Sociocultural aspects of disorders of sex development

Disorders of sex development (DSD) is a congenital condition in which the development of chromosomes, gonads, hormones, and reproductive structures are atypical. DSD brings with it a psychological impact on the affected individual and their families. The consensus statement on management of DSD strongly advised an integrated and multidisciplinary approach in providing care to the affected individuals. Studies have been conducted focusing on medical intervention, and more recently, there is increasing attention paid to psychological aspects of DSD. However, studies reporting cultural aspects of DSD are lacking. This review provides an overview on how culture impacts the affected individuals in coping with DSD and making decisions with regard to gender assignment or reassignment, help‐seeking behavior for medical treatments, attitudes toward medical treatment, religious beliefs, and values concerning marriage and fertility. The involvement of social scientists is needed to study sociocultural aspects of DSD from more diverse cultures, to help affected individuals and their families in gaining better social acceptance. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:380–383, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Key aspects of the biology,fisheries and management of Coral grouper

Coral grouper (genus Plectropomus), or coral trout, are members of the grouper family (Epinephelidae) and are one of the largest and most conspicuous predatory fishes on Indo-Pacific coral reefs. They are highly-prized food fishes that are targeted by subsistence, artisanal, commercial and recreational fisheries throughout their geographic range. Plectropomus have broadly similar diets and habitat requirements to other tropical groupers, but typically have faster growth and higher natural mortality rates. Although these characteristics are expected to increase population turnover and reduce innate vulnerability to environmental and anthropogenic impacts relative to other groupers, many Plectropomus populations are in decline due to the combined effects of overfishing and habitat degradation. In many locations, stock depletion from uncontrolled fishing, particularly at spawning aggregation sites, has resulted in local fishery collapse. Therefore, improved management of wild populations is urgently required to ensure conservation and sustainable fisheries of Plectropomus. Where possible, a combination of no-take marine reserves, market-based management approaches, and allocation or resurrection of property rights systems are recommended to complement conventional fishery management actions that limit catch and effort. Additional investment in aquaculture propagation is also needed to reduce fishing pressure on wild stocks and support management initiatives. This global synthesis of information pertaining to the biology, fisheries and management of Plectropomus will assist in guiding future management actions that are attempting to address a range of stressors including fishing, reef habitat degradation, and the escalating effects of climate change.     

Glyphosate in fisheries management

Glyphosate is the active ingredient of the broad-spectrum, translocated herbicide Roundup. Glyphosate is cleared for safe use in or near watercourses, being rated virtually non-toxic by the World Health Organisation. Trials in and alongside Irish fishery watercourses first commenced in 1989 and are continuing to date. The aim of this work is to evaluate the product's efficacy in clearing nuisance reed species in recreational fisheries. The longevity of control and impact on the habitat and its fauna is also investigated. Trials in canal fisheries have demonstrated the capacity of glyphosate to remove obstructive stands of reeds (mainly Schoenoplectus lacustris, Glyceria maxima, Phragmites australis, Sparganium erectum and Typha latifolia), so creating reed-free areas and swims for anglers. These swims remained open for three years following a single application. In 1992 a trial over a 3 km length of the River Boyne, a renowned salmonid fishery, was undertaken. The results clearly demonstrated the ability of glyphosate to provide long-term control of dense (354 shoots m^–2) Schoenoplectus infestations in a large watercourse. In the year following, less than one shoot per m² was present in the channel. In 1994 a small increase in density (7.6 shoots m^–2 was recorded, so enabling unobstructed angling in a stretch of river that had been virtually unfishable for years. Trout (Salmo trutta L.) and salmon (Salmo salar L.) also used the newly exposed gravels for spawning in the winter of 1993, thereby improving fish recruitment and production in the fishery.     

Genetics in fisheries management

Genetic analyses have much to offer fisheries managers, especially in the provision of tools enabling unequivocal specimen identification and assessment of stock structure. The three commonly-used genetic tools – allozymes, mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites – differ in their properties. These differences must be born in mind, especially when interpreting gene frequency data collected for stock structure research. Examples where genetic approaches have been used to identify specimens are given, with special attention being given to compliance and labelling issues. Treatment of stock structure focuses on Atlantic cod and on yellowfin, bigeye and albacore tunas. The different resolving powers of the various techniques are discussed. Marine fish typically show low levels of population genetic differentiation, and in such species the use of large sample sizes and, preferably, multiple types of markers are desirable to resolve stock structure issues.     

Population biology and the management of fisheries

The successful management and exploitation of fisheries requires detailed knowledge of the population dynamics and life histories of commercial species, and of the factors affecting recruitment and mortality. Much progress has been made in recent years, exemplified by the report of the 1984 Dahlem Workshop on the exploitation of marine communities, and by subsequent research discussed in this article. In some fisheries at least, management decisions can now have a firm scientific base.     

Stock enhancement as a fisheries management tool

Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries - Stock enhancement has been viewed as a positive fisheries management tool for over 100 years. However, decisions to undertake such activities in the past...     

