scholarly journals Selectivity matters: rules of thumb for management of plate-sized, sex-changing fish in the live reef food fish trade

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly K. Kindsvater ◽  
John D. Reynolds ◽  
Yvonne Sadovy de Mitcheson ◽  
Marc Mangel

AbstractEffective management of fisheries depends on the selectivity of different fishing methods, control of fishing effort, and the life history and mating system of the target species. For sex-changing species, it is unclear how the truncation of age structure or selection of specific size or age classes (by fishing for specific markets) affects population dynamics. We specifically address the consequences of plate-sized selectivity, whereby sub-mature, ‘plate-sized’ fish are preferred in the live reef food fish trade. We use an age-structured model to investigate the decline and recovery of populations fished with three different selectivity scenarios (asymptotic, dome-shaped, and plate-sized) applied to two sexual systems (female-first hermaphroditism and gonochorism). We parameterized our model with life-history data from Brown-marbled grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) and Napoleon fish (Cheilinus undulatus). ‘Plate-sized’ selectivity had the greatest negative effect on population trajectories, assuming accumulated fishing effort across ages was equal, while the relative effect of fishing on biomass was greatest with low natural mortality. Fishing such sex-changing species before maturation decreased egg production (and the spawning potential ratio) in two ways: average individual size decreased, and, assuming plasticity, females became males at a smaller size. Somatic growth rate affected biomass if selectivity was based on size-at-age because in slow growers, a smaller proportion of total biomass was vulnerable to fishing. We recommend fisheries avoid taking individuals near their maturation age, regardless of mating system, unless catch is tightly controlled. We also discuss the implications of fishing post-settlement individuals on population dynamics and offer practical management recommendations.

2010 ◽  
Vol 91 (8) ◽  
pp. 1587-1598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nami Choe ◽  
Don Deibel

We examined the population dynamics and life history characters of the boreal larvacean Oikopleura vanhoeffeni in Conception Bay over two years and determined its role in secondary production. Based on the analysis of age structure inferred from statolith diameter, the generation time was approximately one year. Recruitment of new cohorts and maximum population growth rate occurred in the spring. Somatic growth rate was 0.017 d−1 from the year 2001 to 2002 and 0.043 d−1 from 2002 to 2003, with an acceleration in growth rate during April in response to the spring diatom bloom despite the coldest water temperatures. The annual production rate (i.e. somatic + house production) of 8.7 g C m−2 y−1 in 2001/2, and 3.8 g C m−2 y−1 in 2002/3, represented 2.9–6.7% of primary production and 37–87% of estimated mesozooplankton production, suggesting that O. vanhoeffeni is a major secondary producer in Conception Bay. Individuals matured at seasonally variable body size throughout the year and potential fecundity peaked as the individuals matured at their largest body size during the spring bloom, most likely resulting in maximum egg production and population growth rates at that time of year. Thus, a seasonal pulse of food is a major driving force that regulates the variation in life history characters and population dynamics of the boreal O. vanhoeffeni.


1996 ◽  
Vol 83 (8) ◽  
pp. 1041-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Núnez-Farfán ◽  
Roberto A. Cabrales-Vargas ◽  
Rodolfo Dirzo

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeeta Mangubhai ◽  
Muhammad Saleh ◽  
Suprayitno ◽  
Andreas Muljadi ◽  
Purwanto ◽  
...  

The harvesting of groupers (Serranidae) in Indonesia for the live reef food fish trade (LRFFT) has been ongoing since the late 1980s. Eight sites in Komodo National Park that included two fish spawning aggregation (FSA) sites were monitored for groupers and humphead wrasse,Cheilinus undulatus, from 1998 to 2003 and from 2005 to 2008 to examine temporal changes in abundance and assess the effectiveness of conservation and management efforts. Monitoring identified FSA sites for squaretail coralgrouper,Plectropomus areolatus, and brown-marbled grouper,Epinephelus fuscoguttatus. Both species formed aggregations before and during full moon from September to December, prior to lapses in monitoring (2003–2005) and in enforcement (2004-2005). Following these lapses, data reveal substantial declines inP. areolatusabundance and the apparent extirpation of one aggregation at one site. Other non-aggregating species targeted by the LRFFT showed similar declines at three of eight monitored sites. This paper highlights the impact of FSA fishing and the need for a seamless monitoring and enforcement protocol in areas where aggregation fishing pressure is high. Within Komodo National Park, local fishers, particularly those operating on behalf of the LRFFT, pose a serious threat to population persistence of species targeted by this trade.


Crustaceana ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-429
Author(s):  
Ye Ji Lee ◽  
Won Gyu Park

Abstract The population dynamics of Stenothoe valida Dana, 1852 were studied at Cheongsapo beach of Busan, Republic of Korea, from March 2019 to March 2020. Sampling was conducted once a month at low tide during spring tides. Specimens were grouped by the cephalic length at 0.025 mm intervals, and classified into four categories: females, ovigerous females, males and juveniles. The sex ratio, defined as females : total males + females, exceeded 0.5 during most of the study period. Brood size was significantly coupled with ovigerous female size. Two to four cohorts appeared at each study period. New cohorts occurred at almost every sampling except in the samples Jun-2, and Nov-2. Life span was estimated at 1-2 months. The juvenile ratio, the ratio of ovigerous females, and the recruitment rate estimated by FiSAT were commonly high in summer and winter. The life history of S. valida was not coupled with water temperature, but had a strong seasonal pattern.


2006 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 562-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Reigada ◽  
W.A.C. Godoy

The effect of larval density on the survival, fecundity and body size at two temperatures in experimental populations of C. megacephala was studied. No effect from simultaneous influence of density and temperature on life history characteristics of C. megacephala was found. Significant effects of density and temperature on survival, fecundity and body size were observed. The importance of these results for the population dynamics of C. megacephala is discussed.


Parasitology ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Spelling ◽  
J. O. Young

SUMMARYMonthly samples of the leeches Erpobdella octoculata, Glossiphonia complanata and Helobdella stagnalis were taken over a two-year period from an eutrophic, English lake to detect metacercariae of the trematode, Apatemon gracilis. In each cohort of each of the three leeches, prevalence was low in young individuals, rose to a peak in autumn/winter, and then declined until the cohort had almost died out; in E. octoculata and H. stagnalis a final brief increase occurred. Mean intensity and relative density values followed a similar seasonal pattern of change to that of prevalence in these last two species, but in G. complanata values fluctuated irregularly with no distinct pattern. The frequency distribution of the parasite in G. complanata was highly over-dispersed, but less so in the other two species. Infected E. octoculata reached sexual maturity. The parasite reduced egg production in G. complanata and H. stagnalis, but only by maximum values of 2·5 and 9% respectively. This reduction in fecundity is low compared to the subsequent high mortality, at 95% or more, of newly recruited young from as yet unidentified causes. Parasite-related host mortality was difficult to assess in young leeches, but there was some evidence for its occurrence in older leeches of E. octoculata and H. stagnalis. However, this is unlikely to play a prominent role in the control and regulation of lacustrine leech populations.


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