Commercial testing of a sorting grid to reduce catches of juvenile hake (Merluccius merluccius) in the western Mediterranean demersal trawl fishery

5 pages, 5 figuresMediterranean demersal fisheries have experienced an ongoing decline in catches over the past 20 years as a result of excessive increases in effort caused both by growth in trawler engine power and by rapid technological advances in fish finding and fishing technology. This has led to an overexploitation of these resources. An increasing share of the catches consists of immature individuals. This study was undertaken to test a sorting grid with a bar spacing of 20 mm as a means of excluding juveniles in the commercial hake (Merluccius merluccius) fishery in the Catalan Sea, western Mediterranean. The grid was placed in the extension section of the gear 5 m in front of a cod-end. Divided cod-end design was used to collect the escapees and target species. The mean selection length (L50) of the ten hauls was 14.2 ± 0.7 cmSE, with a selection range of 7.3 cm ± 0.4 SE. The biomass of hake under L50 that escaped through the grid represented 50.1% ± 6.7 SE of the total hake biomass. These results are promising and indicate that a sorting grid can be used in excluding young hake. This was a first step toward implementation of sorting grids in commercial trawl gears as means of avoiding unwanted catches of small individuals in the hake fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea. Further trials are required to improve the sorting efficiency of the gridThis experiment was conducted in the framework of the “Graella” project (PETRI, 1995-0497-OP), funded by Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología) and the Catalonian Bureau of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs (Generalitat de Catalunya’s Direcció General de Pesca i Afers Marítims, DGPAM)Peer reviewe

El uso de copo de malla cuadrada y rejillas separadas para reducir las capturas de peces juveniles y mejorar la sostenibilidad de una perquería multiespecífica de arrastre de fondo en el Mediterráneo

In order to improve the capacity of bottom trawl fishing gears to reduce catches of young fish and discards in a highly exploited demersal trawl fisheries in the Mediterranean, the size-selection performance of a 36-mm square-mesh codend and two sorting grids with 20 and 15 mm bar spacing was assessed. Alternate hauls were used to assess the selectivity of 36-mm square-mesh codend. Selectivity of sorting grids was assessed using a double codend in which fish that escaped through the grid were captured in the lower codend while other fish were guided into the upper codend. The mean selection length (L50) for European hake was 18.5 cm and that for the Atlantic horse mackerel was 14.0 cm with the 36-mm square-mesh codend . These values are close to their current minimum landing sizes (20 cm for hake and 12 cm for horse mackerel). The sorting grid with 20-mm bar spacing showed L50 value of 13.3 cm for hake, suggesting that a larger grid-spacing would be needed to obtain sufficient sorting performance. Similarly, for Atlantic mackerel the estimated L50 of 14.3 cm indicates that larger grid spacing is required to attain an L50 that would be close to the current MLS (18 cm). For Atlantic horse mackerel and red mullet, the L50 obtained with the sorting grid with 20-mm bar spacing was close to the MLS of these species (the MLS of red mullet is 11 cm). The selectivity of the sorting grid with 15-mm bar spacing was generally very poor. Size-selection performance of sorting grids was assessed for the first time in the local fisheries. In order to effectively improve size-selection, seasonal and depth-dependent differences between target and by-catch species must be taken into account, which is a good indicator of the difficulty of implementing a single mesh size or grid spacing in the Mediterranean demersal trawl fishery.Con el propósito de mejorar la capacidad de las redes de arrastre de fondo para reducir las capturas de peces juveniles y descartes en una pesquería multiespecífica altamente explotada en el Mar Mediterráneo, se evaluó la selectividad de las tallas de diversas especies demersales mediante el uso de una malla cuadrada de 36 mm y dos rejillas con separación entre barras de 20 y 15 mm. Se usó el método de lances alternativos para evaluar la selectividad del copo de malla cuadrada. La selectividad de las rejillas se evaluó mediante un doble copo. Los peces que escaparon de la rejilla se capturaron en el copo inferior y el resto del pescado se guió y capturó en el copo superior. Con el copo de malla cuadrada, la talla media de madurez (L50) de la merluza y el jurel fue respectivamente de 18,5 cm y 14,0 cm. Estos valores se aproximan a la talla mínima de selección (MLS para la merluza es de 20 cm y para la jurel es de 12 cm). Con la rejilla con separación entre barras de 20 mm, la L50 de la merluza fue de 13,3 cm, lo cual sugiere que sería conveniente aumentar la separación entre barras para obtener una L50 más próxima a la MLS. La caballa se seleccionó con una L50 de 14,3, por debajo de la MLS de 18 cm. El jurel y el salmonete mostraron L50 cercana la MLS (MLS del salmonete es 11 cm). La rejilla con espacios de 15 mm fue muy poco selectiva. Este es el primer trabajo que se realiza en el área en el que se compara el funcionamiento de la malla cuadrada y las rejillas separadoras. La tecnología de las rejillas separadoras se aplicó por primera vez con el objetivo de mejorar la explotación de las pesquerías locales. La mejora en la selección de tallas requiere tener en cuenta la variación estacional y en profundidad de las especies objetivo y especies acompañantes, lo que demuestra la dificultad de implementar una sola malla o rejilla en toda la pesquería demersal de arrastre del Mediterráneo.

