Strong fisheries management and governance positively impact ecosystem status

Fisheries have had major negative impacts on marine ecosystems, and effective fisheries management and governance are needed to achieve sustainable fisheries, biodiversity conservation goals and thus good ecosystem status. To date, the IndiSeas programme (Indicators for the Seas) has focussed on assessing the ecological impacts of fishing at the ecosystem scale using ecological indicators. Here, we explore fisheries Management Effectiveness' and Governance Quality' and relate this to ecosystem health and status. We developed a dedicated expert survey, focused at the ecosystem level, with a series of questions addressing aspects of management and governance, from an ecosystem-based perspective, using objective and evidence-based criteria. The survey was completed by ecosystem experts (managers and scientists) and results analysed using ranking and multivariate methods. Results were further examined for selected ecosystems, using expert knowledge, to explore the overall findings in greater depth. Higher scores for Management Effectiveness' and Governance Quality' were significantly and positively related to ecosystems with better ecological status. Key factors that point to success in delivering fisheries and conservation objectives were as follows: the use of reference points for management, frequent review of stock assessments, whether Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) catches were being accounted for and addressed, and the inclusion of stakeholders. Additionally, we found that the implementation of a long-term management plan, including economic and social dimensions of fisheries in exploited ecosystems, was a key factor in successful, sustainable fisheries management. Our results support the thesis that good ecosystem-based management and governance, sustainable fisheries and healthy ecosystems go together.IOC-UNESCO; EuroMarine; European FP7 MEECE research project; European Network of Excellence Eur-Oceans; FRB EMIBIOS project [212085]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A typology of fisheries management tools: using experience to catalyse greater success

Fisheries provide nutrition and livelihoods for coastal populations, but many fisheries are fully or over-exploited and we lack an approach for analysing which factors affect management tool performance. We conducted a literature review of 390 studies to assess how fisheries characteristics affected management tool performance across both small-scale and large-scale fisheries. We defined success as increased or maintained abundance or biomass, reductions in fishing mortality or improvements in population status. Because the literature only covered a narrow set of biological factors, we also conducted an expert elicitation to create a typology of broader fishery characteristics, enabling conditions and design considerations that affect performance. The literature suggested that the most commonly used management tool in a region was often the most successful, although the scale of success varied. Management tools were more often deemed successful when used in combination, particularly pairings of tools that controlled fishing mortality or effort with spatial management. Examples of successful combinations were the use of catch limits with quotas and limited entry, and marine protected areas with effort restrictions. The most common factors associated with inadequate biological performance were ‘structural’ issues, including poor design or implementation. The expert-derived typologies revealed strong local leadership, high community involvement and governance capacity as common factors of success across management tool categories (i.e. input, output and technical measures), but the degree of importance varied. Our results are designed to inform selection of appropriate management tools based on empirical data and experience to increase the likelihood of successful fisheries management.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Strong fisheries management and governance positively impact ecosystem status

Bundy, Alida ... et al.-- 28 pages, 6 figures, 8 tables, supporting information https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/faf.12184Fisheries have had major negative impacts on marine ecosystems, and effective fisheries management and governance are needed to achieve sustainable fisheries, biodiversity conservation goals and thus good ecosystem status. To date, the IndiSeas programme (Indicators for the Seas) has focussed on assessing the ecological impacts of fishing at the ecosystem scale using ecological indicators. Here, we explore fisheries ‘Management Effectiveness’ and ‘Governance Quality’ and relate this to ecosystem health and status. We developed a dedicated expert survey, focused at the ecosystem level, with a series of questions addressing aspects of management and governance, from an ecosystem-based perspective, using objective and evidence-based criteria. The survey was completed by ecosystem experts (managers and scientists) and results analysed using ranking and multivariate methods. Results were further examined for selected ecosystems, using expert knowledge, to explore the overall findings in greater depth. Higher scores for ‘Management Effectiveness’ and ‘Governance Quality’ were significantly and positively related to ecosystems with better ecological status. Key factors that point to success in delivering fisheries and conservation objectives were as follows: the use of reference points for management, frequent review of stock assessments, whether Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) catches were being accounted for and addressed, and the inclusion of stakeholders. Additionally, we found that the implementation of a long-term management plan, including economic and social dimensions of fisheries in exploited ecosystems, was a key factor in successful, sustainable fisheries management. Our results support the thesis that good ecosystem-based management and governance, sustainable fisheries and healthy ecosystems go togetherThis is a contribution to the IndiSeas Working Group, which, by the time of the study, was cofunded by IOC-UNESCO (www.ioc-unesco.org), EuroMarine (http://www.euromarinenetwork.eu), the European FP7 MEECE research project, the European Network of Excellence Eur-Oceans and the FRB EMIBIOS project (contract n°212085)Peer Reviewe

