We used time series, diet studies and angler surveys to examine the potential for conflict in brackish lagoon fisheries of the southern Baltic Sea in Germany, specifically focusing on interactions among commercial and recreational fisheries as well as fisheries and cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis). For the time period between 2011 and 2015, commercial fisheries were responsible for the largest

The productive waters of the Guajira peninsula (Colombia) support unique marine ecosystems and fisheries with high levels of biodiversity upon which Wayuu indigenous communities rely for subsistence. However, climate change has affected local people’s livelihoods and dependence on fisheries has increased as a result in this area. Socio-ecological knowledge to understand the fisheries and the ecosystems

Physical disturbance of the seafloor induced by bottom trawling is of increasing concern from the viewpoints of ecosystem conservation and sustainable fishery. We developed a method for evaluating the impacts of several kinds of trawl gears on the different seafloor habitats using bathymetry and sediment data and scientific survey data off the Pacific coast of north-eastern Japan. Ten types of habitats

We describe a new model developed for the purpose of projecting rebuilding periods for overfished Pacific salmon stocks as defined by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. The model has relatively low data requirements as it relies on past estimates of abundance to project future abundance, accounting for positive lag-1 autocorrelation if there is evidence of its existence. Replicate applications

Tunas are among the most exploited top predators worldwide, with negative impacts on some of their stocks. Changes in their population abundance can impact marine food-webs and have the potential to alter entire ecosystems. To better understand the impacts of the exploitation of tuna stocks in the most critical habitats, basic knowledge on the diet of these species in each region is required. Here

A fisher’s experience may provide greater efficiency and enhanced catches through time. Compared to new entrants to the fishery, experienced fishers often have developed tactics: the advantage of knowing ‘the best’ fishing grounds, having established efficient fishing practices, and developing relationships and trust within their fishing community. The influence of experience on catch rates, a key

In fisheries, it is quite common to include a measure of fish stock as an argument of fishing production functions. Given that this information is not available in many cases, researchers use stock proxies. We show that catch-per-unit-effort, a common proxy based on the average catch of boats in a given period, introduces strong parametric restrictions when included as an explanatory variable in a

Trap fishing is considered a low impact and fuel-efficient capture technique that is drawing increasing attention. However, due to their low capture efficiency fisheries sustainability may only be attained by improving the profitability of these gears. The present study attempted to provide the necessary background for the establishment of a cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) trap fishery in Thermaikos

Stock assessments based on fitting age-structured population dynamics models using the integrated approach usually require data on the length-/age-structure of fishery removals and age-length data to estimate key population parameters such as growth rates, recruitment, natural mortality rates and selectivity. The errors in the estimates of these population parameters directly impact the ability to

Nearshore areas represent important habitats for many species, at least for part of their life cycle. Therefore, modeling and mapping nearshore habitats is essential for natural resource management and conservation, such as determining potential impacts to marine populations and their habitats from human activities and identifying conservation measures. Although fish survey and habitat data are uncommon

Information about fish distribution and abundance in the upper part of the water column are often fundamental for both research and management. However, this information is extremely hard to obtain using conventional hydroacoustic methods. For this reason, the mobile hydroacoustic upward-looking system (38 kHz split-beam echosounder) in combination with a passive sampling method (gillnets) was tested

Fishery-independent ventless trap surveys are an integral component to assessing American lobster (Homarus americanus) population trends, as they can sample complex, heavily fished habitats where most survey gear has difficulty accessing. U.S. American lobster stocks have been assessed within state waters using a standardized ventless trap survey since 2006. However, confounding survey attributes that

Length-based methods of stock assessment to support scientific fisheries management are desirable in data-limited fisheries where formal stock assessments are commonly constrained. Based on length-frequency (LFQ) data, Electronic length frequency analysis (ELEFAN) is widely used to fit growth curves, but the performance of this method is sensitive to various factors especially the quality of data.

