Showing papers on "Fishing published in 1996"

The impacts of mobile fishing gear on seafloor habitats in the gulf of Maine (Northwest Atlantic): Implications for conservation of fish populations

Abstract: Fishing gear alters seafloor habitats, but the extent of these alterations, and their effects, have not been quantified extensively in the northwest Atlantic. Understanding the extent of these impacts, and their effects on populations of living marine resources, is needed to properly manage current and future levels of fishing effort and fishing power. For example, the entire U.S. side of the Gulf of Maine was impacted annually by mobile fishing gear between 1984 and 1990, based on calculations of area swept by trawl and dredge gear. Georges Bank was imparted three to nearly four times annually during the same period. Studies at three sites in the Gulf of Maine (off Swans Island, Jeffreys Bank, and Stellwagen Bank) showed that mobile fishing gear altered the physical structure (=complexity) of benthic habitats. Complexity was reduced by direct removal of biogenic (e.g., sponges, hydrozoans, bryozoans, amphipod tubes, holothurians, shell aggregates) and‐ sedimentary (e.g., sand waves, depressions)...

Fishery Recovery in a Coral‐reef Marine Park and Its Effect on the Adjacent Fishery

Abstract: Numbers offish and their wet weights were estimated in Kenyan coral-reef lagoons on seven reefs over 6 years. Two sites were protected from fishing for over 20 years, whereas the other five sites were heavily fished in recent years. A heavily fished site was converted into a marine park (Mombasa Marine National Park, approximately 10 km2 no fishing allowed), and the number of fishers allowed was slowly decreased between August 1991 and August 1992. The area adjacent to the park was converted into a marine reserve (only fishing traps, lines, and gill nets allowed) that provided fishing grounds for fishers excluded from the park. Data from a fish-landing site adjacent to the newly created marine park were collected for 3 years and analyzed to determine the effect of the park’s creation on fish catches. Results suggest that fishing in the reserve reduced fish wet weight by about a factor of 10 and reduced fish numbers and species richness by a factor of two. Both field studies and landing data suggest harvesting at a bionomic equilibrium. For example, approximately 65% of the landing site’s fishing grounds were protected with the creation of the park, and 65% of the fishers quit the studied landing, leaving nearly the same density of fishers in the remaining area (∼ 12 fishers/km2). Further, fishers using pull seines were excluded from the reserve, and their numbers were replaced by fishers using other gear (mostly basket traps). Although the overall catch per unit effort increased by about 110% after the park’s creation, the total fish landed decreased by 35% and the catch per unit effort decreased toward the end of the study period despite increasing fish abundance in the park. Although establishment of small parks elsewhere have increased the total catch, the large park we studied did not; one reason may have been the lower ratio of edge to park area of the large park. Alternatively, the park’s edge may have provided a good fishing area, so fishing effort may have been highest along the park’s edge. Consequently, a barrier may have been created that restricted fish dispersal to most of the reserve. Therefore, the area that had an increased catch was small (< 1 to 2 km from the edge) and could not compensate for the lost fishing area. Most fish species within the park showed recovery after fisher exclusion. Total fish wet weights 3 years after the fishers’ exclusion were 25% below the older marine parks. Poor recovery of the herbivoroas parrot and surgeonfish can account for much of this shortfall. Competition for resources with sea urchins appear to be slowing recovery of these two groups. A study site 2.5 km from the park’s southern boundary, in the reserve section of the protected area, showed no changes in fish abundance over the study period, despite changing gear regulations.

