Einfluss des Tag-Nacht-Verhaltens von Fischen auf das Ergebnis hydroakustischer Messungen

Echo integration is an established method for stock estimation. However, this method is not free of errors like every other measuring method. Especially the variation between day and night behaviour of fish may lead to large measuring errors. A new method is represented detecting such systematic errors, exemplified by investigations during the international hydroacoustic survey on the spring spawning herring in the Norwegian Sea. For this method all measured sA-values are sorted by starting time of the measuring unit distance. In order to reduce random influences a moving average over five time intervals is computed. When displaying these values in a diagram makes it is very easy to detect systematic errors based on the differences in day-night behaviour. For both species, herring and blue whiting, stock estimations are calculated based on the measured sA-values and the results of the analysed trawl catches. The influence of the differnt day and night behaviour of herring on the results of its biomass estimation is rather low. For blue whiting the measured values were about three time higher during day time than during night time. The result of this investigation should initiate a change of the evaluation procedure for stock estimation based on hydroacoustic measurements

Gewinnmaximierung der Fischerei schützt den Dorsch der westlichen Ostsee vor Überfischung – Nur ein theoretischer Ansatz ?

Profit maximization in fishery protects cod of western Baltic Sea against overfishing – Only a theoretical approach? The frame for the management of fish stocks politically given contains – apart from ecological and social goals – also an economic goal, which is considered here in particular. From the point of view of fishery enterprises the main management goal for the exploitation of fish stocks is the maximization of profit. There are models for the yield optimization since long time. They are mainly used so far to optimize fishing mortality. Here the Beverton and Holt yield model was used. Apart from the optimization of fishing effort the model was used to optimize age of first capture and thus mesh opening. Starting point of the considerations is a given age group of a fish stock. If this age group is completely fished the yield obtained from this age group is maximized. The investigations show that the term overfishing is not exclusively linked as frequently assumed with a too large fishing mortality, but likewise with a mismatch of the mesh opening. For the calculated example Baltic cod data are used. At present the cod is caught far from reaching its mass optimum. Therefore, the profit of fishery enterprises can in the long term be considerably increased by the optimization of the mesh opening. During the conversion from the state of the art to fishing with optimised mesh sizes, however, a loss of profit has to be expected. The title of the paper sounds provocative. However, the stock of the Baltic Sea cod is better protected by a long-term maximum-profit oriented exploitation than by the precautionary approach applied now

Ist die Steigerung des dauerhaften Fischereiertrages durch Maschengrößenoptimierung möglich?

The management of a fish aimed at maximising the fishing yield of the managed fish stock. There are models for the yield optimisation since long time. They are used so far mainly to optimise the fishing mortality. Starting point of this paper is a number of fish of an age group of a fish stock. This age group is accompanied over its lifetime. A result of the investigations is that the term growth over-fishing is linked not as frequently assumed exclusive with a too large fishing mortality, but likewise with a mismatch of the mesh opening. The investigations show that the fishing yield increases with the fishing effort on condition that fishing is carried out with an optimised mesh opening. For the calculated example Baltic cod data are used. At present the cod is caught far before reaching the yield optimum. Now the fish is substantially too small when it is caught and did not reach its optimal mass at this time. Therefore the sustainable fishing yield could be increased considerably by the optimasation of the mesh opening. During the conversion from the state of the art to fishing with optimised mesh sizes, however, a loss of profit has to be expected. A further advantage of the mesh enlargement is an increase of the spawning stock size accompanying with it, since the fish is caught at a later age. By the use of substantially larger mesh openings the cod has the opportunity to spawn several times and generate descendants and this will also lead to an increased yield in future. In addition better prices could be obtained at the market by catching larger cod

Begrenzung des Fischereiaufwandes oder Erhöhung der Mindestmaschenöffnung – Ein Vergleich der Alternativen bei der Dorschfischerei in der Ostsee