Stock enhancement as a fisheries management tool

Stock enhancement has been viewed as a positive fisheries management tool for over 100 years. However, decisions to undertake such activities in the past have often been technology-based, i.e., driven by the ability to produce fishes, with most stock enhancement projects having limited or no demonstrated success. The reasons for this have been due to an inability to identify and/or control the underlying reasons why a fishery is under-performing or not meeting management objectives. Further, stock enhancement has often been applied in isolation from other fisheries management tools (e.g., effort control). To address these issues and consider stock enhancement in a broader ecosystem perspective, a new approach for stock enhancement is proposed. The proposed model comprises four major steps; a review of all information about an ecosystem/fishery/stock and the setting of clear management targets; a comparison of all relevant fisheries management tools with the potential to meet the management targets; the instigation of a scientifically based, pilot-scale, stock enhancement program with clear objectives, targets, and evaluations; and a full-scale stock enhancement program if the pilot project meets the objectives. The model uses a flow-chart that highlights a broad range of scientific and other information, and the decisions that need to be made in relation to stock enhancement and fisheries management in general. In this way all steps are transparent and all stakeholders (managers, scientists, extractive and non-extractive users, and the general public) can contribute to the information collection and decision making processes. If stock enhancement is subsequently identified as the most-appropriate tool, then the stepwise progression will provide the best possible chance of a positive outcome for a stock enhancement project, while minimizing risks and costs. In this way, stock enhancement may advance as a science and develop as a useful fisheries management tool in appropriate situations.     

Habitat evaluation as a fisheries management tool

The application, rationale and process of habitat evaluation methods are discussed in the context of present day fisheries management. The need to consider habitat features at site and catchment level is stressed.
Development of habitat evaluation techniques for assessing brown trout habitat in Welsh streams is reported, and examples of these approaches are given: qualitative (visual assessment), semi-quantitative (a combination of subjective and quantitative measurements) and quantitative (measurements on transect system). Habitat attribute-fish population models were based on functional linear regressions and multiple regression (for the quantitative method). Quantitative models explained up to 80% of the variance in abundance of medium sized (10–20 cm) trout in hard water (>25mgl^-1 CaCO₃), but were less effective when data from soft waters were included. Testing of the qualitative and semi-quantitative methods on independent data demonstrated that the latter was more effective in predicting habitat quality.
Survey costs varied considerably but, although the more precise methods were more costly per site, they were the most cost-effective because fewer sites were required for a given level of precision.
The problems associated with soft-water sites are discussed in terms of factors affecting site carrying capacity; and selection of methods is briefly considered in the light of current management practise.     

Application of marine reserves to reef fisheries management

Abstract Establishing permanent ‘no-take’ marine reserves, areas where fishing and all other extractive activities are prohibited, is an attractive but under-utilized tool for fisheries management. Marine reserves could potentially deal with many fishery problems that are not effectively addressed by other traditional management measures; they also offer numerous social, economic, and scientific benefits not directly related to fisheries. Limited but growing research has shown beneficial biological and economic effects of marine reserves on fisheries. More research is needed, especially at larger scales, to determine the ideal marine reserve size, number and location necessary to optimize fisheries productivity and resource conservation. Sufficient evidence is available to justify the expanded use of marine reserves in an adaptive approach to fisheries management.     

Key problems in the management of sports fisheries

Abstract

This article discusses issues associated with valuation of sports fishing activities for marine resource management. Since management decisions have effects on marine resource quality and activity levels of different groups of resource users, careful benefit‐cost evaluation of alternative management plans is essential to implement an efficient management system. Three important issues for measuring sports fishing benefits are discussed: (1) aspects of fishing experience enjoyed by recreationists, (2) congestion, and (3) recreational inputs purchased for fishing participation. The household production function framework is discussed as a plausible approach to incorporate a variety of recreational inputs for describing sports fishing demand. Throughout the article, data deficiency is emphasized. Individual microlevel data about recreationists’ socioeconomic characteristics and expenditures as well as fishing site quality variables are necessary to improve the sports fishing valuation task.     

National fisheries chart 2000: a new instrument for fisheries management in inland waters

Institutional and legal frameworks have a widescope and need for improving or refiningexisting fisheries management tools, and forincreasing capabilities of the public andprivate sectors to better manage thedevelopment of fisheries activities, either inmarine or freshwater ecosystems. Despite thelarge surface area covered by inland waters inMexico, its production during the last 20 yearsremained at the same level, i.e. productionused for local consumption in rural areassupports food for the poorest communities. Thepresent document deals with the most recentlegal exercise that shows that there are manyopportunities to strengthen technicalcooperation and develop policies and commercialissues related to freshwater fish in inlandwaters.The Mexican federal administration during theyears 1994 to 2000 fully endorsed policies thatbenefited the relationship between thegovernment and fisheries sector. The Code ofConduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), wasadopted in 1995 as a global intergovernmentalconsensus on the promotion of sustainablefisheries and aquaculture developments.Following its basic principles and norms, theNational Fisheries Institute (INP) elaboratedthe National Fisheries Chart in 2000. This isan example of recent advances to develop legalinstruments that fit the need for fisheriesmanagement. Such efforts and theirimplementation can be seen through technicaldata sheets in the (CNP) as well as othersuggestions provided to further promote thesustainable development of inland fisheries inMexico.     

Glyphosate as a management tool in carp fisheries

Glyphosate was evaluated for use as a novel management tool to improve the efficiency of intensive carp (Cyprinus carpio) production in Poland. The survival and growth of the carp fry was greatest in ponds in which natural vegetation had been treated with glyphosate prior to flooding, which favoured the natural development of food organisms. The yield was greater than merely flooding the vegetation or the alternative technique of maintaining a bare fallow prior to flooding. Using glyphosate as part of the pond management programme proved cost effective and had no deleterious effect on the carp fry or their food organisms.