Coastal fisheries in the pacific islands

Abstract: Coastal fisheries in the South Pacific are reviewed, including descriptions of fisheries, catch composition, catch rates and fisheries biology studies conducted on target stocks. The most widely targeted coastal fish stocks are reef fishes and coastal pelagic fishes. Small pelagic species are important for subsistence and small-scale commercial fisheries. Previously, small pelagic resources were important as a source of live bait for pole-and-line tuna fishing, but this method is declining and only one large bait fishery is left in the region in the Solomon Islands. The pole-and-line bait fisheries represent the only large-scale industrial fisheries to have operated in the coral reef lagoons of the Pacific. Estuarine resources are of major importance only in the large islands of Melanesia but are the staple diet of a relatively large proportion of the total South Pacific population. Deep slope fish stocks form the basis of only two commercial fisheries in the region and expansion of deep slope fishing comparable with the 1970s and 1980s is unlikely to occur again. Commercial fisheries development is currently orientated towards small- and medium-scale long-line fisheries for offshore pelagic resources, where high value tunas and billfishes are caught for export markets. The total coastal fisheries production from the region amounts to just over 100000 tyr -l , worth a nominal US$262 000 000. About 80% of this production is from subsistence fishing. Just under half the total annual commercial catch comes from fishing on coral reefs, which includes a small tonnage of deep slope species. Invertebrates are the most valuable inshore fisheries resources and these include sea-cucumbers, trochus and pearl oyster. Lobsters and mangrove crabs form the basis of small-scale commercial fisheries, as also do penaeid shrimps, except in PNG where they are caught in large quantities through trawling. Mariculture of shrimps is becoming increasingly popular in the region and is a major industry in New Caledonia. The greatest influence on coastal fisheries in the Pacific through the next decade is likely to come from southeast and east Asia, where the demand for high value coastal fishes and invertebrates has led to large scale depletions and has motivated entrepreneurs to seek stocks in the neighbouring Pacific islands.

Marine Reserves for Fisheries Management

Abstract: Conventional methods of regulating commercial fisheries restrict catch by limiting either the quantity or efficiency of fishing effort, or by putting direct limits on catch. These regulatory practices are neither feasible nor desirable for many fisheries, and have failed to conserve fishery stocks in other fisheries. Marine reserves may be an effective alternative management strategy for some fisheries. Here we develop a dynamic model of marine reserves applicable to inshore fisheries. In contrast to previous models of reserves, the model is fully dynamic and provides information on both equilibrium conditions and the path to equilibrium. A simulation model based on red snapper data from the Gulf of Mexico is presented. The simulation results suggest that marine reserves can sustain or increase yields for moderate to heavily fished fisheries but will probably not improve yields for lightly fished fisheries.

Fish predation and the structure of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus populations in the NW Mediterranean

Abstract: Large differences in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck) population structure have been observed in the NW Mediterranean. Differences have been attributed to removal of predatory fish through human f~shing activities. This study attempted to determine the effect of predation by fishes on sea urchin population structure. Three infralittoral areas (2 within a marine reserve with a high density of predatory fish, and 1 within an unprotected area with a low density of predatory fish) were studied to compare population structure differences attributable to differing fish predation pressure. P lividus populations were 3 to 4x denser and predation rates were -5x lower in the unprotected site than in the protected sites. Within the reserve, fish accounted for 100% of the predation. P lividus individual mean size was lower within the protected sites than in the unprotected site. Size-frequency distributions showed a negative exponential pattern for P llividus within the reserve, and a bimodal pattern outside the reserve. The urchins showed a crevice-dwelling behaviour in response to the intense predation in the marine reserve. Within the reserve, P lividus population structure appears to be determined by predation by fish. In contrast, in the unprotected area, where the predation rate is much lower, P lividus population structure appears to be determined by recruitment rate. We suggest that a recent increase in P lividus abundance on infralittoral rocky bottoms in the NW Mediterranean, where urchins are not harvested, is caused by human fishing activities. Since P lividus is the major benth~c herbivore in the NW Mediterranean, fishing level may, due to cascading effects, determine the structure of benthic infralittoral con~munities.