Managers of multi-species fisheries aim to balance harvests of target and non-target species that vary in abundance, productivity, and degree of technical interactions. In this paper, we evaluated management performance of five surplus production stock assessment methods used in such a multi-species context. Production models included single-species and hierarchical multi-species models, as well as

Sympatry is commonly observed in marine species, and always accompanied by high competition. Octopus consists of large amount of species and also widely distributed in the neritic area of the sea. As typical benthic species, octopus tend to live in the similar habitat with less movement during its lifetime. It is important to understand the trophic ecology of sympatric octopod species, which play an

The striped venus clam Chamelea gallina is the target of a large fleet of hydraulic dredgers, which represent an important fishing sector in terms of income and landings in the Mediterranean Sea. Although there is information on the catch rates, impact and discards related to this fishery, the size selection process carried out by the dredge during trawl under commercial conditions is practically unknown

Effective fisheries management requires an understanding of fisher behavior. Though vessel tracking systems are increasingly used to describe the movements and activities of industrial fishing fleets, their use has been limited within the small-scale fisheries employing the vast majority of the world’s capture fishers. Here we combine novel vessel tracking technology with logbook data to conduct a

Fishery-independent trawl survey data were used to estimate biological parameters for Sidestripe shrimp, Pandalopsis dispar, in the Fraser River delta of British Columbia. Sidestripe shrimp is a short-lived protandric hermaphrodite. They first mature as males, then transition into females in their second year, and then mature as females in their third year. Taking advantages of this unique life history

Productivity Sustainability Analysis (PSA) was used to assess the vulnerability of 103 most targeted ornamental fish species of Lake Malawi to fishing for the export trade. The PSA was based on five productivity and four susceptibility attributes that are relevant to the ornamental fishes of Lake Malawi, and for which information was readily available from the scientific literature. The vulnerability

We analyzed the annual variability in total egg production and recruitment of the Patagonian stock of Argentine hake since 1990 and correlated these indices with some environmental variables as temperature and larval density estimated in the spawning area. We used data from research surveys carried out between 2001 and 2018 during the reproductive peak of this stock and information from the assessment

Geolocation models are essential tools to derive detailed information on the movement patterns of demersal fish equipped with data storage tags recording temperature and depth. However, modelled horizontal positions are accompanied by an often unknown error which needs to be assessed to support the appropriate interpretation. We conducted five validation experiments in the southern Baltic Sea comprising

Live transport of red king crab from the fishing grounds to the market is an activity that is increasing and the future sustainability of this practice depends on maintaining optimal animal welfare during transport. The current study evaluated the physiological response of red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) to live air transport, mimicking current commercial practices. Specifically, this study

Incorporating spatial information can improve estimates from stock assessment models when there are differences in population processes (e.g., natural mortality) among areas. Population dynamics of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica vary spatially within the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, and our objective was to better characterize oyster population dynamics by estimating changes in natural mortality

Imaging sonars, such as the Adaptive Resolution Imaging Sonar (ARIS; Sound Metrics Corp.) produce continuous stream of sonar video footage, and they are commonly used for counting and sizing migrating fish in rivers. Although automated methods have been developed for processing imaging sonar data, manual analysis of the data is still common in fish population monitoring projects. In this study, we

It is assumed that maturation in the Barents Sea capelin is length-dependent, and that fish of at least 14 cm will potentially spawn. Current assessment and management models for the stock are based on this assumption of constant maturity at length (MaL). Using data from scientific surveys, this paper examines the validity of the constant MaL assumption, and contrasts it with maturation based on examination

Many catch-and-release angling events involve air exposure and exhaustive exercise that elicit a physiological stress response, and depending on a variety of factors, delayed mortality is a possible outcome. There have been ample studies in this area, however, significant gaps exist in the literature for species that are targeted by more specialized anglers, such as freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens)

Small-scale fisheries underpin the aquatic food supply, and are facing acute challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to examine how small-scale fishing households, including fishers and fish traders, are responding to COVID-19 and associated movement restrictions around Lake Victoria, Kenya. We conducted phone interviews with 88 households in three riparian communities around

Survival is an important population process in fisheries stock assessment models and is typically treated as deterministic. Recently developed state-space assessment models can estimate stochastic deviations in survival, which represent variability in some ambiguous combination of natural mortality (M), fishing mortality (F), and migration. These survival deviations are generally treated as independent

Increasing recruitment per mature adult as density declines is a key factor in being able to sustainably exploit populations and the extent of this increase is closely related to the sustainable exploitation rate of fish stocks. Stock-recruitment estimates typically show surprisingly large increases in egg to recruitment survival as density declines. Because egg to recruit survival rates are often

This paper models the optimal allocation of research resources aimed at understanding the consequences of a marine invasion. The model assumes returns to research are uncertain. Furthermore there are joint returns to research ahead of the invasion frontier and within the already invaded area. Research ahead of the frontier helps define external damages by establishing the baseline ecosystem services

