Fishing

About: Fishing is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 26543 publications have been published within this topic receiving 455552 citations. The topic is also known as: angling.

Ecological repercussions of historical fish extraction from the Southern Ocean

Abstract: A major mid-1980s shift in ecological structure of significant portions of the Southern Ocean was partially due to the serial depletion of fish by intensive industrial fishing, rather than solely to climate factors as previously hypothesized. Over a brief period (1969‐1973), several finfish stocks were on average reduced to <50%, and finally (mid-1980s) to <20%, of original size. Despite management actions, few stocks have recovered and some are still declining. Most affected species exhibit K-selected life-history patterns, and before exploitation presumably fluctuated in accordance with infrequent strong year classes, as is true of such fish elsewhere. A climate regime, the Southern Annular Mode, once oscillated between two states, but has remained in its ‘positive mode’ since the time of the fish extraction. This may have increased finfish vulnerability to exploitation. As breeding stocks decreased, we hypothesize that availability of annually produced juvenile fish fed upon by upperlevel predators remained low. Correlations between predator populations and fish biomass in predator foraging areas indicate that southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina, Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella, gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua, macaroni penguin Eudyptes chrysolphus and ‘imperial’ shag Phalacrocorax spp. ‐ all feeding extensively on these fish, and monitored at Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard, South Georgia, South Orkney and South Shetland Islands, where fishing was concentrated ‐ declined simultaneously during the two periods of heavy fishing. These patterns indicate the past importance of demersal fish as prey in Antarctic marine systems, but determining these interactions’ ecological mechanisms may now be impossible.

Fishing in urban New Jersey: ethnicity affects information sources, perception, and compliance.

Abstract: Recreational and subsistence angling are important aspects of urban culture for much of North America where people are concentrated near the coasts or major rivers. Yet there are fish and shellfish advisories for many estuaries, rivers, and lakes, and these are not always heeded. This paper examines fishing behavior, sources of information, perceptions, and compliance with fishing advisories as a function of ethnicity for people fishing in the Newark Bay Complex of the New York–New Jersey Harbor. We test the null hypothesis that there were no ethnic differences in sources of information, perceptions of the safety of fish consumption, and compliance with advisories. There were ethnic differences in consumption rates, sources of information about fishing, knowledge about the safety of the fish, awareness of fishing advisories or of the correct advisories, and knowledge about risks for increased cancer and to unborn and young children. In general, the knowledge base was much lower for Hispanics, was intermediate for blacks, and was greatest for whites. When presented with a statement about the potential risks from eating fish, there were no differences in their willingness to stop eating fish or to encourage pregnant women to stop. These results indicate a willingness to comply with advisories regardless of ethnicity, but a vast difference in the base knowledge necessary to make informed risk decisions about the safety of fish and shellfish. Although the overall median income level of the population was in the $25,000–34,999 income category, for Hispanics it was on the border between $15,000–24,999 and $25,000–34,999.

Combined effects of global climate change and regional ecosystem drivers on an exploited marine food web

Abstract: Changes in climate, in combination with intensive exploitation of marine resources, have caused large-scale reorganizations in many of the world's marine ecosystems during the past decades. The Baltic Sea in Northern Europe is one of the systems most affected. In addition to being exposed to persistent eutrophication, intensive fishing, and one of the world's fastest rates of warming in the last two decades of the 20th century, accelerated climate change including atmospheric warming and changes in precipitation is projected for this region during the 21st century. Here, we used a new multimodel approach to project how the interaction of climate, nutrient loads, and cod fishing may affect the future of the open Central Baltic Sea food web. Regionally downscaled global climate scenarios were, in combination with three nutrient load scenarios, used to drive an ensemble of three regional biogeochemical models (BGMs). An Ecopath with Ecosim food web model was then forced with the BGM results from different nutrient-climate scenarios in combination with two different cod fishing scenarios. The results showed that regional management is likely to play a major role in determining the future of the Baltic Sea ecosystem. By the end of the 21st century, for example, the combination of intensive cod fishing and high nutrient loads projected a strongly eutrophicated and sprat-dominated ecosystem, whereas low cod fishing in combination with low nutrient loads resulted in a cod-dominated ecosystem with eutrophication levels close to present. Also, nonlinearities were observed in the sensitivity of different trophic groups to nutrient loads or fishing depending on the combination of the two. Finally, many climate variables and species biomasses were projected to levels unseen in the past. Hence, the risk for ecological surprises needs to be addressed, particularly when the results are discussed in the ecosystem-based management context.

The Tragedy of Our Legacy: How do Global Management Discourses Affect Small Scale Fisheries in the South?

Abstract: Modern fisheries management discourse is supported by two fundamental narratives that have global impacts. One is the fear of open access regimes, and the other is the condemnation of catching under-sized and immature fish. These narratives have existed for more than half a century and originate from the common property theory and the maximum yield per recruit theory. Our aim is to critically discuss and evaluate these narratives which have been developed within the context of scientific management of single-species industrial fisheries. We will show that the underlying assumptions can be seriously wrong and particularly absurd in fluctuating multi-species, multi-gear artisanal fisheries. Fishing effort in small scale fisheries is often largely regulated by natural production, like other top predators, and many targeted fish stocks and fish communities display a high degree of resilience. Furthermore, in spite of common belief, small scale unregulated, non-selective, adaptive fishing patterns could be hea...

Trawling and by-catch: Implications on marine ecosystem

Abstract: Trawling remains a controversial method of fishing due to the perceived lack of selectivity of the trawl net and the resultant capture of a huge quantity and diversity of non-target species, including endangered species such as sea turtles, coupled with its effect on the marine ecosystem. The impacts of trawling on the physical, chemical and biological environment of the marine ecosystem and the diversity and quantity of by-catch and discards remain poorly documented for the tropical waters. In India, the by-catch landed at fishing harbours are utilized mainly for the production of manure and animal feed. Further, by-catch reduction devices have not been implemented in the field. This review article, besides analysing the impact of trawling, highlights the need for adopting policies and practices that reduce the level of by-catch, the need for ecosystem-based management to ensure long-term sustainability of oceanic resources, and the adoption of a precautionary approach with emphasis on reducing, and if possible avoiding discards.