Impacts of COVID-19 on the value chain of the hake small scale fishery in northern Peru

The supply chain mapping and analysis of secondary sources was supported by The Walton Family Foundation (Grant 2019-319) and the estimation of COVID-19 impacts by a 2019–20 SFC-ODA GCRF (University of St Andrews) Grant.All aspects of fish supply chains have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with jobs, income and food security at risk. In Peru, small scale fisheries are fundamental for food security, contributing to about 2/3 of all fish consumed nationally. One of the most important resources which is more affordable for local and regional consumption is hake (Merluccius gayi peruanus). This study is a first attempt to describe the small-scale hake fishery value chain and to quantify the impact of COVID-19 from March to August 2020 in two fishing communities in northern Peru. The levels of fishing and primary buying were the most affected, and we estimate that ~ 23,000 fishing trips were not conducted, ~ 1680 t of hake was not landed (83% decrease), and 620 jobs were negatively impacted during this period. The gross income of vessel owners and primary buyers decreased by ~ $US 913,000. Marked differences were observed in the way each community responded to the pandemic and in their resilience to cope with COVID-19, despite being located less than 10 km away. In El Ñuro, which relied more heavily on the international market for hake trade, the value chain was affected for longer, while in Los Órganos which supplied national markets, the chain was restored after an initial period of adjustment. Our study suggests that government efforts should focus on facilitating a formalisation process in all levels of the chain, develop indicators to monitor the resumption of activities and the inclusion of a value chain approach to small-scale fisheries management.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Estimation of a probability in inverse binomial sampling under normalized linear-linear and inverse-linear loss

Sequential estimation of the success probability $p$ in inverse binomial sampling is considered in this paper. For any estimator $\hat p$, its quality is measured by the risk associated with normalized loss functions of linear-linear or inverse-linear form. These functions are possibly asymmetric, with arbitrary slope parameters $a$ and $b$ for $\hat pp$ respectively. Interest in these functions is motivated by their significance and potential uses, which are briefly discussed. Estimators are given for which the risk has an asymptotic value as $p$ tends to $0$, and which guarantee that, for any $p$ in $(0,1)$, the risk is lower than its asymptotic value. This allows selecting the required number of successes, $r$, to meet a prescribed quality irrespective of the unknown $p$. In addition, the proposed estimators are shown to be approximately minimax when $a/b$ does not deviate too much from $1$, and asymptotically minimax as $r$ tends to infinity when $a=b$.Comment: 4 figure

The Peruvian upwelling ecosystem: dynamics and interactions

Upwelling, Ecosystems, Fishery biology, Fishery oceanography, Conferences, Peru,

Thermal inactivation of Byssochlamys nivea in pineapple nectar combined with preliminary high pressure treatments

Byssochlamys nivea is a thermal resistant filamentous fungi and potential micotoxin producer. Recent studies have verified the presence of ascospores of such microorganism in samples of pineapple nectars. Although the majority of filamentous fungi have limited heat resistance and are easily destroyed by heat, Byssochlamys nivea ascospores have shown high thermal resistance. The aim of this work was to evaluate the application of linear and Weibull models on thermal inactivation (70, 80 and 90ºC) of Byssochlamys nivea ascospores in pineapple nectar after pretreatment with high pressure (550MPa or 650MPa during 15min). Following the treatments, survival curves were built up for each processing temperature and adjusted for both models. It was observed that survival curves at 90°C after high pressure pretreatment at 550 MPa/15 min did not fit well to linear and Weibull models. For all the other treatments, the Weibull model presented a better fit. At 90ºC without pressure treatment, the Weibull model also showed a better adjustment, having a larger R2 and a smaller RMSE. Regarding the process effectiveness, a 5-log reduction (t5), as recommended for pasteurization, was only achieved for Byssochlamys nivea ascospores presented in pineapple nectar at 90ºC/10.7 min with previous high pressure treatment of 650 MPa for 15 min. Considering the high intensity and energy demanding process with possibly product damage, other preventive and alternative treatments are being investigated

Influence of Giving a Choice of Grazing or Maize Silage Offered in the Field Simultaneously on Diet Selection of Lactating Dairy Cows

Changing the times of access to grazing and to maize silage (MS) offered indoors affects the relative intake of each feed, but has little effect on dairy cow performance (Hernandez-Mendo & Leaver, 2000). Offering the MS in the grazing paddock as an instantaneous alternative to grazing should give an insight into the factors influencing feed intake, and may provide a means of alleviating the high rate of decline in milk yield of grazing dairy cows. The objective of this study was to examine the response in diet preferences and performance of lactating dairy cows when grazing a perennial ryegrass sward and having access to maize silage ad libitum simultaneously in spring, at two concentrate levels (CL) and two sward heights (SH)