Effects of fishing effort and catch rate upon the structure and biomass of Fijian reef fish communities

Abstract: An improved understanding of fishing effects is required to assess the sustainability of existing fishing practices and to determine the ecological implications of offering fishing concessions in marine reserves. The effects of fishing were investigated in six Fijian fishing grounds (qoliqoli) subject to different fishing intensities. A visual census technique was used to determine the structure and biomass of the shallow-water reef fish communities targeted by the fishers. A supervised voluntary logbook scheme was used to assess the size and composition of yield from the qoliqoli. The fish communities in the least intensively fished qoliqoli were significantly different from fish communities elsewhere. The significance of these differences was attributable to the greater biomass of invertebrate feeding and piscivorous fishes in the least intensively fished qoliqoli. Annual yields of herbivorous fishes ranged from 0.3 to 5.2% of the biomass estimated by visual census. There were no significant differences in herbivore biomass among qoliqoli subject to different fishing intensities. The biomass of invertebrate feeding fishes was significantly higher in the least intensively fished qoliqoli. The biomass of invertebrate feeding/piscivorous fishes was significantly higher in the two least intensively fished qoliqoli. In the two least intensively fished qoliqoli the estimated annual yields of invertebrate feeding and invertebrate feeding/piscivorous fishes did not exceed 4% of the biomass estimated by visual census. However, yields of these trophic groups approached 20% of biomass in the intensively fished qoliqoli where biomass was significantly lower. The fishing effects observed were primarily attributed to significant differences between the fish communities in the least intensively fished qoliqoli and all others. Thus, at higher fishing intensities, the biomass of target species provided a poor index of relative fishing pressure. The results suggest that the annual removal of 5% of fish biomass may cause significant structural changes in reef fish communities. Thus, it is important to ensure that fishing concessions and poaching activities are carefully regulated in marine reserves.

Catch rates, selectivity and yields of reef fishing

Abstract: Fishing on tropical reefs is the preserve mainly of small-scale artisanal fishers, where increases in human power, rather than machine power, are used to generate large volumes of reef fish landings. The main forms of fishing gears deployed on reefs and in reef lagoons are handlines, traps, gill nets, seine nets and spears. Trawls can be deployed on the soft-bottom substrata adjacent to coral reefs but they catch mainly non-reef-associated species. The selectivity of nets, hooks, traps and spears is reviewed using, as far as possible, examples from reef fisheries. Although there is substantial variation, all gears catch a relatively wide range of species and selectivity is primarily size-based. However, species selectivity also results from the interaction of fish behaviour and gear characteristics. Reef fishes are also captured alive for restaurants and aquaria, and small pelagic fishes in coral reef lagoons are captured live for bait for pole-and-line tuna fishing. Observed yields from tropical reef fisheries range from around 0.2 tkm-2 year-1 in Papua New Guinea to over 40 tkm-2 year-1 from American Samoa. Yields in excess of 5 t km-2 year-1 are probably sustainable in the long term, although the upper limit for sustainable harvests from reef fisheries has yet to be accurately determined and will, in any case, vary among areas.

Economic valuation of the chinook salmon sport fishery of the Gulkana River, Alaska, under current and alternate management plans.

Abstract: ABSTRACf. This paper extends the standard travel cost method (TCM) to develop estimates of the economic value of recreational chinook salmon fishing on the Gulkana River, Aklska, under exist­ ing and hypothetical fishery management condi­ tions. Respondents were asked to state how the number of trips that they took to the study area would change if alternative fishery management practices were imposed. Three hypothetical manage­ ment conditions were considered: a doubled 1992 sport fish haroest, a doubled daily bag limit, and a season bag limit of five. Each of the hypothetical fishery management conditions provides increased economic returns to anglers. (JEL Q21) L INTRODUCTION The first commercial fishery on the Cop­ per River system in Alaska was established in 1889. By the 1920s, commercial fishing had become the dominant use. Eighty to ninety percent of the chinook (Oncor­ hynchus tshawytscha) and sockeye (0. nerka) salmon harvested from the Copper River system in recent years have been taken in the commercial fishery. The balance of the catch is divided among three user groups: subsistence, personal use, and sport. The sport fishery primarily targets chinook salmon. 1 The chinook salmon range from 20 to 60 pounds and are prized for their vigorous fighting abilities. The Alaska De­ partment of Fish and Game (ADF&G) estimates that 98 percent of the Copper River Basin chinook sport fish harvest oc­ curred on the Gulkana and Klutina Rivers, and that 93 percent. of the effort occurs on the Gulkana River alone (Whitmore and Vincent-Lang 1991). This paper examines three issues relating to the Gulkana River chinook salmon sport fishery. First, we use a travel cost model to develop a benchmark measure of the eco­ nomic benefits generated by the chinook salmon sport fishery on the Gulkana River under current management policies. Next, we estimate the change in benefits to the sport fishery that would have resulted from an increase in chinook abundance. Not only does the abundance of chinook salmon vary naturally, but the number of chinook avail­ able to the sport fishery could also be in­ creased (reduced) by reducing (increasing) commercial catches. Finally, we estimate the change in benefits to the sport fishery from changes in sport fishing regulations, holding chinook abundance constant. Anglers are currently restricted to one fish per day and one in possession with no season limit. We examined two alternative bag limit regula­ tions. The first alternative would hold an­ glers to a five-fish season bag limit, but would not impose daily bag limits. 2 The second alternative would liberalize the daily bag limit to two chinook per day and two in possession but would not impose a season bag limit. Fisheries managers are interested in stock abundance, catches, and angler days (effort), because these are the variables that they traditionally measure. Resource economists have traditionally focused on measures of consumer's surplus. The traditional travel cost method has been useful for measuring

