Multifrequency backscattering properties of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and Norway pout (Trisopterus esmarkii)

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha M.M. Fässler ◽  
Rita Santos ◽  
Norma García-Núñez ◽  
Paul G Fernandes

The multifrequency backscattering characteristics of echotraces of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and Norway pout (Trisopterus esmarkii) are described. These fish cohabit similar areas of the North Sea in summer and echotraces of their schools are difficult to distinguish. Mean volume backscattering strengths at 18, 38, 120, and 200 kHz were taken from the International North Sea Herring Acoustic Surveys along with coincident pelagic trawl samples. The results indicate that echotraces of these fish species cannot be distinguished on the basis of differences in backscattering at discrete frequencies typically used in fish surveys and on fishing vessels. However, some discrimination between herring size-classes was evident. The empirical data for herring were then compared with a backscattering model for herring combining fish flesh, the swimbladder, and the effect of increased pressure at depth. Both the empirical data and model data indicate that, compared with large herring, progressively smaller herring generally have higher backscattering at the lowest frequency (18 kHz), although variability was high. According to the model, this frequency-specific signature is due to the progressively more significant contribution made by the fish body compared with the swimbladder, as the latter diminishes owing to an increase in ambient pressure in deeper water.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Estrella‐Martínez ◽  
Bernd R. Schöne ◽  
Ruth H. Thurstan ◽  
Elisa Capuzzo ◽  
James D. Scourse ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. W. Clausen ◽  
D. Bekkevold ◽  
E. M. C. Hatfield ◽  
H. Mosegaard

Abstract Clausen, L. A. W., Bekkevold, D., Hatifield, E. M. C., and Mosegard, H. 2007. Application and validation of otolith microstructure as a stock identification method in mixed Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) stocks in the North Sea and western Baltic. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 377–385. Herring (Clupea harengus) populations with different spawning times mix in ICES Division IIIa. For stock assessment, otolith microstructure analysis is used to determine the hatching season of individuals, classifying them into hatch type spring, autumn, or winter. The currently applied method uses visual inspection of season-specific daily increment pattern for the larval period. With this method, variability in individual microstructure and a lack of correspondence between hatch and spawning time may lead to classification error. We validate the visual inspection procedure in relation to these potential sources of error. Otoliths from spawning herring were first classified blindly and the results compared with spawning season. In all, 91% of classifications corresponded, and errors represented misclassifications mainly between autumn and winter spawners. However, the estimates may be biased if hatch and spawning times differ, and an objective method of hatch-time estimation based on linear modelling was employed, enumerating unbroken series of daily increments in 0-group herring hatched in different seasons. Visual inspection and objective estimation agreed in 89% of cases, and most of the errors were explained by overlapping hatch periods. Results show that herring older than the 0-group can be classified using multiple linear regression of hatch time on median increment width.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. e0187374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Berg ◽  
Aril Slotte ◽  
Arne Johannessen ◽  
Cecilie Kvamme ◽  
Lotte Worsøe Clausen ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 702
Author(s):  
Hüseyin Özkan Sertlek

The national measures in several European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic also affected offshore human activities, including shipping. In this work, the temporal and spatial variations of shipping sound are calculated for the years before and during the pandemic in selected shallow water test areas from the Southern North Sea and the Adriatic Sea. First, the monthly sound pressure level maps of ships and wind between 2017 and 2020 are calculated for frequencies between 100 Hz to 10 kHz. Next, the monthly changes in these maps are compared. The asymptotic approximation of the hybrid flux-mode propagation model reduces the computational requirements for sound mapping simulations and facilitates the production of a large number of sound maps for different months, depths, frequencies, and ship categories. After the strictest COVID-19 measures were applied in April 2020, the largest decline was observed for the fishing, passenger and recreational ships. Although the changes in the number of fishing vessels are large, their contribution to the soundscape is minor due to their low source level. In both test areas, the spatial exceedance levels and acoustic energies were decreased in 2020 compared to the average of the previous three years.


