Integrating data from vessel monitoring system and fish landings in Menditerranean small fleets, using a PostgreSQL database with PostGIS extension

Geospatial technologies represent an advance in knowledge of marine ecosystems, allowing approach the study of the potential effect of world fishing fleets and their dynamics. Nevertheless, their application to fisheries biology is very recent and its use is generalizing when the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) proposed one methodology to study fisheries and their impact in Atlantic Ocean ecosystems in the 2008 year. This procedure is based on the use of position data from the "blue boxes" (VMS-Vessel Monitoring System), mandatory since 2006 due to a European regulation, and it's present in most fishing boats. The junction of the VMS, fishing logbooks and landings data enables us to obtain among others results, maps of fishing effort, behaviour of fishing fleet and precise location of fishing grounds at the European waters. However, its design is made for large trawlers and longliners, and extensive Atlantic areas. This fact makes impossible its application for the study of the fleet and fisheries in Mediterranean waters. Because, the boats are much smaller, have lower mobility and they work in small fishing areas. The aim of this work has been to develop and apply a methodology (ICES based) to study fishing effort on species of commercial interest in Catalan coast, using scripting PL/SQL procedures of PostgreSQL system database with Post- GIS extension.Peer Reviewe

Circadian oxygen consumption patterns in continental slope Nephrops norvegicus(Decapoda: nephropidae)in the western Mediterranean.

9 pages, 3 figures, 1 tableThe oxygen consumption of Nephrops norvegicus animals collected from the upper continental slope (400 m depth) in the northwestern Mediterranean was monitored under constant conditions of darkness and temperature. Two experiments were performed starting at the beginning of the expected day and at the beginning of the expected night phases, respectively. Mean oxygen consumption values recorded during the expected night were significantly higher than those recorded during the expected day. The slopes of the time series of oxygen consumption data of the two experiments were recalculated in consecutive 1-h intervals, being then averaged for corresponding 1-h time intervals. The plotting over a 24-h cycle of these mean hourly-values revealed a global nocturnal increase in the oxygen consumption in the laboratory. This result is discussed and compared with previously reported catch patterns accounting for emergence from burrows in the field, and locomotor and cardiac activity rhythms recorded in constant conditions in the laboratory in animals from the same depthThis research was funded by the Spanish CICYT programme (MAR-098-0935) to FSPeer reviewe

Estructura poblacional del camarón nailon Heterocarpus reedi (Crustacea: Caridea) y su relación con variables ambientales frente a Chile

11 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables[EN] The population structure of fishery resources and the impact of environmental factors over its productivity are important processes to be considered in fisheriesmanagement. Environmental factors could determine both, the success of larval drift as the population spatial structure and its changes of biomass. In this paper we show the environmental effect over distribution, abundance and spatial structure of nylon shrimp population (Heterocarpus reedi) off central Chile (25°-37°S) from trawling surveys carried out between 1996 and 2011. Environmental variables considered where sea surface concentration of chlorophylla and dissolved organic matter. Results show a geographical separation in population around 32°S. Shrimp density is higher in the southern zone, where concentration of chlorophylla and dissolved organic matter are high due to presence of river tributaries and coastal upwelling zones. In this area, thebulk of the adult population is concentrated, which could act as >source> population and thereby its influence on larval drift could explain both, the preponderance of juveniles in the northern area as the smallest size of its population (“pseudo-sink” population). In the southern area, a process of spatial and bathymetric expansion had driven the increase in population size over time, where the colonization and individual somatic growth had been the main mechanisms. We found that periods of good environmental conditions explain high densities of shrimp with a delay of two years, which might be related mainly with larval survival and enhanced recruitment and somatic growth. The aim of this study was to understand the spatial-temporal variability of the nylon shrimp density in the study area[ES] La estructura poblacional de recursos de interés pesquero y el impacto de los factores ambientales sobre su productividad son procesos claves a considerar en la gestión pesquera. Los factores ambientales pueden determinar tanto el éxito de la deriva larval como la estructura espacial de la población y sus cambios de biomasa. Se muestra el efecto del medio ambiente sobre la distribución, abundancia y estructura espacial de la población de camarón nailon (Heterocarpus reedi) en Chile central (25°-37°S), considerando como variables la concentración de clorofila -a y la materia orgánica disuelta, respecto a los cruceros de arrastre realizados entre 1996 y 2011. Los resultados muestran una separación geográfica de la población alrededor de 32°S. En la zona sur, la densidad del camarón es mayor, donde los altos niveles de concentración de clorofila -a y de materia orgánica disuelta se deben, entre otros, a la presencia de afluentes de ríos y a surgencia costera. En esta área, se concentra la mayor parte de la población adulta, que podría actuar como población "fuente" y por lo tanto, su influencia en la deriva larval podría explicar tanto la preponderancia de juveniles en la zona norte, como el tamaño más pequeño de su población (población "pseudo-sumidero”). En la zona sur, un proceso de expansión espacial y batimétrica habría impulsado el aumento de tamaño de la población a través del tiempo, donde los principales mecanismos habrían sido la colonización y crecimiento somático individual. Se determinó que los períodos de buenas condiciones ambientales explican las altas densidades de camarones con un retraso de dos años, aspecto que estaría relacionado principalmente con la supervivencia larval, reclutamiento y crecimiento somático. El objetivo de este estudio es comprender la variabilidad espacio-temporal de la densidad de camarón nailon en el área de estudioWe thank the Fondo de Investigación Pesquera (FIP) of Chile for providing the data base related with trawl survey's information of nylon shrimp (Heterocarpus reedi) carried out in central-south of Chile between 1996 and 2011Peer Reviewe

