Evolution of fish and shellfish supplies originating from wild fisheries in Thailand between 1995 and 2015

Fisheries resources play a crucial role in economic development, food security, and healthy nutrition for humans. Consequently, fisheries are of paramount importance for several Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDGs 1 and 8, which are related to poverty and economic growth, as well as SDGs 2 and 3, which are about zero hunger and good health. On the other hand, fisheries can also negatively influence the ecosystem (SDG 14, life below water). Thailand is one of the world’s most significant producers and exporters of fisheries products. This present work describes the evolution of wild fisheries production in Thailand for over twenty years and discusses its impact on fish and shellfish supplies. The present overview uses mainly the official statistical catch data of Thailand. From 1995 to 2015, Thailand’s marine fisheries production gradually decreased from approximately 2.8 million tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes per year. Concerning taxonomic composition of the catches, no dramatic shifts were recorded during the 20-year period. The main observation seems that for less abundant taxa, such as Chirocentridae, Sillaginidae, Ariidae, Sharks, and Psettodidae, their part in the catch was halved between 1995 and 2015. On the other hand, inland capture fisheries remained constant at 0.2 million tonnes per year. The annual value of wild fisheries production was, on average US$1.7 billion. Notably, trawl fishing systematically reduced during these two decennia, resulting in a fishing efficiency of approximately 140 tonnes of demersal fish per trawl unit per year in 2015. During 2008–2015, the number of registered gill net fishing boats drastically increased from 2,300 to 6,600, and this has led to a dramatic decline in fishing efficiency to about 10% in 2014–2015. More in general, Thailand’s continuous decline in marine capture production was linked to increased fuel prices, tightening restrictions by neighbouring countries for access into their exclusive economic zone, and the depletion of resources due to overfishing and illegal fishing. Against rising concerns about the sustainability of intensive fishing practices in recent years, Thailand is ramping up efforts to reduce the exploitation of fishery resources to levels that would achieve maximum sustainable yields. In particular, the intensity of fishing based on gill nets needs to be addressed in the future. Hence, Thailand’s fisheries production faces the pressure of realising the importance of sustainable fisheries resources management and its impact on marine life and biodiversity, in addition to its role as a significant food source for a healthy population

Seasonality and determinants of child growth velocity and growth deficit in rural southwest Ethiopia

Background: Ethiopia faces cyclic food insecurity that alternates between pre- and post-harvest seasons. Whether seasonal variation in access to food is associated with child growth has not been assessed empirically. Understanding seasonality of child growth velocity and growth deficit helps to improve efforts to track population interventions against malnutrition. The aim of this study was assess child growth velocity, growth deficit, and their determinants in rural southwest Ethiopia. Method: Data were obtained from four rounds of a longitudinal household survey conducted in ten districts in Oromiya Region and Southern Nations, Nationality and Peoples Region of Ethiopia, in which 1200 households were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling. Households with a child under 5 years were included in the present analyses (round 1 n = 579, round 2 n = 674, round 3 n = 674 and round 4 n = 680). The hierarchical nature of the data was taken into account during the statistical analyses by fitting a linear mixed effects model. A restricted maximum likelihood estimation method was employed in the analyses. Result: Compared to the post-harvest season, a higher length and weight velocity were observed in pre-harvest season with an average difference of 6.4 cm/year and 0.6 kg/year compared to the post-harvest season. The mean height of children in post-harvest seasons was 5.7 cm below the WHO median reference height. The mean height of children increased an additional 3.3 cm [95% CI (2.94, 3.73)] per year in pre-harvest season compared to the post-harvest season. Similarly, the mean weight of children increased 1.0 kg [95% CI (0.91, 1.11)] per year more in the pre-harvest season compared to the post-harvest season. Children who had a low dietary diversity and were born during the lean season in both seasons had a higher linear growth deficit. Being member of a highly food insecure household was negatively associated with higher weight gain. Having experienced no illness during the previous 2 weeks was positively associated with linear growth and weight gain. Conclusion: Child growth velocities and child growth deficits were higher in the pre-harvest season and post-harvest season respectively. Low dietary diversity and being part of a highly food insecure household were significantly risk factors for decreased linear growth and weight gain respectively

Tidal Disruptions of Stars by Black Hole Remnants in Dense Star Clusters

In a dense stellar environment, such as the core of a globular cluster (GC), dynamical interactions with black holes (BHs) are expected to lead to a variety of astrophysical transients. Here we explore tidal disruption events (TDEs) of stars by stellar-mass BHs through collisions and close encounters. Using state-of-the-art $N$-body simulations, we show that these TDEs occur at significant rates throughout the evolution of typical GCs and we study how their relative rates relate to cluster parameters such mass and size. By incorporating a realistic cosmological model of GC formation, we predict a BH - main-sequence-star TDE rate of approximately $3\,\rm{Gpc}^{-3}\,\rm{yr}^{-1}$ in the local universe ($z<0.1$) and a cosmological rate that peaks at roughly $25\,\rm{Gpc}^{-3}\,\rm{yr}^{-1}$ for redshift 3. Furthermore, we show that the ejected mass associated with these TDEs could produce optical transients of luminosity $\sim 10^{41} - 10^{44}\rm\,erg\,s^{-1}$ with timescales of about a day to a month. These should be readily detectable by optical transient surveys such as the Zwicky Transient Facility. Finally, we comment briefly on BH - giant encounters and discuss how these events may contribute to the formation of BH - white-dwarf binaries.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Comments welcom