Ecological indicators to capture the effects of fishing on biodiversityand conservation status of marine ecosystems

IndiSeas (“Indicators for the Seas”) is a collaborative international working group that was established in2005 to evaluate the status of exploited marine ecosystems using a suite of indicators in a comparative framework. An initial shortlist of seven ecological indicators was selected to quantify the effects of fishing on the broader ecosystem using several criteria (i.e., ecological meaning, sensitivity to fishing, data avail-ability, management objectives and public awareness). The suite comprised: (i) the inverse coefficient of variation of total biomass of surveyed species, (ii) mean fish length in the surveyed community, (iii)mean maximum life span of surveyed fish species, (iv) proportion of predatory fish in the surveyed community, (v) proportion of under and moderately exploited stocks, (vi) total biomass of surveyed species,and (vii) mean trophic level of the landed catch. In line with the Nagoya Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2011–2020), we extended this suite to emphasize the broader biodiversity and conservation risks in exploited marine ecosystems. We selected a subset of indicators from a list of empirically based candidate biodiversity indicators initially established based on ecological significance to complement the original IndiSeas indicators. The additional selected indicators were: (viii) mean intrinsic vulnerability index of the fish landed catch, (ix) proportion of non-declining exploited species in the surveyed community, (x) catch-based marine trophic index, and (xi) mean trophic level of the surveyed community. Despite the lack of data in some ecosystems, we also selected (xii) mean trophic level of the modelled community, and (xiii) proportion of discards in the fishery as extra indicators. These additional indicators were examined, along with the initial set of IndiSeas ecological indicators, to evaluate whether adding new biodiversity indicators provided useful additional information to refine our under-standing of the status evaluation of 29 exploited marine ecosystems. We used state and trend analyses,and we performed correlation, redundancy and multivariate tests. Existing developments in ecosystem-based fisheries management have largely focused on exploited species. Our study, using mostly fisheries independent survey-based indicators, highlights that biodiversity and conservation-based indicators are complementary to ecological indicators of fishing pressure. Thus, they should be used to provide additional information to evaluate the overall impact of fishing on exploited marine ecosystems

Ecological indicators to capture the effects of fishing on biodiversityand conservation status of marine ecosystems

