Integrated fisheries assessment and possible causes for the collapse of anchovy kilka in the Caspian Sea

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgi M. Daskalov ◽  
Elchin V. Mamedov

Abstract Daskalov, G. M., and Mamedov, E. V. 2007. Integrated fisheries assessment and possible causes for the collapse of anchovy kilka in the Caspian Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 503–511. Anchovy kilka (Clupeonella engrauliformis) is the most abundant species of fish in the Caspian Sea. An integrated catch-at-age analysis based on commercial catch data and relative abundance indices from research surveys over the period 1991–2004 indicated two main periods. First, a period of high catches, from 1991 to 2000, sustained by relatively good recruitment and high spawning-stock biomass. At the end of this period, catches peaked at up to 271 400 t, fishing mortality reached 1.8 y−1 in 1999, and overfishing seems to have taken place. Over the next period, 2001–2004, the stock virtually collapsed, recruitment failing in 2001 and remaining very low thereafter. In 2005, total catches dropped to a historical minimum of 54 300 t. The most likely primary cause of the stock collapse is the invasion and spread of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in the Caspian Sea. The dramatic recruitment failure from 2001 to 2004 is primarily attributed to competition/predation by this ctenophore, although other factors, including overfishing, likely contributed.

2009 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Jardim ◽  
Santiago Cerviño ◽  
Manuela Azevedo

Abstract Jardim, E., Cerviño, S., and Azevedo, M. 2010. Evaluating management strategies to implement the recovery plan for Iberian hake (Merluccius merluccius); the impact of censored catch information. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 258–269. Iberian hake assessment revealed an increase in fishing mortality (F) despite enforcement of a recovery plan. Recent landings exceeded the total allowable catch and discarding rates were high. Alternative management strategies based on F control were evaluated with respect to the probability of recovering spawning-stock biomass (SSB), expected profits, and robustness to uncertainty on catch information and stock dynamics. Results showed that the use of censored catch data, i.e. excluding the Gulf of Cádiz or discards, may lead to inappropriate conclusions. Reducing fishing mortality was necessary for SSB to recover. An Fmax strategy with discard reduction showed the highest probability of rebuilding SSB and led the fishery to sustainable exploitation, with an expected %SPR of 30–40% in 2025, mean individual weight in the landings of 450 g in 2015, and yield increasing by >20%. Because of uncertainty in the estimates of maximum sustainable yield, management strategies based on FMSY were least robust, but all strategies were robust to alternative stock–recruit models.


2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel De Lara ◽  
Luc Doyen ◽  
Thérèse Guilbaud ◽  
Marie-Joëlle Rochet

Abstract De Lara, M., Doyen, L., Guilbaud, Th., and Rochet, M-J. 2007. Is a management framework based on spawning-stock biomass indicators sustainable? A viability approach. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 761–767: 000–000. Fisheries management agencies have to drive resources on sustainable paths, i.e. within defined boundaries for an indefinite time. The viable-control approach is proposed as a relevant method to deal with sustainability. We analyse the ICES precautionary approach (PA) by means of the notion of viability domain, and provide a mathematical test for sustainability. It is found that the PA based on spawning-stock biomass (SSB) and fishing mortality (F) indicators is sustainable only when recruits make a significant contribution to SSB. In this case, advice based upon SSB, with an appropriate reference point, is sufficient to ensure sustainability. In all other cases, SSB is not a sufficient metric of stock productivity and must be complemented with other management indicators to ensure sustainability. The approach is illustrated with numerical applications to the northern hake and Bay of Biscay anchovy.


