Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries and Aquaculture: Implementing the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

This publication provides guidance on how to implement the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) using an ecosystem approach to fisheries and aquaculture. The CCRF is a voluntary code covering all aspects of the management and development of fisheries and is designed to ensure sustainable development without adversely affecting the livelihoods of local communities that share the same resources as the fisheries. The authors outline the basic principles of the CCRF, describe concrete steps to be taken to use the ecosystem approach effectively, and recommend certain institutional changes and reforms that will be necessary if the potential of the ecosystem approach is to be realized in the Asia-Pacific region. The most significant reform needed is a paradigm shift in policy from one that is production oriented to one that is benefits oriented (social and economic). There is evidence that this is already being undertaken in the region with efforts being made to limit access, reduce the number of fishing vessels and introduce community-based rights systems. Stakeholder participation is essential and existing legal instruments and practices that interact with or impact fisheries may also need to be reconsidered, and adjustments made where necessary. In the future, it may even be necessary to regulate the inter-sectoral interactions and impacts through primary legislation. To promote broader adoption and implementation of the ecosystem approach by member countries, a wide range of regional activities is suggested by the authors including a media campaign, the building of fishery alliances among countries and capacity building in fishery agencies

APFIC Regional Workshop on "Mainstreaming Fisheries Co-management"

This is the report of the APFIC regional workshop on "Mainstreaming fisheries co-management" held in Siem Reap, Cambodia from August 9-12, 2005 . The goal of the workshop was to provide a forum to learn from past experience and to promote devolved management of fisheries. Participants at the workshop had the opportunity to be exposed to a range of coastal and inland fisheries co-management interventions and the elaboration of approaches needed to make fisheries co-management a "mainstream" activity in developing countries. The objective of the workshop was to develop summary conclusions on the status of co-management in the region and provide some concrete recommendations for action towards mainstreaming fishery co-management in the Asia-Pacific region. The report contains the action plan and recommendations of the workshop. Many agencies (both governmental and non-governmental) are striving to improve the livelihoods of poor people that are dependent on aquatic resources by including these stakeholders in the planning and implementation of fisheries management. Many states have adopted decentralization as the way to implement future fisheries management, especially in developing countries, which often involves a partnership between government and the local communities, i.e. a co-management approach. The challenge is to find a way for co-management to become a mainstream practice of both government and non-government organizations and communities

Growth and productivity of juvenile banana prawns, Penaeus merguiensis in natural and laboratory systems

Abstract only.Growth and survival of Penaeus merguiensis juveniles were measured over four years in the Norman River estuary, south-eastern Gulf of Carpentaria. Growth in carapace length for the first 8-9 weeks after settlement was essentially linear and averaged 1.2 mm/week in summer at 29.5°C and 0.45 mm/week in winter at 19.5°C. A comparison of different cohorts under varying temperatures and salinities indicated that growth was temperature- but not salinity-dependent. Survival of newly settled postlarvae varied seasonally and was highest in spring (October-November). In the laboratory, a study of moulting rate and moult increment at 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35°C demonstrated that the optimal temperature for growth was 25-30°C. Survival of juveniles was also highest at intermediate temperatures. Effects of salinity and food ration amounts are discussed

Good Management Practice in Sustainable Fisheries: The Nature of Success in Fisheries Management

The fisheries and aquaculture sector is of fundamental importance to the Asia-Pacific region providing opportunities for revenue generation and employment, and contributing to food security. This document reviews the current status of inland and marine fisheries resources and their contribution to national economies and food security. Regional fishery data and information stored in FAO databases are analysed to provide a comprehensive picture of production trends of fisheries and aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region, which is further illustrated by a detailed view of sub-regions and aquaculture production by species groups. It also touches upon issues that require closer attention in order for the fisheries resources to be managed in a responsive and sustainable manner

Visible and Invisible Trends in Black Men's Health: Pitfalls and Promises for Addressing Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Inequities in Health

Over the past two decades, there has been growing interest in improving black men's health and the health disparities affecting them. Yet, the health of black men consistently ranks lowest across nearly all groups in the United States. Evidence on the health and social causes of morbidity and mortality among black men has been narrowly concentrated on public health problems (e.g., violence, prostate cancer, and HIV/AIDS) and determinants of health (e.g., education and male gender socialization). This limited focus omits age-specific leading causes of death and other social determinants of health, such as discrimination, segregation, access to health care, employment, and income. This review discusses the leading causes of death for black men and the associated risk factors, as well as identifies gaps in the literature and presents a racialized and gendered framework to guide efforts to address the persistent inequities in health affecting black men

Bi-allelic Loss-of-Function CACNA1B Mutations in Progressive Epilepsy-Dyskinesia.

