Irish fisheries-science research partnership trawl survey of the Porcupine Bank Nephrops Grounds July 2010

The Nephrops fishery on the Porcupine Bank takes place on a large area, approximately 7000km2, of complex muddy habitat between depths of 300 to 470m. Irish effort has been increasing and Ireland is now responsible for the majority of the landings. The scientific advice has indicated that the stock has declined and fishing mortality should be reduced to the lowest possible level. This Irish Fisheries Science Research Partnership (IFSRP) survey was developed in 2010 to address the pressing need for data from the closed area established by the EC between 1st May to 31st July 2010. 46 hauls were carried out and the results indicate high CPUE for the survey relative to recent observations for the fleet. Strong patterns in size and sex ratio were observed spatially. The male biased sex ratio and size-at-maturity are similar to historical observation. The size distributions of the catches are very different to the Spanish survey in the area which took place two months later. The utility of the survey for monitoring the stock is discussed.Funder: Marine Institut

Utilization of health care services by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

AbstractIn order to identify healthcare resource use patterns associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), resource utilization (RU) data collection was integrated into a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study of Viozan™ (sibenadet HCI). This study enrolled patients with symptomatic, smoking-related COPD, randomized to receive sibenadet or placebo for a 52-week treatment period. A questionnaire establishing typical pre-trial, COPD, randomized to RU was completed by each patient. Subsequent data were collected by means of an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) at 30-day intervals (14 time points) during the study and in the follow-up period. The IVRS system facilitated data collection and minimized inconvient to the patients. Subsequent data were collected by means of an Interactive Voice Response System health services during the year-long study was high.No overall trend for lower RU was associated with sibenadet therapy, which correlates with the lack of sustained clinical effect seen in studies conducted concurrently. These data do, however, provide valuable information on RU associated with COPD and insights into adjustments associated with changes in disease course. Physicians were seen to be the most common source of care for patients with COPD and more of the patients with severe COPD (stage III) than mild (stage I) were seen to utilize the most expensive resources (e.g. inpatient hospital care). For those patients who experienced an exacerbation during the trial (irrespective of treatment group), resource use was increased during the periods when an exacerbation was reported when compared with the periods before or after an exacerbation. The proportion of cases attending the physician doubled and with a trip to the Emergency Room (ER) increased approximately ninefold during the reporting period in which the exacerbation occurred compared with the previous month.This study has shown that use of an IVRS, even in elderly patients, is an effective means of gathering RU data over long periods. The study findings suggest that the advent of effective therapeutic interventions, particularly any with the ability to minimize exacerbations and limit disease progression, could impact on the health care services used and potentially reduce associated costs

Report of the Study Group on Nephrops Surveys (SGNEPS)

This article was originally published by ICES on their website http://www.ices.dk/.peer-reviewedThe Study Group on Nephrops Surveys (SGNEPS) met in Ancona, Italy from 6–8 March 2012. The group consisted of 12 scientists from Ireland, Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Spain, Denmark, Portugal and Italy under the chairmanship of Colm Lordan, Ireland. SGNEPS has an important role as the international coordina-tion group for Nephrops UWTV surveys in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Heretofore SGNEPS has focused on planning, protocols, quality control, design and survey development issues. At the 2012 meeting group compiled a table summarizing the station densities and precision levels of most annual Nephrops UWTV surveys. Large variations in survey station densities occur across the grounds currently sur-veyed. Station density, accuracy and precision trade-offs were investigated and dis-cussed in detail for the two main survey design types (random stratifies and grids). The main outcome of these deliberation was that a minimum precision level of <20% CV (also known as Relative Standard Error) should be attained for these types of surveys. There may be operational reasons why individual surveys should aim for higher precision than that (e.g. to ensure good coverage and accurate burrow surfac-es). In some areas station densities could be reduce to allow for improved coverage to previously unsurveyed Nephrops grounds. Progress towards integrated stock assess-ments for Nephrops which make use of all sources of fisheries dependent and inde-pendent information was reported to the group. There was consensus that the current ICES framework for assessing and providing catch options based on the UWTV sur-veys remains the most appropriate methodology for the moment. There has been significant progress since WKNEPH (ICES, 2007) in addressing many of the per-ceived uncertainties in the methodology. The remaining assumptions on burrow occupancy, burrow size, growth, discard survival can only be addressed through dedicated research projects of which there have been few. Several video enhancement and technological developments were presented to the group and these look very promising in terms of improving certainty of burrow identification and facilitating validation counts. The group also discussed the various Nephrops trawl surveys and biological sampling requirements under the DCF and concluded that the role of the group should be expanded to cover these in future