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

“Cocoa and Chocolate: Science and Gastronomy”—The Second Annual Workshop of the Research Institute on Nutrition and Food Security (INSA): 9 November 2016

The Research Institute on Nutrition and Food Security at the University of Barcelona (INSA-UB) was founded in 2005 by twenty-two research groups from the Faculties of Pharmacy and Food Science; Biology; Chemistry; and Geography and History, as well as other UB-affiliated centers and hospitals. Most of the groups at the Institute are, or at least are part of, the research groups established by the Government of Catalonia. INSA-UB was founded to meet the current societal need for research, training and service provision in the sectors related to the agro-alimentary industry. Researchers at the Institute are experts in different fields of nutrition; food analysis and control; food safety and the study of the social and economic impact of food. The main objectives of the institute are to promote research in the fields in which it works; to encourage collaboration between researchers and the establishment of multidisciplinary teams; to promote participation in research programs and institutional administration, particularly in European research projects; to encourage the development of joint projects with companies in the sectors related to its scope; to make available all the social potential of the UB in this area, especially the training of technicians and specialists and provision of services; to promote the transfer of knowledge and the dissemination of research results between society and government; and to advise consumers, businesses and public authorities on nutrition, food safety and quality..

DISPAR: A tool to model bottom trawl fishing gears

Marine Technology Workshop (Martech05), 17-18 November 2005, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona.-- 1 pageBottom trawl fishing is a relevant extractive economic activity. However, the limitation of resources and the impact on the environment demand for a more rational exploitation in order to render the activity sustainable and productive in a near future. To this purpose it is important to understand and to analyze the behaviour of fishinggears. DISPAR is a collaboration project betweenthe UPC-CTVG and the CSIC aimed to movetowards this direction. [...]Peer Reviewe

The value of procalcitonin as a prognostic indicator in polytraumatized patients in a pediatric critical care unit

Fonament. El politraumatisme (PT) greu té una morbimortalitat elevada. La procalcitonina PCT) podria ser útil com a indicador pronòstic. Objectiu. Definir els nivells de PCT en el pacient poli-traumàtic (PPT) i la seva implicació pronòstica. Mètode. Estudi prospectiu observacional. Criteris d'inclusió: pacients menors de 16 anys, ingressats per PT en una unitat de cures intensives pediàtrica (UCIP), amb determinació de PCT a l'ingrés i al cap de 24-48 hores. Període d'estudi: novembre del 2009 - novembre del 2011. Tractament esta- dístic mitjançant el paquet SPSS® versió 17.0. Resultats. De seixanta-set pacients amb politraumatisme, vint complien criteris. La mitjana d'edat era de 13,6 ± 4,2 anys i 19 (95%) eren homes. La puntuació del Pediatric Risk of Mortality Score Index (PRISM-III) era de 9,8 ± 7,38 i l'Índex de Trauma Pediàtric (ITP) de 5,5 ± 2,08. Els nivells mitjans de PCT a les 24 hores eren de 7,67 ± 18,05 ng/ml. Es van diagnosticar vuit casos d'infecció bacteriana. Cap pacient va ser èxitus. La PCT es va correlacionar amb la puntuació PRISM-III (R 0,6; p = 0,048). Els nivells mitjans de PCT eren significativament superiors en el grup que va necessitar ventilació mecànica respecte als que no en van necessitar(p = 0,046) i en el grup de pacients infectats (p = 0,039). Es va objectivar una tendència a la correlació entre els valors mitjans de PCT a l'ingrés i els dies d'ingrés (R 0,393, p = 0,1). Conclusions. Els valors de la PCT van ser elevats, per la freqüència de la complicació bacteriana en els PPT. La PCT podria ser útil com a factor pronòstic

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

NORIT project: The incidence of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus L.) emergence activity rhythms on its population assessment

Sardà, Francisco ... et. al.-- Marine Technology Workshop (Martech05), 17-18 November 2005, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona.-- 1 pageThe Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L.) is a decapod crustacean inhabiting complex burrow systems in muddy continental shelves and slopes on the European waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. This species is object of an important multispecific fishery in the Mediterranean, showing signs of overexploitation. Animals of this species show marked behavioural rhythms of emergence in the field. Emergence is performed under an optimum light intensity whose timing varies at different depths depending upon light penetration into the water column and hence upon the sun position. Present data indicate that not all the individuals emerge from their burrows at a circadian basis. [...]Peer Reviewe

Metabolomics for Biomarkers of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Advances and Nutritional Intervention Trends

Abstract Metabolic characterization of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is crucial for the identification of individuals at risk for developing diabetes and T2DM-related vascular complications as well as for monitoring disease progression. The application of metabolomics to diabetes research may lead to the identification and discovery of diagnostic and prognostic T2DM biomarkers, in addition to elucidating disease pathways. In the present review, we summarize the distinct classes of metabolites that have been proposed as potential biomarkers for progressing stages of T2DM by metabolomic approaches. Several studies have demonstrated that the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids is considerably altered in prediabetes and continue to vary over the course of T2DM progression. The identification of intermediate metabolites involved in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, lipolysis, and proteolysis have provided evidence of these metabolic dysfunctions. Finally, given the increasing worldwide incidence of T2DM and its related complications, research should focus on the impact of lifestyle factors, particularly diet, at the metabolomic level for better understanding and improved healthcare strategie