Maintenance and recovery of reef fishery productivity

Abstract: Non-conventional methods to maintain and restore reef fishery productivity include protecting fishery habitats, hatchery releases, artificial reefs, introduction of exotic species, habitat restoration and marine fishery reserves. I conclude that it is far better to prevent overfishing and stock collapse in the first place than to have to rebuild fishery productivity later. The most important strategies to prevent loss of fishery productivity are switching to less destructive fishing methods, preventing destruction of fishery habitats and protecting some areas by establishment of marine fishery reserves. If fisheries must be rebuilt, habitat restoration and marine reserves appear to be the more promising alternatives over the long term. Except for unique circumstances, deployment of artificial reefs and release of hatchery-raised organisms have less potential for retrieving lost fishery productivity. Because of unpredictable consequences and the general inability to correct mistakes, the introduction of exotic organisms is the least favoured alternative for rebuilding fishery productivity.

Population and ecosystem effects of reef fishing

Abstract: Fishing activities affect the population structure, growth, reproduction and distribution of target species and have indirect effects on non-target fish or invertebrate populations and their reef habitats. We review the multi-farious impacts of fishing and conclude that existing knowledge of fishing effects is remarkably primitive given the burgeoning literature on reef fishery science and management. In particular, fishing effects are widely treated as synonymous with overfishing and thus many studies of fishing effects have been based upon examination of localized catastrophic events rather than changes that occur within sustainable fisheries subject to different fishing intensities or cropping regimes. An improved understanding of fishing effects in sustainable fisheries may assist the development of a range of new monitoring, assessment and management methods. These would provide an alternative to methods based on conventional population analyses within reef fisheries of limited economic importance which are unlikely to be selected for rigorous scientific study. Initial development of the fishing effects science could be achieved at moderate cost by refining existing procedures for collection of catch and effort data and by treating observed combinations of gear, effort and catch composition as a series of experimental manipulations.

Beach strandings as an indicator of at-sea mortality of sea turtles

Abstract: Estimates of the number of federally protected sea turtles drowned during the 1991-1992 winter trawl fishery for summer flounder off North Carolina were compared to the number of turtles stranded on beaches adjacent to the fishing grounds. The objective was to evaluate how well beach strandings functioned as an indicator of fishery-induced mortality. The number of dead turtles that washed up on the beaches represented a maximum of 7-13% of the estimated fishery-induced mortalities. We attribute this discrepancy to offshore bottom currents, which normally transport lifeless turtles away from the beach during the winter. We conclude that turtle strandings during the winter on the northern beaches of North Carolina are a poor indicator of at-sea mortalities, and that they may not be entirely related to the winter trawl fishery for summer flounder.