2006 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle W. Shertzer ◽  
Michael H. Prager

Abstract Shertzer, K. W., and Prager, M. H. 2007. Delay in fishery management: diminished yield, longer rebuilding, and increased probability of stock collapse. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 149–159. When a stock is depleted, catch reductions are in order, but typically they are implemented only after considerable delay. Delay occurs because fishery management is political, and stricter management, which involves short-term economic loss, is unpopular. Informed of stock decline, managers often hesitate, perhaps pondering the uncertainty of scientific advice, perhaps hoping that a good year class will render action moot. However, management delay itself can have significant costs, when it exacerbates stock decline. To examine the biological consequences of delay, we simulated a spectrum of fisheries under various degrees of delay in management. Increased delay required larger catch reductions, for more years, to recover benchmark stock status (here, spawning-stock biomass at maximum sustainable yield). Management delay caused stock collapse most often under two conditions: (1) when the stock–recruitment relationship was depensatory, or (2) when catchability, unknown to the assessment, was density-dependent and fishing took juveniles. In contrast, prompt management resulted in quicker recoveries and higher cumulative yields from simulated fisheries. Benefits to stock biomass and fishery yield can be high from implementing management promptly.


2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-126
Author(s):  
Zahra Khoshnood ◽  
Reza Khoshnood ◽  
Mehdi Ghobeitihasab

ABSTRACT Human interventions on the Earth’s natural systems are evident even in remote regions of the Antarctic and rain forests deep within the Amazon. In addition to human-induced climate change and habitat destruction, an emerging anthropogenic threat to biodiversity is the drastic species re-distribution (the movement of species from one place to another due to human intervention) at a global scale. This creates fertile conditions for biological invasions which in turn cause substantial economic and ecological losses. These human-mediated invasions, often referred to as “biological pollution”, are a worldwide problem that is increasing in frequency and magnitude, causing significant damage to the environment, economy and human health. Bioinvasions have strong impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and stability. They are ranked as the second most important threat to biodiversity (after habitat destruction) by the World Conservation Union. The Ctenophore, Mnemiopsis leidyi, is one of the invasive species that naturally lives in the Atlantic coastal waters of North America and South America, but discovered in Azov, Black, Caspian, North, Baltic and Mediterranean (north-eastern part) seas in early 1980s. It seems that the main factor of its redistribution was the ballast waters of ships. As an alien species, Mnemiopsis leidyi caused many alterations in the Caspian Sea ecosystems. The fact that it feeds on the eggs of native fish Clopeonella spp., has resulted in a significant decline of its population; Clopeonella spp. were the main source of industrial fishing in the Caspian Sea and also the main source of food for precious fish species, the sturgeons, and therefore, their decline has caused a huge economical loss for the area's inhabitants and a significant decline of sturgeon populations. This species has caused massive ecosystem changes and substantial economic losses in the late 1980s-1990s, and it has been recognized as a problem of main ecological concern for the sustainable development of the region, together with the high level of anthropogenic pressures on the Caspian Sea ecosystems. Some special characteristics of this species, such as adaptation to a wide range of salinity and temperature, high capability of reproduction, hermaphroditism and dissogeny, have led to huge increases of its mass, especially in southern regions of the Caspian Sea, the coastal waters of Iran. In addition, it has become clear that this species does not have any natural predators in the Caspian Sea, and also that it can feed on any organisms smaller than itself in size. Owing to these facts, it is a huge ecological threat for the Caspian Sea ecosystems. The aim of the present paper is to review the biological and ecological impacts of this invasive species on the Caspian Sea ecosystems.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1344-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J Hall ◽  
Jeremy S Collie ◽  
Daniel E Duplisea ◽  
Simon Jennings ◽  
Mark Bravington ◽  
...  

Quantitative ecosystem indicators are needed to fulfill the mandate for ecosystem-based fisheries management. A variety of community metrics could potentially be used, but before reference levels for such indices can be established the sensitivity of candidate indices to fishing and other disturbances must be determined. One approach for obtaining such information is to test candidate indicators with models that mimic real ecosystems and can be manipulated experimentally. Here we construct a size-based multispecies model of a community of fish species that interact by predation. The model was parameterized for 21 fish species to obtain a predation-regulated community. Following an analysis of the sensitivity of the model to parameter uncertainty, we tested the sensitivity of community-level indicators to increasing levels of fishing mortality (F). Abundance and biomass spectra were sensitive to fishing mortality, with the slope decreasing with increasing F. Species diversity size spectra were also very sensitive to F, with diversity in the largest size classes declining rapidly. In contrast, k-dominance curves were less sensitive to fishing pressure. Importantly, however, although most community-level metrics showed clear trends in response to fishing, single-species declines in spawning stock biomass were the most sensitive indicators of fishing effects.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-155
Author(s):  
Fateme Taridashti ◽  
Javid Imanpour ◽  
Shahram Abdolmalaki ◽  
Mahvash Hadavi