The occurrence of non-epileptic hyperkinetic movements in the context of developmental epileptic encephalopathies is an increasingly recognized phenomenon. Identification of causative mutations provides an important insight into common pathogenic mechanisms that cause both seizures and abnormal motor control. We report bi-allelic loss-of-function CACNA1B variants in six children from three unrelated families whose affected members present with a complex and progressive neurological syndrome. All affected individuals presented with epileptic encephalopathy, severe neurodevelopmental delay (often with regression), and a hyperkinetic movement disorder. Additional neurological features included postnatal microcephaly and hypotonia. Five children died in childhood or adolescence (mean age of death: 9 years), mainly as a result of secondary respiratory complications. CACNA1B encodes the pore-forming subunit of the pre-synaptic neuronal voltage-gated calcium channel Cav2.2/N-type, crucial for SNARE-mediated neurotransmission, particularly in the early postnatal period. Bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in CACNA1B are predicted to cause disruption of Ca2+ influx, leading to impaired synaptic neurotransmission. The resultant effect on neuronal function is likely to be important in the development of involuntary movements and epilepsy. Overall, our findings provide further evidence for the key role of Cav2.2 in normal human neurodevelopment.MAK is funded by an NIHR Research Professorship and receives funding from the Wellcome Trust, Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity, and Rosetrees Trust. E.M. received funding from the Rosetrees Trust (CD-A53) and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. K.G. received funding from Temple Street Foundation. A.M. is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and Biomedical Research Centre. F.L.R. and D.G. are funded by Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. K.C. and A.S.J. are funded by NIHR Bioresource for Rare Diseases. The DDD Study presents independent research commissioned by the Health Innovation Challenge Fund (grant number HICF-1009-003), a parallel funding partnership between the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Health, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (grant number WT098051). We acknowledge support from the UK Department of Health via the NIHR comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre award to Guy's and St. Thomas' National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust in partnership with King's College London. This research was also supported by the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre. J.H.C. is in receipt of an NIHR Senior Investigator Award. The research team acknowledges the support of the NIHR through the Comprehensive Clinical Research Network. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, Department of Health, or Wellcome Trust. E.R.M. acknowledges support from NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, an NIHR Senior Investigator Award, and the University of Cambridge has received salary support in respect of E.R.M. from the NHS in the East of England through the Clinical Academic Reserve. I.E.S. is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (Program Grant and Practitioner Fellowship)

Colour and size variation within a population of Brachaspis collinus (Hutton) (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

There are at least two types of biological variation, i.e., “group, or geographical variation” referring to differences between populations and "individual variation” referring to differences among individuals in a single population. Variation among individuals has been of interest in descriptive zoology and especially to the taxonomist as a reaction to the ‘type’ species concept. Moreover, the occurrence of individual variation and its significance to the species is an important part of ecological and evolutionary study. A population can adapt itself to a varying environment either by producing phenotypes with a wide tolerance and plasticity, or by producing a wide variation of individuals, with certain individuals sacrificed to the advantage of the population. Geographical and individual variation in size of animals is common, especially among insects. Widespread species which show similar adaptation to similar conditions are often considered in terms of "ecological rules”. One of these is Bergmann's Rule concerning the size of individuals and temperature. Briefly, Bergmann's Rule predicts larger sized individuals in cooler parts of a species range. The validity of the rule has been shown for many birds and mammals but reports on its application to poikilotherms conflict. Bigelow (in press), recorded a significant clinal increase in size with increase in altitude within certain populations of two species of New Zealand Alpine Grasshoppers (Acrididae), viz: Brachaspis nivalis (Hutton) and Sigaus australis (Hutton) but size variation has not been investigated in populations of other New Zealand species of grasshoppers. Brachaspis collinus (Hutton), a fairly large brachypterous species, occurs above 3,000' in the mountains from N.W. Nelson to Arthur's Pass in the South Island. It was therefore of interest to determine the relationship of size and altitude in B. collinus to further test the applicability of Bergmann's Rule to New Zealand Grasshoppers. The widespread occurrence of geographical variation among populations in colour and pattern has been noted by Mayr (1963) and by many others. This variation has been recorded for adult specimens of New Zealand grasshoppers by Bigelow (in press), who also notes a colour polymorphism in the adults of B. collinus in the more southern parts of its distribution. However, the extent of the variation of adults and the variation of juveniles in this species requires further study. This study has been concentrated on one population of B. collinus in an attempt to determine the extent and possible significance of the individual variation

Production biology of the upland bully Philypnodon breviceps Stokell in a small Canterbury lake

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the relationships between food intake, biomass and production of a population of the upland bully, Philypnodon breviceps Stokell, in a small Canterbury lake. Early studies of fish populations were confined essentially to descriptive aspects of a species' biology (food habits, growth, life history and reproductive biology). However the inadequacy of this type of information for a complete understanding of the ecology of a fish population, particularly with respect to management of fisheries, was soon realised (Ricker, 1946), and in recent years increasing emphasis has been placed on the more functional aspects of aquatic ecosystems. This approach has been stimulated by the early contributions of such workers as Thienemann (1926) and Elton (1927), who first introduced the concepts of trophic levels, ecological niches and ecological pyramids. With the application of the laws of thermodynamics to ecological theory at about the same time (for example, Lotka, 1925), it became possible to consider the dynamic processes associated with the flow of energy through successive levels of a food chain. This trophic-dynamic approach was clearly outlined in the classic paper of Lindemann (1942), which provided a basic model for subsequent research in ecological energetics

Use of ailozyme electrophoresis for identifying two species of penaeid prawn postlarvae

Ailozyme electrophoresis was used to identify the postlarvae of two species of tiger prawns, Penaeus esculentus and P. semisulcatus, from the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. The two species were examined for genetic differences at 39 loci, in three developmental stages (adult, juvenile and postlarval). One locus, Gpi, was suitable for the routine species identification of postlarvae. The electrophoretic identification system developed, when applied to the identification of postlarvae taken by field sampling, was more reliable and efficient than standard morphological techniques