IndiSeas (“Indicators for the Seas”) is a collaborative international working group that was established in2005 to evaluate the status of exploited marine ecosystems using a suite of indicators in a comparative framework. An initial shortlist of seven ecological indicators was selected to quantify the effects of fishing on the broader ecosystem using several criteria (i.e., ecological meaning, sensitivity to fishing, data avail-ability, management objectives and public awareness). The suite comprised: (i) the inverse coefficient of variation of total biomass of surveyed species, (ii) mean fish length in the surveyed community, (iii)mean maximum life span of surveyed fish species, (iv) proportion of predatory fish in the surveyed community, (v) proportion of under and moderately exploited stocks, (vi) total biomass of surveyed species,and (vii) mean trophic level of the landed catch. In line with the Nagoya Strategic Plan of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2011–2020), we extended this suite to emphasize the broader biodiversity and conservation risks in exploited marine ecosystems. We selected a subset of indicators from a list of empirically based candidate biodiversity indicators initially established based on ecological significance to complement the original IndiSeas indicators. The additional selected indicators were: (viii) mean intrinsic vulnerability index of the fish landed catch, (ix) proportion of non-declining exploited species in the surveyed community, (x) catch-based marine trophic index, and (xi) mean trophic level of the surveyed community. Despite the lack of data in some ecosystems, we also selected (xii) mean trophic level of the modelled community, and (xiii) proportion of discards in the fishery as extra indicators. These additional indicators were examined, along with the initial set of IndiSeas ecological indicators, to evaluate whether adding new biodiversity indicators provided useful additional information to refine our under-standing of the status evaluation of 29 exploited marine ecosystems. We used state and trend analyses,and we performed correlation, redundancy and multivariate tests. Existing developments in ecosystem-based fisheries management have largely focused on exploited species. Our study, using mostly fisheries independent survey-based indicators, highlights that biodiversity and conservation-based indicators are complementary to ecological indicators of fishing pressure. Thus, they should be used to provide additional information to evaluate the overall impact of fishing on exploited marine ecosystems

A 1-Year Prospective French Nationwide Study of Emergency Hospital Admissions in Children and Adults with Primary Immunodeficiency.

PURPOSE: Patients with primary immunodeficiency (PID) are at risk of serious complications. However, data on the incidence and causes of emergency hospital admissions are scarce. The primary objective of the present study was to describe emergency hospital admissions among patients with PID, with a view to identifying "at-risk" patient profiles. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational 12-month multicenter study in France via the CEREDIH network of regional PID reference centers from November 2010 to October 2011. All patients with PIDs requiring emergency hospital admission were included. RESULTS: A total of 200 admissions concerned 137 patients (73 adults and 64 children, 53% of whom had antibody deficiencies). Thirty admissions were reported for 16 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients. When considering the 170 admissions of non-transplant patients, 149 (85%) were related to acute infections (respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal tract infections in 72 (36%) and 34 (17%) of cases, respectively). Seventy-seven percent of the admissions occurred during winter or spring (December to May). The in-hospital mortality rate was 8.8% (12 patients); death was related to a severe infection in 11 cases (8%) and Epstein-Barr virus-induced lymphoma in 1 case. Patients with a central venous catheter (n = 19, 13.9%) were significantly more hospitalized for an infection (94.7%) than for a non-infectious reason (5.3%) (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Our data showed that the annual incidence of emergency hospital admission among patients with PID is 3.4%. The leading cause of emergency hospital admission was an acute infection, and having a central venous catheter was associated with a significantly greater risk of admission for an infectious episode

Focusing on monofilament nets while overlooking the priorities of artisanal fisheries governance in Senegal

Despite its legal prohibition since 1998, the nylon monofilament net is still widely used in Senegalese artisanal fisheries. To achieve a complete ban on monofilament use, it is necessary to understand the main arguments for its continued use and  what alternatives exist. Using a field experiment among local fishers as well as  empirical knowledge and a literature review, this article highlights the challenges to the eradication of nylon monofilament. Our study shows that in a context where decision-makers pay too much attention to social, economic and political stakes, the efficiency of nylon monofilament nets confers a major advantage upon which fishers rely, and this counters any regulatory action against this type of gear.  Moreover, numerous studies globally have indicated that communication campaigns that focus on the ghost-fishing power of this type of net seem to be inappropriate. We concluded that the issue of continued use of monofilament should be addressed through an integrated fisheries management programme that reduces overcapacity and fosters sustainable fishing practices.Keywords: coastal fisheries, economic profitability, efficiency, environmental  impacts, fishing gear, gillnets, ghost fishing, integrated management, management responses, overcapacity, sustainable practice

Analysing environmental and fishing effects on a short-lived species stock: the dynamics of the octopus Octopus vulgaris population in Senegalese waters

