This article responds to recent calls for more engagement from political ecologists in ocean and coastal governance concerns, and employs a controversy over the practice of gill netting in North Carolina as a lens into questions about how narratives of nature and power affect fisheries policymaking processes. The article analyzes commercial and recreational fisher narratives about marine ‘nature,’ including perceptions of resource health, expressions of blame or responsibility, and storylines about the different roles of fishers and managers in the process of governing fisheries. The article focuses particularly on how fishers perceive the politics of fisheries management and where they believe power lies in negotiations about the ‘right’ ways to steward and allocate fishery resources. Fisher narratives are then compared to those of fishery regulators themselves. The article asks how the perceptions of different groups about politics and power in fisheries management affect their levels of trust and engagement with each other and with the policymaking process. It offers insights into the complex negotiations over the meaning of terms like ‘conservation,’ ‘endangered,’ and ‘livelihood,’ and analyzes the implications of these narratives for stimulating material changes in the coastal seascape and in the lives of fishers.

Amatör İç Su Balıkçılarının Sosyo-Demografik Özellikleri: Türkiye Örneği

This study was carried out to determine some socio-demographic characteristics of freshwater amateur anglers who are social media users in interactive area. Fishers were surveyed using an online questionnaire. The survey comprised 24 questions. The first set of questions collected demographic data and was compatible with other major recreational fisher surveys. The survey was conducted with 2045 people. The online questionnaire applied in this study has participated in 71 different provinces of Turkey. A very important proportion of amateur fishers participating in the survey was male (99.9%). When the occupational distributions of fishers are examined, unemployment was the most common with 41.7% and followed by self-employed (26.3%), civil servant (16.2%), retired (8.1%) and student (6.2%) respectively. Although the angling fish is generally regarded as a retired occupation, their rate was very low due to the application of the questionnaire interactively. This finding is supported by the fact that 76.7% of the respondents are between 25-46 ages. The majority of angling fishers are single (76.7%) and the average monthly income of them is 2845 TL. The average monthly income of 51.2% of participants was found between 1500 and 3000 TL. 40.6% of amateur anglers are high school graduates and 41.5% of them had university (pre-undergraduate, undergraduate and graduate) education. It can be said that the education level of amateur anglers participating in this study is higher than Turkey's commercial fisheries in many lakes and dam lakes.

The Angler in the Environment: Social, Economic, Biological, and Ethical Dimensions

<i>Abstract</i>.—In this article, we examine the different values and cultural representations of catch-and-release fishing and of human–animal relations in general. The focus is on various images of good and ethical recreational fishing practices, particularly in the context of catch-and-release fishing in Finland. The material consists of scientific articles and newspaper articles and policy documents related to fishing and human–wildlife relations. Despite the fact that modern societies show increasing interest in animal rights—often challenging traditional practices like hunting—animal welfare and nature protection groups seem to support the traditional “northern subsistence culture” in the Finnish case of recreational fishing. The context of traditional human–nature relations overrides modern human–animal relations. However, the complexity and diversity of recreational fisher groups and public debate are increasing. This calls for clarification of the ambiguous terminology of catch-and-release fishing as well as for new policy institutions where different views and values could be governed.