Harvesting Red Sea Urchins: Recent Effects and Future Predictions

Abstract: The red sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, is a conspicuous member of subtidal communities in the north Pacific. Within the last decade, this ecologically important species has been exposed to intense harvesting for the first time ever. Analysis of population census data suggest that harvestable size urchins have rapidly declined in shallow regions while catch-per-effort and landings data suggest that divers have maintained high landings by exploiting more distant and difficult fishing areas, including deeper areas. We present a size-structured model for the red sea urchin both to estimate what previous levels of harvesting mortality were and to explore what effect future harvesting strategies might have on population trajectories. Using population census data, we explore three models: one that would result in an equilibrial population size in the absence of fishing, one that includes positive density dependence (an Allee effect), and one that incorporates realistic variability in recruitment. O...

Aquatic predators and their prey

Abstract: Part I: Behavioural Strategies Of Predators And Prey:Costs And Benefits Of Fishing By A Semi-Aquatic CarnivoreBehavioural Responses Of Arctic Skuas To Changes In Sandeel AvailablilityForaging Behaviour Of Grey And Harbour SealsCetacean Strategies For Reducing Foraging CostsFish Depth Distribution And Predation Risk- Patterns Of Movement And Habitat Use By PikeThe Role Of Parasites In The Predation Of Freshwater Crustaceans By FishPart II: The Role Of Predators In Ecosystem Structure:Modelling The Response Of Mussels And Oystercatchers To Environmental ChangePopulation Rise Of Lake Victoria "Sardine", Following Intensified PredationThe Response Of Atlantic Salmon Populations To PredationHunting Techniques And Habitat Use Of Killer Whales Feeding On HerringModelling The Ecological Impacts Of PredatorsMultispecies InteractionsFood Web Analysis And Marine Mammals In The Barents SeaInfluences Of Large Mobile Predators In Aquatic Food WebsBetween Year Variations In The Diet And Behaviour Of Moray Firth SealsChanges In The Reproduction Performance Of SeabirdsDippers As Predators In Upland StreamsPart III: Predators, Prey And Man:Seals And Fishery InteractionsScavenging Behaviour In Recently Trawled AreasHow Much Water Does An Aquatic Predator NeedKilling Sawbill Ducks To Improve Salmon FisheriesThe Impact Of Deliberate Introduction Of New Fish Species On Predator-Prey RelationshipManipulating The FishZooplankton Interactions In Shallow LakesPossible Interactions Between Sandeel Fisheries And Sandeel PredatorsIs There A Conflict Between Sandeel Fisheries And Seabirds?Response Of Seabirds To Natural And Fisheries Induced Changes In Food Supply

An evaluation of the stock structure of North Sea cod, haddock, and whiting since 1920, together with a consideration of the impacts of fisheries and predation effects on their biomass and recruitment

Abstract: Time series of population-at-age and fishing mortality rate estimates are extended back to 1921 for North Sea cod, and to 1920 for North Sea haddock and whiting. The extended time series are used to examine the ability of various factors to explain the changes in biomass and recruitment of these roundfish stocks during much of the twentieth century. In particular, the possible impacts of fishing pressure and multispecies interactions are explored.

Bycatch: from emotion to effective natural resource management

Abstract: Although bycatch has been an acknowledged component of fishery management for many years, its explosive growth as a major management issue has occurred over the past decade. Emergence of the bycatch issue can be traced to increasing world competition for the ocean's fishery resources and the rapid rise of the conservation and environmental movement in recent years. Bycatch has in the past several years been equated to ‘waste’, non-selective fishing methods that threaten non-target species and degradation of ocean ecosystems. Although some important steps have been taken to abate bycatch, frequently the problem is not perceived as a component of fishery management, e.g. establishing bycatch mortality rates and evaluating their consequences upon affected populations. Fishery scientists often estimate levels of bycatch, but the overall consequences of discard mortality resulting from the complex of fisheries operating in a region are frequently unknown and speculative. The sum of fishery-induced mortalities occurring as a result of harvesting often involves a significant number of fish in addition to catch and discard. An ICES study group has characterized fishing mortality as the aggregate of all catch mortalities including discard, illegal fishing and misreporting. It is unlikely that managers will, in the near future, have a full accounting of ‘unobserved’ fishing mortality. Progress toward identifying and measuring such mortalities is receiving increasing attention. The authors suggest and provide an example of a matrix-type analysis for recording bycatch and other fishing mortalities. The matrix presentation would allow managers to evaluate various fishery-related mortality factors and their importance in developing management strategies.