Mejora de la selectividad del copo en la pesquería de arrastre de la gamba roja, Aristeus antennatus, en el Mediterráneo noroccidental

The deep-sea red shrimp Aristeus antennatus is one of the most valuable demersal resources in Catalonia (northeast Spain), and Palamós is the most important harbour for this fishery in the area. Here, a management plan published in 2013 established the use of a 40-mm square-mesh codend (40s), replacing the previously used 50-mm diamond mesh codend (50d). The objective was to decrease the amount of juveniles in the catches, but the regulation did not bring the expected results. In this study, we measured and compared the selectivity of the 40s and the 50d in this fishery. In addition, we experimented with the use of a 50-mm square-mesh codend (50s). According to our results, the 40s had a lower 50% selection length (L50) than the 50d, while the 50s had a substantially higher L50 than the other two. A transition analysis showed an increase in yield per recruit after the second year from a hypothetical implementation of the 50s. Our conclusion is that the 40s does not have a higher selectivity than the 50d, which (at least partially) explains the failure to reach the management objective in Palamós. Conversely, the use of a 50s would significantly benefit the fishery, increasing gear selectivity and yield per recruit.La gamba roja, Aristeus antennatus, es uno de los recursos demersales más valorados en Cataluña (noreste de España). Palamós es el puerto pesquero más importante para esta pesquería en la región. Una orden ministerial regulatoria y específica para este puerto, publicada en 2013, estableció la utilización de un copo de malla cuadrada con abertura mínima de 40 mm (40s), reemplazando el copo de malla romboidal de 50 mm (50d) utilizado hasta la fecha. El objetivo era disminuir la cantidad de juveniles en la captura, pero la regulación no consiguió los resultados esperados. En el presente estudio, se midió y comparó la selectividad del copo de 50d y 40s en esta pesquería. Además, se experimentó el uso de una malla cuadrada de 50 mm (50s). Los resultados mostraron que el copo de 40s presentaba una talla de retención del 50% (L50) menor comparado con el copo de 50d, mientras que el de 50s tenía una L50 considerablemente mayor que los demás copos. El análisis de transición mostró un aumento del rendimiento por recluta (Y/R) después del segundo año desde la hipotética implementación del copo de 50s. Nuestra conclusión es que el copo de 40s no tiene una selectividad mayor que el copo de 50d, explicando (por lo menos en parte) la falta de consecución de los objetivos de gestión en la pesquería de gamba de Palamós. En cambio, el copo de 50s mejoraría significativamente a la pesquería, aumentando la selectividad del arte y el Y/R

