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.

A global baseline for spawning aggregations of reef fishes.

Abstract: Species that periodically and predictably congregate on land or in the sea can be extremely vulnerable to overexploitation. Many coral reef fishes form spawning aggregations that are increasingly the target of fishing. Although serious declines are well known for a few species, the extent of this behavior among fishes and the impacts of aggregation fishing are not appreciated widely. To profile aggregating species globally, establish a baseline for future work, and strengthen the case for protection, we (as members of the Society for the Conservation of Reef Fish Aggregations) developed a global database on the occurrence, history, and management of spawning aggregations. We complemented the database with information from interviews with over 300 fishers in Asia and the western Pacific. Sixty-seven species, mainly commercial, in 9 families aggregate to spawn in the 29 countries or territories considered in the database. Ninety percent of aggregation records were from reef pass channels, promontories, and outer reef-slope drop-offs. Multispecies aggregation sites were common, and spawning seasons of most species typically lasted <3 months. The best-documented species in the database, the Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus), has undergone substantial declines in aggregations throughout its range and is now considered threatened. Our findings have important conservation and management implications for aggregating species given that exploitation pressures on them are increasing, there is little effective management, and 79% of those aggregations sufficiently well documented were reported to be in decline. Nonetheless, a few success stories demonstrate the benefits of aggregation management. A major shift in perspective on spawning aggregations of reef fish, from being seen as opportunities for exploitation to acknowledging them as important life-history phenomena in need of management, is urgently needed.

Mapping global fisheries: sharpening our focus

Abstract: Mapping global landings is an important prerequisite for examining causal relationships between fishing and ecological change. Landing statistics, typically provided with poor spatial precision, can be disaggregated into a grid system of spatial cells (30 min ·30 min) using a rule-based approach and ancillary data about distributions of fished taxa and fishing access of reporting countries. Presentation of time series catch composition is then possible for many types of marine areas including biogeochemical provinces, large marine ecosystems and exclusive economic zones.