Using a multivariate approach to define Irish metiers in the Irish Sea

There is an increasing need to take into account a “mixed fisheries” approach in management, assessment and sampling of fish stocks. To do this effectively it is necessary for groups of fishing trips with homogeneous fishing patterns or tactics to be defined into métiers. Presented here is the result of an Irish case study analysis in applying multivariate statistics to declared logbook landings to define Irish fleet métiers operating in the Irish Sea. Established multivariate statistical procedures, a combination of factorial and cluster analysis, were applied to five variables; landing profile, vessel length category, gear, mesh size range and month. The investigation has shown this methodology to be a suitable tool in identifying métiers without prior assumptions and enabled data to be described from a multivariate statistical perspective providing useful and informative results. In total twenty-two métiers were identified and defined from 2003 landings data, and a further 5 groups were formed to include trips which could not be assigned to a métier. Definitions were applied to 2003-2005 landings and effort data to examine their dynamics and stability. The dominant métier (in terms of effort and trips) contained high proportions of landed Nephrops taken by bottom otter trawlers using 70-89mm meshes. The effort in this métier was fairly stable over time. The greatest increases in effort and trip allocation occurred within métiers employing pots and traps for crustacean species. A small number of minor métiers (in terms of landings and effort) became obsolete over the three years examined. The effects of recent management measures are likely to have contributed to declines in the numbers of trips and effort in some métiers. For example, days-at-sea, limited mobile gears such as bottom otter trawls and beam trawls with ≥100mm mesh, have declined. Such changes within métiers over recent years have contributed to a deeper understanding of fleet dynamics in the Irish Sea. This analysis has identified and highlighted a segment of polyvalent Irish fishing vessels, which move between several métiers within a year. The definition of métiers can be used to enhance the Irish sampling programme in the Irish Sea by developing a finer scale, métier based, stratification of sampling. This in turn enables increased precision and robustness of national assessment data thus improving assessments and management advice. Defining métiers will prove advantageous in developing mixed fisheries assessments and advice.Funder: Marine Institut

Gutted to round-weight conversion factors for anglerfish (Lophius poscatorius and Lophius budegassa)

In response to a request from the Department of Communications Marine and Natural Resources and fishing industry, the conversion factors used to estimate round or live weights from gutted anglerfish were re-examined. A number of data sources was available from survey data, port sampling and observer trips. In some cases, the liver is left in place when the fish are gutted. For these landings a separate conversion factor is necessary. The conversion factors were found to be independent of fish size, however, some significant differences between the data sources were found. Significant differences between the conversion factors of the two species of anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius and L. budegassa) were also found. As commercial landings of anglerfish are not usually speciated, a generic conversion factor was estimated for Lophius spp. by combining the data for both species after weighting by the estimated proportions of the two species in the Irish landings. The resultant conversion factor for fully gutted fish is 1.23 and 1.17 when the liver is left in place; both estimates are lower than the current Irish factor of 1.28.Funder: Marine Institut

CV20017

This report provides the results of the eighth underwater television on the ‘Porcupine Bank Nephrops grounds’ ICES assessment area; Functional Unit 16. The survey was multi-disciplinary in nature collecting UWTV and other ecosystem data. In total 65 UWTV stations were successfully completed in a randomised 6 nautical mile isometric grid covering the full spatial extent of the stock. The mean burrow density observed in 2020, adjusted for edge effect, was 0.17 burrows/m². The final krigged abundance estimate was 1264 million burrows with a CV of 4% and an estimated stock area of 7,130 km2. The 2020 abundance estimate was 25% higher than in 2019. Using the 2020 estimate of abundance and updated stock data implies catches between 2653 and 3290 tonnes in 2021 that correspond to the F ranges in the EU multiannual plan for Western Waters (assuming that all catch is landed). Four species of sea-pen; Virgularia mirabilis, Funiculina quadrangularis, Pennatula phosphorea and the deepwater sea-pen Kophobelemnon stelliferum were observed during the survey. Trawl marks were also observed on 22% of the stations surveyed

Assessing automatic data processing algorithms for RGB-D cameras to predict fruit size and weight in apples