Integrating data from vessel monitoring system and fish landings in Menditerranean small fleets, using a PostgreSQL database with PostGIS extension

7th International Workshop on Marine Technology – Martech Workshop 2016, 26-28 October 2016, Barcelona.-- 1 pageGeospatial technologies represent an advance in knowledge of marine ecosystems, allowing approach the study of the potential effect of world fishing fleets and their dynamics. Nevertheless, their application to fisheries biology is very recent and its use is generalizing when the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) proposed one methodology to study fisheries and their impact in Atlantic Ocean ecosystems in the 2008 year. This procedure is based on the use of position data from the >blue boxes> (VMS-Vessel Monitoring System), mandatory since 2006 due to a European regulation, and it's present in most fishing boats. The junction of the VMS, fishing logbooks and landings data enables us to obtain among others results, maps of fishing effort, behaviour of fishing fleet and precise location of fishing grounds at the European waters. However, its design is made for large trawlers and longliners, and extensive Atlantic areas. This fact makes impossible its application for the study of the fleet and fisheries in Mediterranean waters. Because, the boats are much smaller, have lower mobility and they work in small fishing areas. The aim of this work has been to develop and apply a methodology (ICES based) to study fishing effort on species of commercial interest in Catalan coast, using scripting PL/SQL procedures of PostgreSQL system database with Post- GIS extensionPeer Reviewe

Variabilidad espacio-temporal de los descartes en la pesquería de la gamba roja de profundidad Aristeus antennatus en el mar Mediterráneo Noroccidental: implicaciones para la gestión

In this work we analysed the spatio-temporal variability of discards in the fishery of the deep-sea red shrimp Aristeus antennatus in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. We sampled fishery discards in the fishing grounds of Palamós (the main harbour for this fishery on the Catalan margin), which are located in several areas of a submarine canyon. We found that the discard ratio in this fishery showed a marked seasonal variability, with a maximum in spring and a minimum in summer. Most of the discarded biomass (almost 96%) were of species with no commercial interest. Within these, the most represented group was elasmobranchs, making up to more than 50% of total discarded biomass. Our findings show that the landing obligation established by the EU will have a low impact in mitigating discards in this fishery, as the vast majority of discards are non-commercial species that are not specified in the regulation. Alternative management strategies, such as a temporary fishery closure in spring (when the discard ratio reaches its maximum), should be considered in order to preserve the vulnerable ecosystem hosted by the submarine canyon.En este estudio se analizó la variabilidad espacio-temporal de los descartes en la pesquería de la gamba roja de profundidad Aristeus antennatus en el mar Mediterráneo Noroccidental. Para ello se muestrearon las capturas obtenidas en los caladeros de Palamós (el mayor puerto para esta pesquería en Cataluña), que están localizados en diferentes áreas adyacentes a un cañón submarino. Nuestros resultados demuestran que la proporción de descartes en las capturas de esta pesquería presenta una marcada variabilidad estacional, con un máximo en primavera y un mínimo en verano. La mayoría de la biomasa de los descartes (casi el 96%) está constituida por especies sin ningún interés comercial. Entre éstas, el grupo más representado es el de los elasmobranquios, que constituye más del 50% de la biomasa total de los descartes. Nuestros resultados indican que la obligación de desembarcar las capturas establecida por la UE tendrá un impacto bajo en disminuir los descartes en esta pesquería, ya que la gran mayoría de los descartes está constituida por especies no comerciales que no están especificadas en la regulación. Medidas de gestión alternativas, como el establecimiento de una veda en primavera (cuando la proporción de descartes llega a su máximo) deberían considerarse para preservar el ecosistema vulnerable de este cañón submarino

Uso de software libre para el estudio del esfuerzo pesquero en la costa de Cataluña