Quantifying the number of recreational fishers is important for many aspects of managing coastal resources. Unfortunately, quantifying recreational boaters in offshore settings has proven difficult due to their distance from shore and a lack of cost-effective methods to monitor small boats (<10 m length). We investigated visitor-use at an offshore marine protected area (MPA) in the southeastern USA

We analysed the long-term changes in the population dynamics and life history of whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) off Southern Brazil, to understand how four decades of heavy fishing (1976–2017) has affected its population dynamics. In the first three decades, size and age structure were eroded with the loss of the larger (> 60 cm total length) and older (>20 yrs. old) individuals. Individual

Reproductive parameters directly influence estimates of stock biomass and therefore affect the determination of catch levels of many federally managed fish species. These parameters can vary over different temporal scales and a better understanding of how and why reproductive traits change will aid in the management of these species. We examined the reproductive parameters of rougheye rockfish, Sebastes

The analysis of fish spillover from marine protected areas (MPA) is often based on data collected after the implementation of protection. In the present study we used a methodology based on the combination of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and landings data before and after the establishment of protection for spillover analysis. We defined areas of similar size to the protected zone in order to compare

Many recreational fisheries do not have mandatory reporting and rely on probability-based survey data to produce estimates of effort and catch to inform management decision making. Reliable data are required for estimates to be accepted by managers and stakeholders. Estimates were determined from off-site Phone-Diary (PD) and on-site Bus-route Access Point (BAP) with supplemented Remote Camera (RC)

The promotion of locally produced food has been a growing marketing trend in recent years. Locally produced food is associated with positive values such as environmental benefits, fresher and safer products as well as contributing to building closer ties between people in local communities. We use a case study were a local fish auction was established in the Stockholm area in Sweden with the aim to

The bigeye scad (Selar crumenophthalmus) supports one of the most productive near-shore fisheries in Hawai'i. Fishing boats frequently work in tandem with spotter planes to efficiently target bigeye scad schools. These spotter planes provide the means for a fishery-independent estimate of abundance based on direct observation, which may prove more sensitive to population trends than traditional estimates

Off the US west coast, fishery development efforts have led to the recent recommendation for authorization of deep-set buoy gear (DSBG) and linked buoy gear (LBG), two commercial gear types for targeting swordfish at depth during the day. Because the new deep-set configurations interact with bigeye thresher sharks (Alopias superciliosus), a large pelagic species that is not typically retained for sale

The eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) stock is at a critically low level and recruitment of the western Baltic cod stock is at the lowest observed level in over 30 years. The EU (European Union) landing obligation was introduced in 2015 for cod and in 2017 for plaice (Pleuronectes platessa). Size selective codend designs have been used in the Baltic cod trawl fishery for 25 years; however, there are

Fisheries contribute to food and nutrition security, livelihoods, and poverty alleviation for billions of people globally. However, human-environmental interactions in fisheries are rarely assessed locally, regionally, and globally at the same time, limiting social-ecological resilience in fisheries management. We evaluated worldwide catches of a keystone forage fish (Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus)

Although the round goby Neogobius melanostomus has become established throughout the Laurentian Great Lakes, a multi-model inference (MMI) approach toward characterizing round goby growth in the Laurentian Great Lakes has yet to applied using otolith-derived data. Further, spatial variation in round goby growth among lakes has yet to be investigated. For each sex, growth of round gobies at three locations

Fishery-independent surveys, such as bottom trawl surveys, provide time-series abundance estimates, which inform many modern stock assessments. Area-swept biomass estimates from trawl surveys assume that fish densities do not differ between trawlable (T) and untrawlable (UT) areas. Bias and imprecision in the biomass estimates can occur when this assumption is not met. Thus, reliable estimates are

Stock assessments are integral to fisheries management, and the demand for stock assessments based on population dynamics models continues to increase. Historically, stock assessments have been based on bespoke methods and software. There is now a trend towards the use of flexible, documented, tested and maintained software packages, because use of such packages increases efficiency and consistency

Bivalves leave behind articulated valves when they die that can be used to estimate natural mortality. However, a common method used to estimate natural mortality in bivalves, known as the box count method, includes several assumptions that may be violated for eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. We developed a Bayesian model alternative to the box count method that included

Verifying the link between somatic and otolith growth is crucial for a number of analyses that provide data on the ecology of early life stages of fish. In the current study, sagittal and lapillar otoliths were extracted from larval northern pike (n = 720) that were reared from eggs in RAS systems at three temperatures (10 °C, 15 °C, and 22 °C) for 28 days. The growth rate (SL at age) of larval northern

