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.

Mesopelagic fish, a large potential resource in the Arabian Sea

Abstract: The mesopelagic fish fauna in the Arabian Sea was studied on cruises with R/V ‘DR. FRIDTJOF MANSEN’ conducted during the period 1975–1983. Abundances were estimated using 38kHz echosounders and electronic integrators. The echorecordings were also used to study behaviour. Samples of the fish were collected using commercial sized pelagic trawls. During daytime the mesopelagic fish were found in a layer between 250–350m depth. In areas with high concentrations of Benthosema pterotum an additional very dense layer was usually bound at depths between 150–200m. During night-time, most of the fish are found in the upper 100m, but usually some remain at deep waters (200–350m). The total abundance of mesopelagic fish in the Northern and Western Arabian Sea is estimated to be about 100.10−1 tonnes. In the Gulf of Oman which was surveyed eight times, the estimated biomass ranged between 6–20.106 tonnes. Using a trawl with an opening of about 750m2 the mean catch rate in the shallowest daytime layer was about 5 tonnes.h−1. The highest catch rate obtained was about 100 tonnes.h−1 The catch rates from the deeper layers were low. The most abundant fish, B. pterotum , has a fast growth rate and reaches a length of 4cm in about 6 months. At this stage they spawn and most fish probably die after spawning.

Boats to Burn: Bajo Fishing Activity in the Australian Fishing Zone

Abstract: Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Indonesia and Australia, traditional Indonesian fishermen are permitted access to fish in a designated area inside the 200 nm Australian Fishing Zone (AFZ). However, crew and vessels are regularly apprehended for illegal fishing activity outside the permitted areas and after prosecution in Australian courts, their boats and equipment are destroyed and the fishermen repatriated to Indonesia. This thesis is an ethnographic study of one group of Indonesian maritime people who operate in the AFZ. It concerns Bajo people who originate from villages in the Tukang Besi Islands, Southeast Sulawesi. The study explores the social, cultural, economic and historic conditions which underpin Bajo sailing and fishing voyages in the AFZ. It also examines issues concerning Australian maritime expansion and Australian government policies, treatment and understanding of Bajo fishing. The thesis considers the concept of “traditional” fishing regulating access to the MOU area based on use of unchanging technology, and consequences arising from adherence to such a view of “traditional”; the effect of Australian maritime expansion on Bajo fishing activity; the effectiveness of policy in providing for fishing rights and stopping illegal activity, and why Bajo continue to fish in the AFZ despite a range of ongoing restrictions on their activity. It is concluded that because of a lack of ethnographic insight and poor understanding of the issues there are serious inconsistencies in Australian policies and for the most part, they have been ineffective. The concept of “traditional” fishing, which regulates access to the 1974 MOU area for Indonesian fishermen is problematic, it ignores cultural dynamism and does not reflect the reality of Bajo fishing. Recent changes in Bajo fishing activity are in direct response to Australian maritime expansion and other broader local and global processes of influence. Continuing illegal Bajo fishing activity occurs as a direct result of the ineffectiveness of the 1974 MOU, as well as economic consequences arising from the apprehension and destruction of boats. Other historical, social-cultural and economic reasons also motivate continued Bajo fishing activity in the AFZ. Alternative approaches to managing a traditional Indonesian fishery in the AFZ are required and a more anthropologically informed approach should be taken. A new agreement should afford specific access rights to Bajo fishermen who have fished in the north Australian region since the early decades of this century.

Seabird ecology, el nino anomalies, and prediction of sardine fisheries in the gulf of california

Abstract: Small pelagic fish constitute 25-40% of the fisheries landings in Mexico. More than 70% of these landings, predominantly Pacific sardine (Sardinops caeruleus), are captured in the Gulf of California. Small pelagic fishes are a key component of the Gulf's ecosystem; they are eaten by seabirds, sea mammals, and other fishes. The sardine fishery within the Gulf has been showing signs of overfishing since the early 1990s. To contribute to the sustainable management of this fishery, we developed two statistical models that use oceanographic conditions and seabird breeding and feeding data to predict total fishery catch and catch per unit effort (CPUE) of Pacific sardine in the central Gulf. Total catch was predicted with an accuracy of 54% by a linear model incorporating the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), the clutch size of Heermann's Gulls ( Larus heermanni), and the proportion of sardine mass in the diet of Elegant Terns (Sterna elegans). CPUE was predicted with an accuracy of 73% by a model based on the proportion of sardines in the diet of Elegant Terns, the reproductive success of Heermann's Gulls, and the springtime sea surface temperature anomaly in the Gulf region. Our results show that the reproductive ecology of seabirds is coupled to the global and local oceanographic conditions and that this infor- mation can be used to predict in advance the outcome of fishing efforts. We propose the use of models of this kind to reduce the effort of the fleet in years when it can be anticipated that CPUE will be low.