The basis for a long-term profitable fishery is a precautionary and environment-compatible use of fish stocks. The fishery management presently models the exploitation through the parameters of fishing mortality and the age at first capture. These two parameters are translated into the technical measures of fishing effort and mesh openings and quotas, which are then used in practice for controlling the fishery. Stock protection can be achieved by reducing the fishing effort, by assigning smaller quotas, by reducing the number of days at sea, or by increasing the mesh opening. The respective protection measures have different effects on the development of the stocks but also on the revenue obtained by the fishery. These alternatives have been examined taking as an example the cod stock in the western Baltic. The optimization goal was the maximization of profit observing at the same time the prerequisites for stock protection according to the precaution approach. For these calculations the same models and data have been used as are beeing used in the stock management of the ACFM of ICES. The response of altered technical measures to the recruitment of cod stock was considered, and a proposal to overcome overfishing of cod in the western Baltic Sea was derived

Wassertiefenabhängige Auftriebsschwerpunktregelung für seitlich versetzt geschleppte Schwingerträger

The noise emission of the vessel, especially in shallow waters, causes a fright reaction of the fishes near the vessel. To reduce the uncertainty of hydroacoustic measurements connected with that fact, a side shifted towed body is used for the hydroacoustic stock estimation in the Baltic sea. If the towed body was running close to the surface it was quite sensitive to waves. To make the running properties of the side shifted towed body more robust a control of the center of buoyancy depending on the diving depth was introduced. The goal was set to control the towed body without additional energy supply. First results are shown

Reference-growth rate – a simple and handy parameter summarizing the influence of environmental conditions

Abstract Environmental changes may have an impact on life conditions of the fish, e.g. food supply for the fish. The prevailing environmental conditions apply evenly to all age groups of one stock. Small fish have high growth rates, whereas large fish grow with low rates. But, it can be shown on the basis of the von Bertalanffy-growth model that it is sufficient to know only the growth rate of one single age group to compute the growth rates of all other age groups. The growth rate of a reference fish GRF (e.g. a fish with a body mass of 1 kg) was introduced as a reference growth describing the current food condition of all age groups of the stock. As an example a time series of the reference-growth rate of the northern cod stock (NAFO, 3K) was computed for the time span 1979 to 1999. For the northern cod stock it can be observed that environmental conditions caused growth rates below the long-term mean for seven years in a row. After a prolonged hunger period the fish stock collapsed in 1992 also by the impact of fisheries - and this was probably not a coincidence. Now, with the reference-growth rate GRF a simple and handy parameter was found to summarize the influence of the environmental conditions on growth and other derived models and therefore makes it easier to compute the influence of environmental changes within stock assessment. Zusammenfassung Veränderungen der Umwelt können Auswirkungen auf die Lebensbedingungen der Fische haben, z. B. auf das Nahrungsangebot der Fische. Die vorherrschenden Umgebungsbedingungen wirken gleichmäßig auf alle Altersgruppen eines Bestandes, wobei typischer Weise kleineFische hohe Wachstumsraten haben, während die großen Fische mit niedrigen Raten wachsen. Auf der Grundlage des von Bertalanffy-Wachstumsmodells kann gezeigt werden, dass es ausreicht, nur die Wachstumsrate von einer einzigen Altersgruppe zu kennen, um die Wachstumsraten von allen anderen Altersgruppen berechnen zu können. Die Wachstumsrate eines Referenz-Fisches (z.B. eines Fisches mit einer Körpermasse von 1 kg) wurde als Referenz-Wachstum GRF eingeführt, die den aktuellen Zustand des Nahrungsangebots füralle Altersgruppen des Bestandes beschreibt. Als Beispiel wurde einer Zeitreihe der Referenz-Wachstumsraten des nördlichen Kabeljaubestandes (NAFO, 3K) für die Zeitsraum 1979 bis 1999 berechnet. Für diesen Kabeljaubestand war zu beobachten, dass Umgebungsbedingungen für sieben Jahre in Folge Wachstumsraten unter dem langjährigen Mittelwert verursachten. Nach einer längeren Hungerperiode kollabierte dieser Fischbestand im Jahr 1992 auch durch den Einfluß der Fischerei - und dies war sicher kein Zufall. Jetzt, mit der Referenz-Wachstumsrate GRF, ist ein einfacher und handlicher Parameter gefunden, der es gestattet den Einfluss der Umweltbedingungen auf die Wachstumsbedingungen und andere davon abgeleitete Modelle zusammenzufassen. Dies macht es einfach, den Einfluss von Umweltveränderungen innerhalb der Bestandsabschätzungen zu berechnen

