Total Catch of a Red-Listed Marine Species Is an Order of Magnitude Higher than Official Data

Accurate information on total catch and effort is essential for successful fisheries management. Officially reported landings, however, may be underestimates of total catch in many fisheries. We investigated the fishery for the nationally red-listed European lobster (Homarus gammarus) in south-eastern Norway. Probability-based strip transect surveys were used to count buoys in the study area in combination with catch per unit effort data obtained independently from volunteer catch diaries, phone interviews, and questionnaires. We estimate that recreational catch accounts for 65% of total catch in the study area. Moreover, our results indicate that only a small proportion (24%) of lobsters landed commercially were sold through the legal market and documented. Total estimated lobster catch was nearly 14 times higher than reported officially. Our study highlights the need for adequate catch monitoring and data collection efforts in coastal areas, presents a clear warning to resource managers that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fisheries in coastal areas should not be ignored, and shows the potential impact of recreational fisheries

Using Machine Learning to Uncover Latent Research Topics in Fishery Models

© 2018 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis © 2018, Shaheen Syed and Charlotte Teresa Weber. Modeling has become the most commonly used method in fisheries science, with numerous types of models and approaches available today. The large variety of models and the overwhelming amount of scientific literature published yearly can make it difficult to effectively access and use the output of fisheries modeling publications. In particular, the underlying topic of an article cannot always be detected using keyword searches. As a consequence, identifying the developments and trends within fisheries modeling research can be challenging and time-consuming. This paper utilizes a machine learning algorithm to uncover hidden topics and subtopics from peer-reviewed fisheries modeling publications and identifies temporal trends using 22,236 full-text articles extracted from 13 top-tier fisheries journals from 1990 to 2016. Two modeling topics were discovered: estimation models (a topic that contains the idea of catch, effort, and abundance estimation) and stock assessment models (a topic on the assessment of the current state of a fishery and future projections of fish stock responses and management effects). The underlying modeling subtopics show a change in the research focus of modeling publications over the last 26 years

Mobility, Expansion and Management of a Multi-Species Scuba Diving Fishery in East Africa

Background: Scuba diving fishing, predominantly targeting sea cucumbers, has been documented to occur in an uncontrolled manner in the Western Indian Ocean and in other tropical regions. Although this type of fishing generally indicates a destructive activity, little attention has been directed towards this category of fishery, a major knowledge gap and barrier to management. Methodology and Principal Findings: With the aim to capture geographic scales, fishing processes and social aspects the scuba diving fishery that operate out of Zanzibar was studied using interviews, discussions, participant observations and catch monitoring. The diving fishery was resilient to resource declines and had expanded to new species, new depths and new fishing grounds, sometimes operating approximately 250 km away from Zanzibar at depths down to 50 meters, as a result of depleted easy-access stock. The diving operations were embedded in a regional and global trade network, and its actors operated in a roving manner on multiple spatial levels, taking advantage of unfair patron-client relationships and of the insufficient management in Zanzibar. Conclusions and Significance: This study illustrates that roving dynamics in fisheries, which have been predominantly addressed on a global scale, also take place at a considerably smaller spatial scale. Importantly, while proposed management of the sea cucumber fishery is often generic to a simplified fishery situation, this study illustrates

Survey of Activated FLT3 Signaling in Leukemia

Activating mutations of FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) are found in approximately 30% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). FLT3 is therefore an attractive drug target. However, the molecular mechanisms by which FLT3 mutations lead to cell transformation in AML remain unclear. To develop a better understanding of FLT3 signaling as well as its downstream effectors, we performed detailed phosphoproteomic analysis of FLT3 signaling in human leukemia cells. We identified over 1000 tyrosine phosphorylation sites from about 750 proteins in both AML (wild type and mutant FLT3) and B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (normal and amplification of FLT3) cell lines. Furthermore, using stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC), we were able to quantified over 400 phosphorylation sites (pTyr, pSer, and pThr) that were responsive to FLT3 inhibition in FLT3 driven human leukemia cell lines. We also extended this phosphoproteomic analysis on bone marrow from primary AML patient samples, and identify over 200 tyrosine and 800 serine/threonine phosphorylation sites in vivo. This study showed that oncogenic FLT3 regulates proteins involving diverse cellular processes and affects multiple signaling pathways in human leukemia that we previously appreciated, such as Fc epsilon RI-mediated signaling, BCR, and CD40 signaling pathways. It provides a valuable resource for investigation of oncogenic FLT3 signaling in human leukemia

« Light(s) and Darkness(es): Looking Back, Looking Forward »

International audienc

Buying perceived quality with seafood: the case of the primary school catering sector in France

International audienc

Estimation of technical interactions due to the competition for resource in a mixed-species fishery, and the typology of fleets and metiers in the English Channel

In a multi-gear and multi-species artisanal fishery, the level of technical interactions (i.e. the competitive externalities resulting from a shared exploitation of common resources or fishing grounds) among various fishing units is high. Assessing these technical interactions is of great importance for fishery management, as any control applied to one fishing unit may have positive or negative effects on others. The magnitude and direction of these effects cannot be easily measured, unless all fishing units and species in the fishery are considered simultaneously. Technical interactions are particularly important in the complex artisanal fisheries of the English Channel. Using a bioeconomic model of the English Channel that incorporates all the major fishing units (the BECHAMEL model), we describe a method for measuring and classifying the technical interactions due to the competition for resource (stock externalities). The results are used to develop a typology of metiers and fleets based on their overall level of interaction for the resource. We also define fleets and metiers as structuring, dependent, intermediate or autonomous.Au sein d’une pêcherie multi-engins et plurispécifique, le niveau d’interactions techniques existant entre différentes unités de pêche (flottilles ou métiers) peut être élevé. La mesure de ces interactions techniques est capitale en termes de gestion, car une mesure de gestion appliquée à une unité de pêche aura des conséquences, positives ou négatives, sur les autres unités. Cependant l’amplitude et le sens de ces interactions sont difficiles à mesurer, car toutes les unités de pêche et les ressources intervenant dans la pêcherie doivent être prises en compte simultanément. Les interactions techniques sont particulièrement importantes dans la pêcherie artisanale de la Manche. A partir d’un modèle bioéconomique intégrant l’essentiel des unités de pêche de la Manche (le modèle Bechamel), nous décrivons une méthode pour mesurer et classifier les interactions techniques issues de la compétition pour la ressource (externalités de stock). Les résultats sont utilisés pour développer une typologie des flottilles et métiers à partir de leur niveau global d’interaction. En fonction de ce critère, on définit des flottilles et métiers dits structurants, dépendants, intermédiaires ou autonomes

How research projects can contribute to the development of efficient community-led projects?

Trade of fish and fisheries products, including fish meal products, are influenced by both traditional trade policies, like tariffs, and non-tariff measures (NTMs). NTMs comprise several categories of measures such as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) , technical barriers to trade (TBT) as well as non-technical measures. UNCTAD (2013) provides an international classification of NTMs; see Table 1 below. NTMs are governmental measures that determine the conditions under which trade takes place. They have become increasingly important as governments reacted to consumers’ concerns about catching and production practises. Consumers are for example concerned about the application of feed and drugs that have been found as residues in fish and related products or the environmental effect of intensive aquaculture production or fishing (FAO, 2014). In some cases, NTMs have also been used as protectionist measures disguised by health, safety or other public purposes. The goal of our analysis is to identify which NTMs are used for which fishery products by trade partners. In this poster, we present first results from the EU perspective. Although not being presented for specific species, the results are interesting for those trading fish and fisheries products since they provide insights about how much markets are regulated by NTMs