Estimating fishing effort from highly resolved geospatial data : focusing on passive gears

TM, JM and MJ appreciate the financial support provided by the University of St. Andrews Impact and Innovation Fund 2018. TM and MJ acknowledge financial support provided by the “Conserving Atlantic Biodiversity by Supporting Innovative Small-scale Fisheries Co-management” (CABFISHMAN) Project. This project is co-financed by the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme through the European Regional Development Fund. Project N°: EAPA_134/2018”.Increasing competition for marine space requires the appropriate development of indicators to best represent the use of marine areas and the value (whether economic, social and/or cultural) derived from such use. Fishers (the largest group of users) are often under-represented in marine spatial planning processes. Highly-resolved vessel tracking data provide opportunities to map the activities of fishing vessels at a level of detail never before available. Most effort mapping methods have focused on active gears such as trawls or dredges in large scale fisheries. For these fisheries, the time spent fishing at sea (hours) is usually a representative indicator of fishing effort, enabling a straightforward mapping of the most important fishing grounds. However, for passive gears generally used in small-scale fisheries, we show that spatial indicators of effort (here, length of vessel track) greatly outperform time-at-sea as an indicator of fishing effort. We further demonstrate and validate a method to estimate gear soak time from vessel tracking data and show how maps of effort that account for soak time can be different from those solely based on time spent fishing at sea. The development of adequate methods to quantify the spatial distribution of passive gear effort is particularly relevant to fisheries management because globally about a fifth of all catches (by weight) are landed by passive gears. Appropriate, fine scale effort maps will provide better tools for spatial planning to support sustainable fishing.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Minimising discards while taking revenue into account : spatio-temporal assessment of catches in an artisanal shrimp trawl fishery in Peru

Funding: Newton Fund (414695818); University of St Andrews Impact and Innovation 2021; Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico Tecno 2018-222.Around 4.2 million tonnes of fish and other species, some of which are of conservation concern, are discarded every year in bottom trawl fisheries. This study focusses on a small-scale shrimp trawl fishery located in northern Peru that operates with high level of discards which causes conflict with other local fishers. Despite trawling being an illegal activity within the 5NM off the coast, this fishery has been operating in these inshore areas for over 40 years because it sustains the well-being of hundreds of fishers. This study aimed to identify the factors that affect the spatio-temporal variation in catches in order to propose recommendations that can be adopted by fishers to minimise their impact on the ecosystem while still providing economic opportunities. The spatial distributions of shrimp, main commercial species and discards were modelled over time using hierarchical generalised additive models. Strong spatio-temporal variation was observed for all catch components and moon phase affected commercial species and discards differently. The results show that, to reduce the environmental impacts of this fishery in the short-term, the fishing area could be divided into north and south and that fishing activities should be limited to the southern area in the autumn. Other recommendations rely on temporal closures during the week of the first quarter of the moon phase. Finally, considering the institutional weaknesses in monitoring, control and surveillance, we suggest that the only realistic approach to reduce the fishery's environmental impacts in the short-term is to foster the willingness of fishers to adopt responsible fishing practices. Yet, long-term solutions will require comprehensive co-management efforts.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Relative age effect on national selection process in triathlon

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar el efecto de la edad relativa (RAE) en el proceso de selección nacional de triatletas (n = 1321) durante las temporadas 2013-2015. La muestra fue divida por categorías y sexo. Cada una fue subdividida en 4 cuartiles según la fecha de nacimiento. Las diferencias fueron analizadas mediante la prueba no paramétrica Krustal-Wallis. Para la comparación múltiple se utilizó U de Mann Whitney. Los resultados mostraron que el rendimiento en las pruebas analizadas presentaba una mejor tendencia en aquellos deportistas nacidos en el primer cuartil del año para el sexo masculino. En esta línea, los atletas nacidos en la última parte mostraron un peor rendimiento general. Estos resultados fueron menos consistentes para el sexo femenino. Este trabajo ha puesto de manifiesto la influencia del RAE en los procesos de identificación de talentos y la estructura competitiva, sugiriendo su consideración en los procesos de selecciónThe aim of this study was to analyze the influence of relative age effect on the selection process in triathlon (n = 1321). The sample was divided by category and gender. Each category was allocated into four quartiles - based on date of birth according to the selection year. The Krustal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney test were used to analyze the intra-categorical and intra-gender differences. The results showed a better performance trend in those athletes that were born in the first quartile. In contrast, athletes that were born in the latter part of the year showed poorer overall performance and a lower score in the point scale. However, these results were less consistent for females. This work has shown a significant loss of potential triathlon talent due to the influence of RAE in the selection process and competitive structureEste trabajo ha sido financiado por la Secretaría de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación del Ministerio de Economía [DEP2012-32124