Probleme bei hydroakustischen Untersuchungen von pelagischen Fischarten in den Flachwassergebieten der westlichen Ostsee durch das Tag-Nacht-Verhalten der Fische

Bei den hydroakustischen Untersuchungen der in der westlichen Ostsee pelagisch lebenden Fischarten, Hering und Sprott, traten in der Vergangenheit große Unterschiede zwischen den Tag- und Nachtmeßwerten auf. Während der 327. Reise des FFK "Solea" wurden in einem Teil der Reise Untersuchungen durchgeführt, die diesen Sachverhalt näher beleuchten. Es wurde gefunden daß, die Unterschiede in den Integratorwerten, speziell in diesem Gebiet, im wesentlichen durch die vertikale Migration der Fische im Tagesverlauf hervorgerufen werden. Während des Tages halten sie sich in der Nähe des Bodens auf und sind damit technisch bedingt zu einem großen Teil einer hydroakustischen Erfassung nicht zugänglich, wogegen die Nachtmessungcn reproduzierbare Werte ergeben. Aus diesem Grund sind die hydroakustischen Aufnahmen in der westlichen Ostsee wegen der größeren zu erwartenden Meßgenauigkeit nachts durchzuführen

Ertrags- und Einnahmeverluste bei Dorsch, Hering und Sprotte durch Unterfischung von Dorsch in der östlichen Ostsee.

