The Salish Sea Ecosystem in FishBase and SeaLifeBase

This contribution will review the biodiversity of the Salish Sea and its regional components, the Puget Sound and Georgia Strait based on the incorporation into major database, i.e., FishBase (www.fishbase.org) for fish and SeaLifeBase (www.sealifebase.org) for other marine organisms, of a massive body of literature data. Because it incorporated in this massive databases, this information is also vetted for quality and can be compared with information from similar ecosystems. Over 238 fish species are documented for the Salish Sea (152 for Puget Sound, 193 for the Georgia Strait) in FishBase, and over 1600 species of non-fish vertebrates and invertebrates in SeaLifeBase, from a body of over 1800 published references. Though this documentation effort is ongoing, we can now say that overall, the Salish Sea is as biodiverse as can be expected of a temperate ecosystem of its size, i.e., 18,000 square km. This biodiversity has declined, however, and the causes for which are briefly discussed

Length-weight relationships for 22 crustaceans and cephalopods from the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain)

Life history traits are available for many fish species in different regions, but less so for invertebrates such as cephalopods and crustaceans, though, they are increasingly needed for implementing an ecosystem-based approach. Recent food web modelling in the Gulf of Cadiz has identified invertebrates as keystone groups. However, information on life history traits of such groups remains incomplete in this region. To fill this knowledge gap, we report length-weight relationships for 12 cephalopods and 10 crustaceans collected in the Gulf of Cadiz from 2009 to 2013. This study reports, for the first time, life history traits of nine species in the area (Chlorotocus crassicornis, Pasiphaea sivado, Plesionika heterocarpus, Plesionika martia, Processa canaliculata, Solenocera membranacea, Allotheutis media, Sepia orbignyana and Sepietta oweniana). For each species, length-weight relationships, minimum and maximum lengths, mean weights, and depth ranges are presented. Overall, the results revealed that all species showed negative allometric growth (hypoallometry), except P. sivado, the only species showing an isometric growth pattern. We expect that this study will contribute to link sustainable fisheries with biodiversity conservation goals enabling the implementation of operational ecosystem-based management in the Gulf of Cadiz.IEO through FPIinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Future of Fishing for a Vulnerable Atoll: Trends in Catch and Catch-Per-Unit-Effort in Tokelau’s Domestic Marine Fisheries 1950–2016

Tokelau is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change from both an environmental and economic perspective, whilst being highly dependent on marine resources for dietary nutrition. Industrial as well as small-scale fisheries are present in Tokelau’s waters, with Tokelau itself only participating in small-scale fisheries. Industrial fisheries consist exclusively of foreign distant-water tuna fleets. This study aims to reconstruct and investigate the trends in the domestic small-scale marine fisheries catches, fishing effort, and catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) from 1950 to 2016. We used kWdays as our metric of fishing effort or fishing capacity, estimated using length, motorization and type of fishing vessels. Total fishing effort was approximately 11,900 kWdays in 1950 and increased rapidly after the 1980s with the introduction of larger motorized vessels. Despite evolving fishing effort, catches taken in subsistence fisheries have been relatively consistent at approximately 370 t⋅year−1, resulting in a reduction of subsistence CPUE from 32.4 kg⋅kWdays−1 in 1950 to 2.6 kg⋅kWdays−1 in 2016. This trend is opposite to that of the artisanal fishery, where CPUE increased since the start of this fishery in 2003, from 1.7 kg⋅kWdays−1 to 2.6 kg⋅kWdays−1 in 2016. Tokelau’s domestic catch is greatly underreported, with reconstructed domestic catch since 2010 being nearly four times larger than the data reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on behalf of Tokelau. The abundance of reef fishes are predicted to decrease while the abundance of pelagic fishes is expected to increase within Tokelau’s waters due to climate change, likely further altering future fishing practices. The present CPUE analysis, combined with the forecasted effects of climate change, suggests that the domestic fisheries in Tokelau may be on an unsustainable path, highlighting food security concerns, despite the potential for growth in offshore fisheries

Chapter 32 - Coastal Fisheries: The Past, Present, and Possible Futures

The coastal fisheries of the world, defined as fisheries that occur up to 50 km from inhabited coastlines or down to a depth of 200 m, whichever comes first (i.e., 3% of the global ocean), currently catch between 50 and 60 million tons per year, that is, about 50% of the global marine catch as reconstructed by the Sea Around Us (www.seaaroundus.org). One-third to half of this catch originates from small-scale fisheries (artisanal, subsistence, and recreational) which, however, do not receive as much attention from governmental management agencies as do the industrial fisheries that compete with small-scale fisheries. Coastal fisheries exhibit strong fishing down effects and their catch composition is changing due to global warming. Ensuring their future probably lies in phasing out coastal industrial fisheries and encouraging artisanal fisheries instead

Fisheries Centre Research Reports, Vol. 22, No. 1

In this volume of the Fisheries Centre Research Reports, a methodology is therefore presented which allows an independent estimation of artisanal catches based on observed daily catches of artisanal fishers, multiplied by annual numbers of days fished and time-series of number of fishers, this procedure being applied separately in four different parts (‘subzones’) of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines. Also, due emphasis was given to subsistence catches (i.e., catches primarily destined for household consumption), notably reef gleaning, and marine recreational fisheries, which are not covered at all by official statistics. These studies, presented here in the form of separate chapters, are then pulled together in a synthesis chapter which presents our estimation of the total marine catches of the Philippines from 1950 to 2010. Overall, our estimate is 26% lower than the total reported by the Philippines to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In this, the Philippines differs from other countries in Southeast Asia, and from developing countries in general, whose reconstructed catch is usually higher – often two times or more – than their officially reported catch. This should have consequences, and we elaborate on this on the final synthesis chapter of this report.Science, Faculty ofOceans and Fisheries, Institute for theUnreviewedFacult