Short-lived species are extremely dependent on the seasonal and interannual variability of environmental conditions, and determining their stock status is  often difficult. This study investigates the effects of environmental  variability and fishing pressure on the stock of octopus Octopus  vulgaris in Senegalese waters over a 10-year period from 1996 to 2005. Monthly catches-at-age were estimated based on catch-at-weight data and a  polymodal decomposition constrained by a given growth curve. Octopus recruitments and fishing mortalities were then estimated using a catch-at-age analysis performed on a monthly basis. Yield and biomass per recruit were  simulated using a Thompson and Bell model and used to generate a diagnostic of the fishery’s impacts. Results indicate that the high interannual and seasonal variability of the octopus stock biomass is linked to the spring recruitment event, the annual intensity of which was significantly correlated with the coastal upwelling index and sea surface temperature. Yield per recruit varied  seasonally but remained almost unchanged from one year to the next. Even when catches vary strongly according to recruitment, the octopus stock appears to be consistently fully exploited, or slightly overexploited in some years. In this context of environmental variability, usual indicators such as the maximum yield per recruit, and the related fishing mortality and spawning potential ratio, remain useful for fisheries management purposes. Keywords: environment, fishery, indicators, population dynamics, Senegal, stock assessment, West AfricaAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2011, 33(2): 209–22

International conference ICAWA 2016 : extended book of abstract : the AWA project : ecosystem approach to the management of fisheries and the marine environment in West African waters

Over the last decades, small pelagic fisheries have shown an increasing development in Senegal, especially those targeting Sardinella aurita and S. maderensis. Their landing and fishing effort quickly increase for both species, from less than 100,000 tons with 35,035 trips in the early 80's to a peak of over 400,000 tons with 86,427 trips in 2008. The Senegalese small scale pelagic fisheries, targeting both species, accounts for more than 86% of the artisanal fishery landing in biomass. We investigated the effects of small scale fishing over ten years (2004-2013) with generalized additive model fitting techniques using landings vs. fishing effort per gear and type of fishing gears in the Northern and southern parts of Senegal. The study revealed that these effects are more pronounced in the Northern area for S. aurita while they are more significant in the Southern area for S. maderensis. The purse seine, i.e the main Senegalese fishing gear targeting Sardinella, provides the most significant effects on S. aurita landings in both areas, while for S. maderensis, the most significant effects are shared between two fishing gears: purse seine in the Northern area and encircling gill nets in the Southern area. Spatio-temporal patterns of the effects of small scale fishing are described and the relative importance of fishing effort and fishing gear on both species at seasonal and inter-annual scales are discussed

The contribution of small scale fishing constraints on Sardinella landings in Senegalese waters [résumé]

ICAWA : International Conference AWA, Dakar, SEN, 13-/12/2016 - 15/12/2016Over the last decades, small pelagic fisheries have shown an increasing development in Senegal, especially those targeting Sardinella aurita and S. maderensis. Their landing and fishing effort quickly increase for both species, from less than 100,000 tons with 35,035 trips in the early 80's to a peak of over 400,000 tons with 86,427 trips in 2008. The Senegalese small scale pelagic fisheries, targeting both species, accounts for more than 86% of the artisanal fishery landing in biomass. We investigated the effects of small scale fishing over ten years (2004-2013) with generalized additive model fitting techniques using landings vs. fishing effort per gear and type of fishing gears in the Northern and southern parts of Senegal. The study revealed that these effects are more pronounced in the Northern area for S. aurita while they are more significant in the Southern area for S. maderensis. The purse seine, i.e the main Senegalese fishing gear targeting Sardinella, provides the most significant effects on S. aurita landings in both areas, while for S. maderensis, the most significant effects are shared between two fishing gears: purse seine in the Northern area and encircling gill nets in the Southern area. Spatio-temporal patterns of the effects of small scale fishing are described and the relative importance of fishing effort and fishing gear on both species at seasonal and inter-annual scales are discussed