Data acquired using an RGB-D Azure Kinect DK camera were used to assess different automatic algorithms to estimate the size, and predict the weight of non-occluded and occluded apples. The programming of the algorithms included: (i) the extraction of images of regions of interest (ROI) using manual delimitation of bounding boxes or binary masks; (ii) estimating the lengths of the major and minor geometric axes for the purpose of apple sizing; and (iii) predicting the final weight by allometric modelling. In addition to the use of bounding boxes, the algorithms also allowed other post-mask settings (circles, ellipses and rotated rectangles) to be implemented, and different depth options (distance between the RGB-D camera and the fruits detected) for subsequent sizing through the application of the thin lens theory. Both linear and nonlinear allometric models demonstrated the ability to predict apple weight with a high degree of accuracy (R2 greater than 0.942 and RMSE < 16 g). With respect to non-occluded apples, the best weight predictions were achieved using a linear allometric model including both the major and minor axes of the apples as predictors. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) ranged from 5.1% to 5.7% with respective RMSE of 11.09 g and 13.02 g, depending to whether circles, ellipses, or bounding boxes were used to adjust fruit shape. The results were therefore promising and open up the possibility of implementing reliable in-field apple measurements in real time. Importantly, final weight prediction error and intermediate size estimation errors (from sizing algorithms) interact but in a way that is not easily quantifiable when weight allometric models with implicit prediction error are used. In addition, allometric models should be reviewed when applied to other apple cultivars, fruit development stages or even for different fruit growth conditions depending on canopy management.This work was partly funded by the Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya (grants 2017, SGR 646 and 2021 LLAV 00088), by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation / AEI/10.13039/501100011033 / ERDF (grants RTI2018-094222-B-I00 [PAgFRUIT project], PID2021-126648OB-I00 [PAgPROTECT project]) and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation / AEI/10.13039/501100011033 / European Union NextGeneration / PRTR (grantTED2021-131871B-I00 [DIGIFRUIT project]). We would also like to thank the Secretariat of Universities and Research of the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Social Fund (ESF) for financing Juan Carlos Miranda’s pre-doctoral fellowship (2020 FI_B 00586). The work of Jordi Gené-Mola was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Universities through a Margarita Salas postdoctoral grant funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

CV19017

This report provides the results of the seventh underwater television on the ‘Porcupine Bank Nephrops grounds’ ICES assessment area; Functional Unit 16. The survey was multi-disciplinary in nature collecting UWTV, CTD and other ecosystem data. In total 65 UWTV stations were successfully completed in a randomised 6 nautical mile isometric grid covering the full spatial extent of the stock. The mean burrow density observed in 2019, adjusted for edge effect, was 0.14 burrows/m². The final krigged abundance estimate was 1010 million burrows with a relative standard error of 5% and an estimated stock area of 7,130 km2. The 2019 abundance estimate was 9.5% lower than in 2018. Using the 2019 estimate of abundance and updated stock data implies catches between 2127 and 2637 tonnes in 2020 that correspond to the F ranges in the EU multi annual plan for Western Waters (assuming that all catch is landed). Four species of sea-pen; Virgularia mirabilis, Funiculina quadrangularis, Pennatula phosphorea and the deepwater sea-pen Kophobelemnon stelliferum were observed during the survey. Trawl marks were also observed on 31% of the stations surveyed

Long-term effect of azithromycin in bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome

Introduction Azithromycin stabilises and improves lung function forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in lung transplantation patients with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). A post hoc analysis was performed to assess the long-term effect of azithromycin on FEV1, BOS progression and survival. Methods Eligible patients recruited for the initial randomised placebo-controlled trial received open-label azithromycin after 3 months and were followed up until 6 years after inclusion (n=45) to assess FEV1, BOS free progression and overall survival. Results FEV1 in the placebo group improved after open-label azithromycin and was comparable with the treatment group by 6 months. FEV1 decreased after 1 and 5 years and was not different between groups. Patients (n=18) with rapid progression of BOS underwent total lymphoid irradiation ( TLI). Progression-free survival (log-rank test p=0.40) and overall survival (log-rank test p=0.28) were comparable. Survival of patients with early BOS was similar to late-onset BOS (log-rank test p=0.74). Discussion Long-term treatment with azithromycin slows down the progression of BOS, although the effect of TLI may affect the observed attenuation of FEV1 decline. BOS progression and long-term survival were not affected by randomisation to the placebo group, given the early cross-over to azithromycin and possibly due to TLI in case of further progression. Performing randomised placebo-controlled trials in lung transplantation patients with BOS with a blinded trial duration is feasible, effective and safe