Abstract This study was conducted to complement existing data about the life cycle of Caspian vimba, Vimba vimba (L.), with estimations of age, growth, and mortality rates. To achieve this, 811 specimens were collected between May 2012 and June 2013 at three fisheries catch stations in southwestern regions of the Caspian Sea including Talesh, Bandar Anzali, and Kiashahr. The growth rate in vimba is relatively high at approximately 0.29 year−1 for females and 0.32 year−1 for males. Asymptotic lengths are 245 mm and 233 mm for females and males, respectively. The growth pattern was isometric for both males and females. The overall sex ratio was balanced (1: 0.92). The instantaneous coefficients of total, natural, and fishing mortality were 1.27, 0.4, and 0.8 year, respectively, and the current exploitation ratio was 0.63 year−1. Results showed that the growth rate of males is higher than that of females. Considering the exploitation ratio, it is apparent that the vimba population is experiencing significant legal and illegal exploitation pressure.


2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 2357-2362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ransom A Myers ◽  
Susanna D Fuller ◽  
Daniel G Kehler

We develop a simple theoretical model of yield and spawning stock biomass per recruit for the American sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus), which appears to have high indirect fishing mortality when harvested with dredges, i.e., mortality caused by the act of fishing that does not result in landings. The age at and degree to which individuals are affected by the indirect mortality are unknown, and it does not appear possible to develop a robust harvest strategy with yearly harvests unless indirect fishing mortality is well quantified. We show that there could be substantial benefits to a rotational harvest strategy for sessile species with high indirect fishing mortality. First, the strategy appears to be robust to ignorance about indirect fishing mortality and results in equal or better yields than a yearly harvest across a wide range of indirect fishing mortalities. Second, under most conditions, a higher spawning stock biomass is maintained. Third, rotational management is more easily enforced, as it does not require specifying a narrow range of fishing mortality in order to maximize yield.


2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
pp. 1565-1573
Author(s):  
A. P. Solari ◽  
M. T. G. Santamaría ◽  
M. F. Borges ◽  
A. M. P. Santos ◽  
H. Mendes ◽  
...  

Abstract Solari, A. P., Santamaría, M. T. G., Borges, M. F., Santos, A. M. P., Mendes, H., Balguerías, E., Díaz Cordero, J. A., Castro, J. J., and Bas, C. 2010. On the dynamics of Sardina pilchardus: orbits of stability and environmental forcing. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1565–1573. The dynamics of Sardina pilchardus in Iberian upwelling are examined. Spawning-stock biomass (SSB), recruitment (R), and production (R/SSB) data for the years 1978–2006 are analysed in relation to the upwelling index (UPW) and sea surface temperature (SST). The population oscillates in two relatively stable orbits (identified by multiresolution decomposition of the recruitment series) because the external forcing (UPW and SST) are the inverse of each other and the synchrony is lost between the two external variables, R and R/SSB as they shift towards steep, negative (depensatory) trends. Such mechanics may have induced recruitment failures and significant decreases in abundance of Iberian sardine. The relationships are assumed to validate a complex and dynamic continuum (multiple orbits of stability) and an alternative variable-carrying-capacity population model. Radial systems with two orbits of stability are proposed for the R/SSB and S/SSB (where S is the stock size) relationships. Results are discussed in relation to classical and alternative SR models to address stock rehabilitation and fishing mortality issues as the population shifts towards low recruitment and abundance, and critical factors to consider in developing exploitation strategies for systems with multiple orbits of stability are discussed.


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