Disturbance of benthic species by fishing activities: a sensitivity index

Abstract: 1. Preliminary estimates of the relative sensitivity of sea bed types and benthic species to physical disturbance, particularly fishing activity, have been made in order to identify areas where further studies are required and to help formulate management plans for sites of marine conservation importance. 2. Physical disturbance is considered in the context of a single encounter with fishing gear followed by a recovery period during which there is no fishing, but with a view to qualifying, in the future, the effect of multiple fishing events. Disturbance is considered in terms of the physical action of the gear on the sea bed and the unit area over which this action occurs. 3. The effects of a wide range of gears are considered. Static gears, which can be employed on a variety of substrata, generally result in low level impacts for single fishing events and impacts are localized compared with the effects of mobile gears, which can extend over considerable areas. 4. The theoretical sensitivity of individual species is assessed on the basis of how well they cope with an encounter with fishing gear and on their likely recovery from destruction in terms of their reproductive strategies. 5. Species considered of key importance in the structuring of communities are suggested and examples of particularly sensitive species, which are therefore likely indicator species of physical disturbance, are listed. 6. Fragile, slow recruiting animals are considered to be most susceptible to disturbance, while the least sensitive species are generally fast growing and have good recruitment. ©1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A spawning aggregation of Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus (Pisces: Serranidae) in the Mexican Caribbean

Abstract: An annual spawning aggregation of Nassau grouper,Epinephelus striatus, observed off the southern coast of Quintana Roo, Mexico, on full moon days in December and January, was surveyed during the winters from 1991 to 1993. A fish aggregation had been appearing at one traditional site off Mahahual for more than 80 years, but currently it forms at undetermined sites far from the original site. Fish migration was northwards in the fore reef border along the 14 m isobath and isolated groups were observed. Through visual assessment fish aggregations were found to include 200 to 500 individuals. The fishing on Nassau grouper aggregations has been active since 1910 by using hook and line; however, recently fishermen used gill nets. It is necessary to continue the research on this aggregation and establish management guidelines to protect the species.

The scope of tropical reef fisheries and their management

Abstract: Coral reef resource systems extend throughout the tropics and are exploited primarily by subsistence fishers, supplying food for millions of people. The magnitude of harvests per unit area taken from coralline shelves approximates those taken by trawlers from temperate shelves. In view of this, the current estimated potential global annual harvest from tropical reef fisheries of 6 million metric tonnes (t) is probably conservative. The relative composition of reef fishery catches changes in response to increasing effort, largely due to the different vulnerability of predatory and herbivorous species to fishing gears. In extreme cases, this change can result in dramatically reduced value of the total catch. Marine protected areas, either transitory or permanent, appear to offer the best prospects for management of reef fisheries, particularly if they are allied to community-based systems.

Benthic disturbance by fishing gear in the Irish Sea: a comparison of beam trawling and scallop dredging

Abstract: 1.?The distribution of effort for the most frequently used mobile demersal gears in the Irish Sea was examined and their potential to disturb different benthic communities calculated. Fishing effort data, expressed as the number of days fished, was collated for all fleets operating in the Irish Sea in 1994. For each gear, the percentage of the seabed swept by those parts of the gear that penetrate the seabed was calculated. 2.? For all gears, the majority of fishing effort was concentrated in the northern Irish Sea. Effort was concentrated in three main locations: on the muddy sediments between Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man (otter and Nephrops trawling); off the north Wales, Lancashire and Cumbrian coast (beam trawling); the area surrounding the Isle of Man (scallop dredging). 3.?In some areas, e.g. between Anglesey and the Isle of Man, the use of scallop dredges and beam trawls was coincident. A comparative experimental study revealed that scallop dredges caught much less by-catch than beam trawls. Multivariate analysis revealed that both gears modified the benthic community in a similar manner, causing a reduction in the abundance of most epifaunal species. 4.? Although beam trawling disturbed the greatest area of seabed in 1994, the majority of effort occurred on grounds which supported communities that are exposed to high levels of natural disturbance. Scallop dredging, Nephrops and otter trawling were concentrated in areas that either have long-lived or poorly studied communities. The latter highlights the need for more detailed knowledge of the distribution of sublittoral communities that are vulnerable to fishing disturbance. ©British Crown Copyright 1996.

