Onboard sampling and the rockfish and lingcod commerical passenger fishing vessel industry in Northern and Central California, January through December 1994

The Central California Marine Sport Fish Project has been collecting angler catch data on board Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessels (CPFVs) fishing for rockfish or lingcod since 1987. The program depends on the voluntary cooperation of CPFV owners and operators. This fourth report in a series presents data collected in 1994, refers to historical data from 1987 to 1993, and documents trends in species composition, angler effort, catch per unit effort (CPUE), and, for selected species, mean length and length frequency. Angler catches on board central and northern California CPFVs were sampled from 14 ports, ranging from Crescent City in the north to Port San Luis (Avila Beach) in the south. Technicians observed a total of 2053 anglers fishing on 237 CPFV trips. These observed anglers caught 24,731 fish of which samplers determined 22,615 were kept. Over 63% of these fish were caught at Monterey or Morro Bay area ports. Only 18 of the 53 species each comprised at least one percent of the catch. The top ten species in order of abundance were blue, yellowtail, rosy, chilipepper, canary, and black rockfishes, lingcod, and widow, starry and greenspotted rockfishes. Blue and yellowtail rockfishes together comprised approximately 44% of the observed catch. Overall, rockfishes represented 32 species or 60% of the 53 identified species. In general, 1994 data showed continued evidence of sustainability of the CPFV rockfish fishery with a few exceptions for some species in each port area sampled. We identified areas of concern for three nearshore species (black, blue, and brown rockfishes), three offshore species (bocaccio, chilipepper, and widow rockfish), and two wide-depth range species (canary and yelloweye rockfishes). Declining trends in CPAH in at least one port area were identified for each of these species except black and blue rockfishes, some of which may be related to natural variability in year class strength or stock movement. Mean length decreased in at least one port area for black, blue, brown, and canary rockfishes and chilipepper, although for black rockfish and chilipepper this was attributed to increased recruitment of juveniles. Positive trends identified included increased CPAH for black rockfish in the San Francisco and Monterey areas, for canary rockfish in the San Francisco area, and for brown rockfish in the Morro Bay area. Total northern and central California CPFV catch estimates, based on logbook data and adjusted by sampling data and compliance rates, indicated that port area-specific decreases have occurred since 1988 for yellowtail rockfish and lingcod (San Francisco), chilipepper (Monterey), and blue rockfish (Monterey and Morro Bay). The competing influences of the nearshore commercial hook-and-line fishery were apparent when comparing relative species composition to that of the CPFV fishery. Declines in CPAH in the CPFV fishery for some shallow water species, such as brown rockfish in the Bodega Bay area, may be related to increased commercial fishing effort. (98pp.

Onboard sampling of the rockfish and lingcod commerical passenger fishing vessel industry in northern and central California, January through December 1995

The Central California Marine Sport Fish Project has been collecting angler catch data on board Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessels (CPFVs) fishing for rockfish or lingcod since 1987. The program depends on the voluntary cooperation of CPFV owners and operators. This fifth report in a series presents data collected in 1995, refers to historical data from 1987 to 1994, and documents trends in species composition, angler effort, catch per unit effort (CPUE), and, for selected species, mean length, and length frequency. Angler catches on board central and northern California CPFVs were sampled from 12 ports, ranging from Fort Bragg in the north to Port San Luis (Avila Beach) in the south. Technicians observed a total of 1829 anglers fishing on 218 CPFV trips. These observed anglers caught 26,197 fish of which samplers determined 22,888 were kept. Over 62% of these fish were caught at Monterey or Morro Bay area ports. Only 18 of 55 species comprised at least one percent of the catch. The top ten species in order of abundance were yellowtail, blue, olive, and rosy rockfishes, lingcod, and canary, widow, gopher, starry, and vermilion rockfishes. Blue and yellowtail rockfishes together comprised approximately 47% of the observed catch. Overall, rockfishes represented 35 species or 64% of the 55 identified species. By number, rockfishes comprised 91.9 % of the observed catch. All CPUE and length data collected since 1987 were partitioned into six location groups for each port area, based on a combination of location, bottom depth, and distance from the nearest port. This allowed examination of indicator trends without potential biases due to non-random trip selection or ontogenetic changes in depth distribution for certain rockfishes. Results indicate that the two primary species in the northern and central California CPFV fishery, blue and yellowtail rockfishes (accounting for 47% of all observed fish in 1995), are in reasonably good condition with no steady declines in either average catch per angler hour or mean length during the last 8 years. The primary species of concern are mainly shallow-water species impacted by a recently expanded commercial hook-and-line fishery or deep-water species (chilipepper and bocaccio) which are fished intensively by the commercial industry and have experienced recent statewide stock declines. Estimated total rockfish catch, adjusted by logbook compliance rates and on board sampling data, has declined significantly in all port areas since 1992. This is largely attributable to increased recreational fishing effort for salmon as well as coast-wide stock declines in several important commercially fished species. (112pp.