Food production is estimated to emit between 20–30 % of global anthropogenic carbon emissions. The need to achieve net zero emissions requires a transition to low carbon, sustainable food sources. Of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for food production, only 4 % are attributed to wild capture fisheries. However, within seafood GHG studies a wide range of estimates can be found across different

The small pelagic fish capelin (Mallotus villosus) is widely distributed in the Arctic, where it plays a central role in the marine food web as prey for numerous fish, birds, and mammals. Sustainable fisheries management advice for capelin that spawn in Greenland is non-existent due in part to a lack of biological information on population structure and spatial dynamics. This study provides a chemical

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) bycatch is a significant driver in the management of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) pelagic trawl fisheries in the North Pacific. Various bycatch reduction devices that permit salmon to escape from the trawl (‘excluders’) have been developed. High variability in escapement rates from the excluders underscores a lack of understanding regarding mechanisms that

With the depletion of many commercial fish stocks and an increasing demand for marine protein for human consumption, cephalopods have become more important as a fishery resource. In EU waters, cephalopod stocks are not routinely assessed and exploitation of these species by large-scale fisheries is largely unregulated. For sustainable exploitation, adequate assessment and scientifically-supported management

Species identification based on morphological characteristics includes species misidentification, leading to estimation bias in stock assessment and posing challenges difficult to be resolved. The spawning eggs of spotted mackerel Scomber australicus and chub mackerel S. japonicus in the western North Pacific are used for stock assessment as an index of spawning biomass and are classified based on

Fisheries stock assessments rely heavily on historical catch information to understand how a stock responds to exploitation and make meaningful forecasts under alternative management and environmental scenarios. However, for many bycatch species historical removals are virtually unknown, as a large portion of the catch was discarded at sea. For example, historical discard of elasmobranch species such

This paper uses a two-parameter logistic function to model the dynamics of length-at-maturation for the Barents Sea capelin over the past 47 years. We estimate the function parameters using a combination of length-age data from scientific surveys, and commercial catch statistics. Using temporal variability in the function parameters, we demonstrate that the time series of stock biomass defines a three-state

Global warming is not uniformly distributed, the climate is expected to change most rapidly in the arctic regions. Large scale changes in the arctic biosphere is therefore of particular concern. Capelin (Mallotus villosus) is a keystone species in the many arctic marine ecosystem including the seas around Iceland in Greenland. Its summer/autumn distribution has shifted over thousands of kilometres

Red swimming crab Monomia haanii is an important export fishery in southern China. M. haanii is mainly sold as lump crabmeat, generating an annual trade of tens of millions of US dollars over the last decade. For such a commercially important crab species, little attention has been paid to the sustainable use of the stocks and there remains much to learn about its biology and ecology. Monthly fishery-dependent

China's distant water fisheries management policy has made significant contributions to the development of distant water fisheries since 1985. Analyzing the evolution of China's distant water fisheries management policy is conducive to solving China's frequent IUU problems and promoting further development of sustainable fisheries. This paper first summarizes how China's distant water fisheries management

The status of elasmobranchs in Southeast Asia has been highlighted as a serious concern, yet there are limited data to assess stocks and develop appropriate management plans. Surveys of elasmobranchs at two fishery ports in Singapore were conducted between 2017 and 2020. These fishery ports receive fresh, whole imports of seafood from the region as well as seafood caught in Singapore waters. Data were

Sustainable fisheries management requires accurate stock assessment and an understanding of how targeted populations vary over space and time and respond to external stressors. Commercial fishery catch rate data (i.e. catch per unit of effort; CPUE) are widely used to assess fishery performance and can provide a measure of stock abundance. However, changes in environmental conditions can influence

Short mackerel, Rastrelliger brachysoma, is one of commercially important marine species in the Gulf of Thailand. The mackerel resource has been faced with overfishing and sharply declined. Here, genetic mixed-stock analysis was performed using eleven microsatellite loci on 1675 short mackerel individuals caught, in 2014, from its four major fishing grounds of Thai waters in the Gulf of Thailand. Short

The European Union (EU) is one of the most important markets for cephalopods in the world. Currently, small-scale fisheries targeting the common octopus in the EU are of considerable social and economic importance, especially in southern European waters where more octopus are consumed as part of the traditional diet. Octopuses in Europe are excluded from quota regulations under the Common Fisheries