9as Jornadas SIG Libre, 25 de marzo de 2015, GironaLas tecnologías geoespaciales suponen un avance en el conocimiento de los ecosistemas marinos, permitiendo abordar el estudio del potencial efecto de las flotas pesqueras mundiales en la dinámica ecológica de los mismos. Pese a ello su aplicación a la biología pesquera es muy reciente y su uso se está generalizando a partir de que el ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) propusiera en el año 2008 una metodología para el estudio de las pesca y su impacto en el medio marino. Esta se basa en la utilización de los datos de posición procedentes de las ¿cajas azules¿ (VMS ¿ Vessel Monitoring System), que por una normativa europea del año 2006 está presente en la mayoría de barcos de pesca, y consiste en el cruce de los datos de VMS, con los datos de los diarios de abordo y los datos de las descargas en puerto. Así se pueden obtener, entre otros resultados, mapas para el estudio del esfuerzo pesquero de la flota en los caladeros del Océano Atlántico de las costas europeas. La metodología presentada por el ICES es una potente herramienta, pero su aplicación en el estudio de la pesca de las flotas del Mediterráneo Noroccidental (Mar Catalán) genera varios problemas. El principal es que su diseño está realizado para grandes barcos arrastreros del Atlántico y para áreas muy extensas. Este hecho hace imposible su aplicación directa en el estudio de la flota y los caladeros de las costas catalanas, debido a que los barcos son mucho más pequeños, tienen una movilidad menor y trabajan en áreas espaciales menos extensas. Nuestro grupo de investigación ha extrapolado la metodología ICES y la adaptado a la tipología de flota y caladeros del Mar Catalán. Para ello aprovechamos conjuntamente, los recursos que proveen el gestor de bases de datos libre Postgresql, con su extensión Postgis, y el entorno de escritorio que proporciona el software libre espacial QuantumGIS. Esto nos permite el análisis espacio-temporal del esfuerzo pesquero, y la asociación del mismo a las capturas por clases de tallas que se indican en las categorías de las ventas diarias en las lonjas de los puertos. En concreto, se ha realizado este estudio para la gamba rosada (Aristeus antennatus) en los puertos de Blanes y Palamos, y para la merluza (Merluccius merluccius) en el puerto de Roses, todos ellos puertos de gran importancia en CatalunyaPeer Reviewe

High spatiotemporal variability in meiofaunal assemblages in Blanes Canyon (NW Mediterranean) subject to anthropogenic and natural disturbances

14 páginas, 6 tablas, 4 figurasWe investigated the natural and anthropogenic drivers controlling the spatiotemporal distribution of the meiofauna in the submarine Blanes Canyon, and its adjacent western slope (NW Mediterranean margin of the Iberian Peninsula). We analyzed the relationships between the main sedimentary environmental variables (i.e. grain size, Chl-a, Chl-a: phaeopigments, CPE, organic carbon and total nitrogen) and the density and structure of the meiofaunal assemblages along a bathymetric gradient (from 500 to 2000 m depth) in spring and autumn of 2012 and 2013. Twenty-one and 16 major taxa were identified for respectively the canyon and slope, where the assemblages were always dominated by nematodes. The gradual decreasing meiofaunal densities with increasing depth at the slope showed little variability among stations and corresponded with a uniform pattern of food availability. The canyon was environmentally much more variable and sediments contained greater amounts of food resources (Chl-a and CPE) throughout, leading not only to increased meiofaunal densities compared to the slope, but also different assemblages in terms of composition and structure. This variability in the canyon is only partly explained by seasonal food inputs. The high densities found at 900 m and 1200 m depth coincided with significant increases in food availability compared to shallower and deeper stations in the canyon. Our results suggest that the disruption in expected bathymetric decrease in densities at 900–1200 m water depth coincided with noticeable changes in the environmental variables typical for disturbance and deposition events (e.g., higher sand content and CPE), evoking the hypothesis of an anthropogenic effect at these depths in the canyon. The increased downward particle fluxes at 900–1200 m depth caused by bottom trawling along canyon flanks, as reported in previous studies, support our hypothesis and allude to a substantial anthropogenic factor influencing benthic assemblages at these depths. The possible relationships of the observed patterns and some major natural environmental (e.g., surface productivity or dense shelf water cascading) and anthropogenic (e.g. the lateral advection and downward transport of food-enriched sediments resuspended by the daily canyonflank trawling activities) drivers are discussed.This research has been supported by DOS MARES (Ref. CTM2010-21810-C03-03) research project, funded by the Spanish State Research Plan, and to the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Benthic Ecology of the “Generalitat de Catalunya (2014SGR120)”. C. Romano received funding from the People Programme (Marie Curie Action) of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under REA grant agreement N. PIOF-GA-2013-628146. J. Ingels was supported by a Plymouth Marine Laboratory Post-doctoral Research Fellowship in collaboration with University of Exeter and a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship within the 7th European Commission Framework Programme (Grant Agreement FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF no. 00879).Peer reviewe