Kurzfassung: Aus dem aktuellen WGBFAS-Bericht des ICES geht hervor, dass Nahrungsmangel in der östlichen Ostsee Kümmerwachstum und damit einen Verlust an Produktivität bei Dorsch verursacht. Dieser Zustand, zunächst unbemerkt, verschlimmert sich seit etwa 30 Jahren. Hungernde Bestände müssen unbedingt vermieden werden, denn, nur der über den Grundbedarf hinausgehende Anteil der assimilierten Nahrung, wird für das Wachstum eingesetzt. Eine Reduktion der Bestandsgröße ist erforderlich! Der Internationale Rat für Meeresforschung (ICES) hat jedoch die Schließung der Fischerei auf Dorsch empfohlen. Betrachten wir die Fischerei durch die Brille der Aquakultur, stellen wir fest, dass diese Empfehlung kritisch hinterfragt werden muss. Nutzt man den „gemästeten“ Dorschbestand nicht ausreichend, werden mögliche Erträge ebenfalls nicht realisiert. Zusätzlich zu diesem Verlust verliert man das zur Mast eingesetzte Futter. Denn, als Alternative zur Dorschmast wären Erträge aus der Fischerei auf Hering und Sprotten möglich. Im Gegensatz dazu verursacht die Überfischung des Dorschbestandes zwar Ertragseinbußen, eröffnet aber gleichzeitig erweiterte Fangmöglichkeiten auf die Futterfischbestände. Die Überarbeitung der verwendeten Bestandsmodelle und die Hinwendung vom Einartenansatz über den Ökosystemansatz, hin zu Ansätzen, die Ökonomie und Ökologie vereinen, sind notwendig. Vergleicht man die Futterkosten mit den späteren Erlösen wird klar, dass bei der Mast von Dorsch über einer Körpermasse von etwa 1 kg mehr Geld in der alternativen Futterfisch-Fischerei verloren wird, als bei der Fischerei auf Dorsch gewonnen wird. Ein reflexartig geforderter Bestandsschutz verursachte in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten geringe Wachstumsraten bei Dorsch durch Unterfischung in der östlichen Ostsee und damit einen Rückgang der Produktivität auch bei anderen Arten. Man kann keine ertragreiche Fischerei auf Dorsch, Hering und Sprotten erwarten, wenn man einen hungernden Dorschbestand duldet. Um nun aber größere Dorsche fangen zu können, muss die Zahl der Rekruten ausreichend gering sein. Wir wissen es aus unserem Kleingarten. Wenn wir die Radieschenreihen nicht ausdünnen, können wir nur kleine Radieschen ernten. Das Gleiche gilt für den Kabeljau in der Ostsee. Wenn wir die Zahl der Rekruten nicht frühzeitig reduzieren, werden wir immer kleinen Kabeljau zu unattraktiven Preisen fangen. You can find the English version of the manuscript here: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3419758 Abstract: The latest ICES WGBFAS report shows that food shortages in the eastern Baltic Sea are causing poor growth and thus a loss of cod productivity. This situation, initially unnoticed, has been worsening for about 30 years. It is essential to avoid starving stocks, because only the part of assimilated food that exceeds basic needs is used for growth. A reduction of the stock size is necessary! However, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has recommended the closure of the cod fishery. If we look at fishing through the eyes of aquaculture, we see that this recommendation must be questioned critically. If the "fattened" cod stock is not used sufficiently, potential yields will not be realised either. In addition to this loss, the feed used for fattening is also lost. Because, as an alternative to cod fattening, yields from fishing for herring and sprat would be possible. In contrast, overfishing of the cod stock may result in a loss of yield, but at the same time it opens up greater fishing opportunities for forage fish stocks. A revision of the stock models used and a shift from the one-species approach via the ecosystem approach to approaches that combine economy and ecology are necessary. If one compares the feed costs with the later revenues, it becomes clear that when fattening cod beyond a body mass of about 1 kg more money is lost in the alternative forage-fish fishery than is gained when fishing for cod. A reflex-like demand for stock protection has caused low growth rates for cod in recent decades due to underfishing in the eastern Baltic Sea and thus a decline in productivity for other species as well. You cannot expect high-yield fishing for cod, herring and sprat if you tolerate a starving cod population. In order to catch larger cod, however, the number of recruits must be sufficiently low. We know this from our allotment garden. If we don't thin out the rows of radishes, we can only harvest small radishes. The same applies to cod in the Baltic Sea. If we do not reduce the number of recruits beforehand, we will always catch small cod at unattractive prices

Wer fischt was? – Gemischte Bodenfischereien und ihre Auswirkungen auf die wichtigsten Nutzfischbestände in der Nordsee

Cod, haddock, whiting, saithe, plaice, sole and Norway lobster are 7 main target species of the demersal mixed fisheries in the North Sea, Skagerrak and Eastern Channel. Gadoids and Norway lobsters are mainly taken in the nor-thern North Sea by towed gears except beam trawls while the flatfish fisheries are conducted in the southern North Sea mainly using beam trawls. Recently, the central North Sea appears less fished by demersal gears. Towed nets including seines and beam trawls equipped with meshes of more than 100 mm resp. more than 80 mm were identified as the main gears effecting the depleted cod and reduced plaice stocks. The saithe sector, using towed nets with meshes of more than110 mm, longlines, gill nets and others, appears to affect the 7 species to a lesser extend. These results support the interim effort limitations by gear types, vessel and month as enforced by the European Commission since 2003. TAC regulations alone are considered inefficient to sustainably harvest stocks by mixed fisheries. A fleet-effort management method is developed estimating the fleets’ effects based on the sum of partial exploitation rates of the species in mixed fisheries weighted by the ratio of the precautionary reference Bpa and the actual SSB size as ecological quality objective. Applying such fleet effort management could result in increased catch possibilities of some stocks by fleets selecting mainly few and non-overexploited stocks while respecting precautionary management constraints in minimum SSB or maximum exploitation rates at the same time