Transferable Fishing Concessions (TFC): A pilot study on the applicability in the Mediterranean Sea

Fisheries management systems based on Transferable Fishing Concessions (TFC) and similar rights-based systems have been developed during the last decades in some European countries. However, at present there is not a clear view on the possible effects caused by the application of this management systems in the Mediterranean Sea. The current study, involving nine Geographical Sub-Areas (GSAs) of the Mediterranean Sea, focuses on the appropriateness, transferability and modes of applicability of a TFC system in the Mediterranean area. Three different scenarios of quota allocation have been analyzed by taking into account biological, ecological, environmental, economic and social aspects: quota in terms of resource quantity, quota as a portion of the total fishing time, quota as a portion of the total fishing capacity. Results show that the transferability of a TFC-based system to the Mediterranean context appears to be low due to the characteristics of the Mediterranean fisheries (multispecificity of resources, fishing grounds shared among different countries, multigear, importance of small-scale fisheries) and to the general lack of sound and reliable individual historical data. The study also highlights rights-based systems such as Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries (TURF) might only be applied for the exploitation of sedentary resources, such as clams. A management system based on TFC could be theoretically reasonable for anchovy fishing, where a few species are caught, even if all countries and stakeholders should be involved in the decision making process

MPI-Ding reference glasses for in situ microanalysis: New reference values for element concentrations and isotope ratios

We present new analytical data of major and trace elements for the geological MPI-DING glasses KL2-G, ML3B-G, StHs6/80-G, GOR128-G, GOR132-G, BM90/21-G, T1-G, and ATHO-G. Different analytical methods were used to obtain a large spectrum of major and trace element data, in particular, EPMA, SIMS, LA-ICPMS, and isotope dilution by TIMS and ICPMS. Altogether, more than 60 qualified geochemical laboratories worldwide contributed to the analyses, allowing us to present new reference and information values and their uncertainties (at 95% confidence level) for up to 74 elements. We complied with the recommendations for the certification of geological reference materials by the International Association of Geoanalysts (IAG). The reference values were derived from the results of 16 independent techniques, including definitive (isotope dilution) and comparative bulk (e.g., INAA, ICPMS, SSMS) and microanalytical (e.g., LA-ICPMS, SIMS, EPMA) methods. Agreement between two or more independent methods and the use of definitive methods provided traceability to the fullest extent possible. We also present new and recently published data for the isotopic compositions of H, B, Li, O, Ca, Sr, Nd, Hf, and Pb. The results were mainly obtained by high-precision bulk techniques, such as TIMS and MC-ICPMS. In addition, LA-ICPMS and SIMS isotope data of B, Li, and Pb are presented