Methodological approach to mapping the fishing effort on deep-sea red shrimp Aristeus antennatus using Vessel Monitoring System and daily landings data

Second Symposium on Fishery-Dependent Information, 3-6 March 2014, Rome, Italy.-- 1 page, 7 figuresThe deep-sea red shrimp Aristeus antennatus is the target of the most important fisheries along the Spanish Mediterranean coast. In the North Catalan margin, submarine canyons are the main geomorphological feature where populations of the deep-sea red shrimp present marked seasonal and bathimetric displacements related to its reproductive biology. We here present the methodology used in the spatial representation of the fishing effort on this species, produced by combining daily landings data from the fishermen´s associations and georeferenced data from the Vessel Monitoring System, with the main aim of analyzing the spatio-temporal distribution of the fishing effort in the different geomorphological areas of the submarine canyonsWe would like to thank the support of Secretaría General de Pesca of the Spanish Government and Generalitat de Catalunya for the VMS dataPeer Reviewe

Integrated study of Mediterranean deep canyons: Novel results and future challenges

This volume compiles a number of scientific papers resulting from a sustained multidisciplinary research effort of the deep-sea ecosystem in the Mediterranean Sea. This started 20 years ago and peaked over the last few years thanks to a number of Spanish and European projects such as PROMETEO, DOS MARES, REDECO, GRACCIE, HERMES, HERMIONE and PERSEUS, amongst others. The geographic focus of most papers is on the NW Mediterranean Sea including the Western Gulf of Lion and the North Catalan margin, with a special attention to submarine canyons, in particular the Blanes and Cap de Creus canyons. This introductory article to the Progress in Oceanography special issue on "Mediterranean deep canyons" provides background information needed to better understand the individual papers forming the volume, comments previous reference papers related to the main topics here addressed, and finally highlights the existing relationships between atmospheric forcing, oceanographic processes, seafloor physiography, ecosystem response, and litter and chemical pollution. This article also aims at constituting a sort of glue, in terms of existing knowledge and concepts and novel findings, linking together the other twenty papers in the volume, also including some illustrative figures. The main driving ideas behind this special issue, particularly fitting to the study area of the NW Mediterranean Sea, could be summarized as follows: (i) the atmosphere and the deep-sea ecosystem are connected through oceanographic processes originating in the coastal area and the ocean surface, which get activated at the occasion of high-energy events leading to fast transfers of matter and energy to the deep; (ii) shelf indented submarine canyons play a pivotal role in such transfers, which involve dense water, sedimentary particles, organic matter, litter and chemical pollutants; (iii) lateral inputs (advection) from the upper continental margin contributes significantly to the formation of intermediate and deep-water masses, and the associated fluxes of matter and energy are a main driver of deep-sea ecosystems; (iv) deep-sea organisms are highly sensitive to the arrival of external inputs, starting from the lowest food web levels and propagating upwards as time passes, which also relies upon the biology, nutritional needs and life expectancy of each individual species; and (v) innovative knowledge gained through such multidisciplinary research is of the utmost significance for an improved management of deep-sea living resources, such as the highly priced red shrimp Aristeus antennatus, for which a pilot management plan largely based in the findings described here and in related articles has been recently published (BOE, 2013). The researchers involved in such challenging endeavour have learnt tremendously from the results obtained so far and from each other, but are fully aware that there are still many unsolved questions. That is why this introductory article also includes "Future challenges" both in the title and as an individual section at the end, to express that there is still a long way to go