Fishing in a polluted estuary: fishing behavior, fish consumption, and potential risk.

Abstract: People make subjective judgments about hazards relying on what they know and feel. These risk perceptions may be based on accurate or inaccurate information and are often optimistically biased. The existence of uncertainties in the evaluation of many environmental hazards effects how risks are perceived. This paper examines fish consumption and risk perception of urban fishermen in the New York/New Jersey estuary, in areas where there were consumption advisories. We interviewed 318 fishermen and crabbers in the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, and New Jersey shore. Fish were eaten an average of at least four times per month in all regions, but fishermen in the Arthur Kill fished most frequently, averaging over eight times per month. Although 60% of fishermen and crabbers in the Arthur Kill reported hearing warnings about consuming fish caught in these waters, 70% of fishermen and 76% of crabbers said they are their catch. Significantly fewer fishermen in the Bay and Shore regions had heard warnings (28% and 30%, respectively), and more reported consuming their catch (88% and 82%, respectively). In all regions, most people thought that the fish were safe to eat, many believing they were "fresher" than store bought fish. Thus, most people ignored the consumption advisories in effect for these waters. Some of these people are consuming high quantities of fish and crabs, and thus are exposed to potentially deleterious levels of contaminants. In general, people failed to consider the possibility of chronic effects and did not perceive that this enjoyable, familiar pastime could be hazardous. Further, fishermen generally had great confidence in their own knowledge, which proved to be inaccurate in many cases, and often expressed distrust in the information source (government). Clearly, simply issuing consumption advisories is insufficient to promote risk-reducing behavior.

Fisheries Management in Crisis

Abstract: Preface. Contributors. Introduction. 1. Fishing in Troubled Waters (David Symes). I. THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF FISHERIES POLICY. 2. Social Considerations in Fisheries Planning and Management -- Real Objectives or a Defence of the Status Quo (Bjorn Hersoug). 3. Social Objectives as Social Contracts in a Turbulent Economy (A...ge Mariussen). 4. Community Fishing or Fishing Communities (Audun Sandberg). II. ALTERNATIVE PROPERTY RIGHTS SYSTEMS. 5. Property Rights and Practical Knowledge: The Icelandic Quota System Gisli Palsson and Agnar Helgason). 6. Trade in Fishing Rights in the Netherlands: A Maritime Environment Market (Ellen Hoefnagel). 7. Marine Management in Coastal Japan (Arne Kalland). III. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND FISHERIES MANAGEMENT. 8. Social Adaptations to a Fluctuating Resource (Torben Vestergaard). 9. Ancient Institutions Confronting Change: The Catalan Fishermen's Cofradias (Juan--Luis Alegret). 10. Leviathan Management or Customary Administration: The Search for New Institutional Arrangements (Serge Collet). 11. Management and Practice in the Small--Scale Inshore Fisheries of the French Mediterranean (Annie--Helene Dufour). IV. LOCAL AND REGIONAL DIMENSIONS OF FISHERIES POLICY. 12. Fisherman Households and Fishing Communities in Greece: A Case Study of Nea Michaniona (Katia Frangoudes). 13. The Breton Fishing Crisis in the 1990s: Local Society in the Throes of Enforced Change (Genevieve Delbos and Gerard Premel). 14. Regional Concepts in the Development of the Common Fisheries Policy: The Case of the Atlantic Arc (Mark Wise). 15. Adapting to the CFP? Globality and New Possibilities for the Faroese Fishing Industry (Jogvan Morkore). V. FISHERIES IN A GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM. 16. The European Fishing Industry: Deregulation and the Market (Peter Friis). 17. The Geopolitics of Fish: The Case of the North Atlantic (A-rn D. Jonsson). Conclusion. 18. Sailing into Calmer Waters (Kevin Crean and David Symes). Bibliography. Index.