2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Jaap Poos ◽  
Adriaan D Rijnsdorp

A temporarily closed area established to protect spawning Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the North Sea allowed us to study the response of the Dutch beam trawl fleet exploiting common sole (Solea solea) and plaice (Pleuronectes platessa). A number of vessels left the North Sea 1 month earlier than the normal seasonal pattern. The vessels that continued fishing in the North Sea were concentrated in the remaining open areas. In the first week after the closure, the catch rate decreased by 14%, coinciding with an increase in crowding of 28%. Area specialisation affected the response of individual vessels because vessels without prior experience in the open areas showed a larger decline in catch rate compared with vessels that previously fished in these open areas and were more likely to stop fishing during the closed period. The decrease in catch rate in response to the increase in competitor density allowed us to estimate the strength of the interference competition.


Author(s):  
Lindsay R. McPherson ◽  
Konstantinos Ganias ◽  
C. Tara Marshall

Macroscopic maturity staging data are widely used to distinguish between reproductive and non-reproductive individuals. The implicit assumption is that these data are accurate. The accuracy of macroscopic maturity staging of North Sea herring (Clupea harengus) has not been checked since the macroscopic scale was produced in 1961. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of macroscopic maturity staging of female North Sea herring by comparison to histological staging and the gonadosomatic index (GSI). Ovary samples were collected during the North Sea Herring Acoustic Survey in 2006 on-board FRV ‘Scotia’ (Scotland) and in 2007 on-board FRV ‘Scotia’ and RV ‘Johan Hjort’ (Norway). Commercial samples were also collected by Marine Scotland, Aberdeen in both years. The maturity staging error was relatively low in 2006 (21% error) but was much higher on-board FRV ‘Scotia’ (57%) and RV ‘Johan Hjort’ (47%) in 2007. There was estimated to be a 27% under-estimation of the spawning stock biomass (SSB) in 2007 due to the differences in the proportion mature but no change in SSB estimates in 2006. GSI cut-off scores, estimated by means of multinomial regression models were successfully able to separate immature females from both mature-active and recovering females; however, there was some overlap between the mature-active and recovering individuals. We conclude that an effective and low-cost means of reducing error in herring maturity studies is the combined use of a four-point macroscopic maturity scale with routinely collected GSI data, the latter acting to validate and fine tune macroscopic staging.


2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 961-971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex N. Tidd ◽  
Trevor Hutton ◽  
Laurence T. Kell ◽  
Gurpreet Padda

Abstract Tidd, A. N., Hutton, T., Kell, L. T., and Padda, G. 2011. Exit and entry of fishing vessels: an evaluation of factors affecting investment decisions in the North Sea English beam trawl fleet. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 961–971. A profitable fishery attracts additional effort (vessels enter), eventually leading to overcapacity and less profit. Similarly, fishing vessels exit depending on their economic viability (or reduced expectations of future benefits) or encouraged by schemes such as decommissioning grants and/or when there is consolidation of fishing effort within a tradable rights-based quota system (e.g. individual transferable quotas). The strategic decision-making behaviour of fishers in entering or exiting the English North Sea beam trawl fishery is analysed using a discrete choice model by integrating data on vessel characteristics with available cost data, decommissioning grant information, and other factors that potentially influence anticipated benefits or future risks. It is then possible to predict whether operators choose to enter, stay, exit, or decommission. Important factors affecting investment include vessel age and size, future revenues, operating costs (e.g. fuel), stock status of the main target species, and the impact of management measures (e.g. total allowable catches) and total fleet size (a proxy for congestion). Based on the results, the predicted marginal effects of each factor are presented and the impact of each is discussed in the context of policies developed to align fleet capacity with fishing opportunities.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1425-1452 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Heath ◽  
K. Brander ◽  
P. Munk ◽  
P. Rankine

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