FINANCIAL RISK IN COTTON PRODUCTION

Risk analysis continues to emphasize price and yield variability as the principal components of the decision-maker's risk environment. This research demonstrates the relative importance of financial risk for a representative cotton farm in Arizona. For highly leveraged operations, financial risk may account for 70 percent of the total risk faced by the producer. Implications for future risk analysis are discussed in light of these findings.Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Onboard sampling of the rockfish and lingcod commerical passenger fishing vessel industry in northern and central California, 1992

In 1992 fishery technicians sampled 230 commercial passenger fishing vessel (CPFV) trips targeting rockfish and lingcod from the port areas of Fort Bragg, Bodega Bay, San Francisco, Monterey, and Morro Bay. The skippers of 44 vessels, and 2,190 anglers, cooperated in the study. Species composition by port area and month, catch-per-unit-effort, mean length, and length frequency of lingcod and the 18 most frequently observed rockfish species are presented, as well as fishing effort relative to time, depth, and distance from port. Total catch estimates based on unadjusted and adjusted logbook records are summarized. Average catch of kept fish per angler day was 12.6 and average catch of kept fish per angler hour was 4.0. A continuing trend of an increasing frequency of trips to deep (> 40 fm) locations was observed in the Bodega Bay, San Francisco, and Monterey areas. Bodega Bay and San Francisco showed the highest frequency of trips to distant locations. Sixty species comprised of 29,731 fish were observed caught during the study. Rockfish comprised 93.5% by number of the total observed catch. The five most frequently observed species were blue, yellowtail, widow and rosy rockfishes, and bocaccio, with lingcod ranking eighth. CPFV angler success, as determined by catch per angler hour, generally increased in all ports in 1992 compared to previous 1988-91 data (Reilly et al. 1993). However, port-specific areas of major concern were identified for chilipepper, lingcod, and black rockfish, and to a lesser extent brown, canary, vermilion, yelloweye, widow and greenspotted rockfishes. These areas of concern included steadily declining catch rate, steadily declining mean length, and/or a high percentage of sexually immature fish in the sampled catch. Recent sampling of the commercial hook-and-line fishery in northern and central California indicates that most rockfishes taken by CPFV anglers are also harvested commercially. (105pp.

The graduate entry generation: a qualitative study exploring the factors influencing the career expectations and aspirations of a graduating cohort of graduate entry dental students in one London institution

Background: Dentistry in the UK has a number of new graduate-entry programmes. The aim of the study was to explore the motivation, career expectations and experiences of final year students who chose to pursue a dental career through the graduate entry programme route in one institution; and to explore if, and how, their intended career expectations and aspirations were informed by this choice. Method: In-depth interviews of 14 graduate entry students in their final year of study. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using framework analysis. Results: There were three categories of factors influencing students' choice to study dentistry through graduate entry: 'push', 'pull' and 'mediating'. Mediating factors related to students' personal concerns and circumstances, whereas push and pull factors related to features of their previous and future careers and wider social factors. Routes to Graduate Entry study comprised: 'early career changers', 'established career changers' and those pursuing 'routes to specialisation'. These routes also influenced the students' practice of dentistry, as students integrated skills in their dental studies, and encountered new challenges. Factors which students believed would influence their future careers included: vocational training; opportunities for specialisation or developing special interests and policy-related issues, together with wider professional and social concerns. The graduate entry programme was considered 'hard work' but a quick route to a professional career which had much to offer. Students' felt more could have been made of their pre-dental studies and/or experience during the programme. Factors perceived as influencing students' future contribution to dentistry included personal and social influences. Overall there was strong support for the values of the NHS and 'giving back' to the system in their future career. Conclusion: Graduate entry students appear to be motivated to enter dentistry by a range of factors which suit their preferences and circumstances. They generally embrace the programme enthusiastically and seek to serve within healthcare, largely in the public sector. These students, who carry wider responsibilities, bring knowledge, skills and experience to dentistry which could be harnessed further during the programme. The findings suggest that graduate entry students, facilitated by varied career options, will contribute to an engaged workforce