Implementing Article 28 of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement: The First Review of a Conservation Measure in the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation

This article assesses the contribution of the 2013 Review of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation's measure on jack mackerel to effective decision making as mandated by the UN Fish Stocks Agreement. Though positive overall, the review highlights some potential flaws, notably the dilemma that the requirement of an alternative measure equivalent in effect to the one challenged may, if interpreted strictly, lead to a replacement measure just as unacceptable to the state initiating the review. Other issues emerging from the review are the incentive to overreport catch in anticipation of an allocation and a doubtful interpretation of a central provision in the treaty that created the organization.     

Canada and Regional Fisheries Organizations: Implementing the UN Fish Stocks Agreement

Canada is a strong supporter of the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement. Whether Canada's support is matched by its actions in strengthening regional fisheries organizations and arrangements dealing with straddling and highly migratory fish stocks is thus worthy of investigation. This contribution examines Canadian activities within regional fisheries organizations with particular reference to implementation of the precautionary and ecosystem approaches and the issue of enforcement of conservation and management measures. Although Canadian actions appear generally to be furthering implementation of the Agreement, comprehensive integration of words and deeds remains to be achieved.     

Fishy Business: The High Seas Boarding and Inspection Regime in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) was created in 2004 to more effectively conserve and manage the region's tuna fishery. One of the Commission's principal enforcement tools is the high seas boarding and inspection regime, which authorizes each member state to board and inspect fishing vessels engaged in a regulated fishery to verify compliance with the Commission's conservation and management measures. This article examines the structure of the WCPFC's high seas boarding and inspection regime and analyzes its effectiveness in furthering the Commission's conservations and management mandate.     

Rio Plus Ten: The Evolution of International Marine Fisheries Governance

The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held at Rio de Janeiro was a seminal event that addressed the interplay of economic development and human use of natural resources with the need for protection of the natural environment. The general principles embodied in the Rio Declaration and the provisions included in the comprehensive Agenda 21 expressed the expectations of the international community and set the stage for national and international policy and legal developments in a host of different areas, including the governance of the ocean's living resources. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 focused on the world's oceans and seas and crystallized growing world community concern with problems such as unregulated fishing, fishing vessel reflagging, overcapitalization of the fishing industry, inadequate fisheries enforcement, and insufficient cooperation among states. Further, the documentation of UNCED evidenced interest in new governance frameworks and concepts such as ecosystem-based management and precaution. In retrospect, it is clear that the ideas discussed at Rio have been important and have been implemented by a variety of governments and international organizations as they exercise their responsibilities for fisheries management. This article examines the principles and approaches suggested by UNCED as they relate to world fisheries and considers how they have been reflected in global fishery agreements such as the FAO Compliance Agreement and the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, in the work of international fishery bodies such as the FAO Committee on Fisheries, and in the efforts of a number of regional fishery commissions. It also addresses the significance and ramifications of changes suggested by Agenda 21 for the future conduct and management of world marine fisheries.     

Fisheries management in practice: review of 13 commercially important fish stocks

This paper comparatively reviews several commercially important fish stocks, their state and their management in various regions of the world including Japanese anchovy, Bay of Biscay anchovy, North Sea sandeel, North Sea herring, Icelandic cod, Barents Sea cod, South African cape hakes, sockeye salmon, chinook salmon, southern bluefin tuna, Pacific halibut, Greenland halibut and Patagonian toothfish. The reviewed fish stocks are systemized in three categories: (1) stock properties and status; (2) management structure and objectives; and (3) management advice. We gather evidence to outline qualities of management regimes that are recommended and highlight those that most often fail. Robust management, biological limits (reference points), implementation and consensus are critical points that separate successful and unsuccessful management regimes. We evaluate each fish stock’s management performance relative to its management objectives and current conservation issues. Furthermore, we point out the importance of stakeholder involvement in fisheries management as well as the problems that international fisheries commissions face through examples from the case studies. Management successes tended to be single-nation and single-stock fisheries with capacity control and clear stakeholder involvement. Fisheries with fleet overcapacity, unclear objectives and illegal activity characterized the case studies with management problems.     

我国湖泊与海水鱼类养殖的环境效应和基于生态系统的渔业管理

在我国,鱼类养殖是一项重要的商业活动。鱼类养殖在过去几十年的快速发展过程中,对水环境产生了重要影响。研究表明:鱼类养殖对养殖区鱼、浮游生物、水生植物群落结构和水质变化有重要影响。现在,几乎所有的鱼类养殖系统都在一定程度上受到了损害。随着人们环境保护意识的增强,鱼类养殖的环境效应和渔业管理问题已引起了社会的广泛关注,渔业管理不再仅仅是通过开发资源以获取最高产量。面临挑战,人们应该采取切实可行的步骤,从传统的渔业管理转变到基于生态系统的渔业管理,将渔业纳入生态系统管理以保障养殖业的可持续发展。     

Chile's Presential sea proposal: Implications for straddling stocks and the international law of fisheries

Abstract

Despite rapid evolution in international fisheries law and establishment of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), straddling stocks still remain susceptible to heavy harvesting in high seas areas by distant‐water fishing states there by undermining coastal state management. The notion mar presencial (presential sea) has recently been proposed by Chile as a solution for the problem of straddling stocks. The presential sea concept was nationally designed and promoted to curtail such foreign fishing in areas adjacent to Chile's EEZ. This article examines the presential sea as a geostrategic concept, its justification for being, and the question of its permissibility under contemporary international fisheries law. Attention is also given to recent international developments that challenge the legal viability of the presential sea concept. The authors conclude that if this concept were to be widely adopted by coastal states, the traditional freedom to fish on the high seas might be severely compromised. The preferable legal solution is to work within the parameters set out by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, more particularly through bilateral negotiations between coastal states and fishing states, as well as regional fishery commissions that could manage activities in the region.     

Pacta Tertiis and Regional Fisheries Management Mechanisms: The IUU Fishing Concept as an Illegitimate Short-Cut to a Legitimate Goal1

This article considers how international management of fisheries under the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement and regional fisheries management organizations is affected by one of the basic principles of the law of treaties: the rule pacta tertiis nec nocent nec prosunt, by which international fisheries regulations as treaty-based obligations bind only the parties to the treaty concerned and not third states without their consent. It is shown that the relatively recent concept of IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) fishing, often seen as a way to circumvent this problem, is flawed as a solution, largely because the leading global and European Union instruments in which it is embodied in effect equate unregulated fishing with illegal fishing in a way that pays insufficient heed to the constraints of the pacta tertiis rule.     

Fisheries enhancement and biodiversity assessment of fish,prawn and mud crab in Chilika lagoon through hydrological intervention

The degraded state of the fragile ecosystem of Chilika lagoon on the east coast of India caused by natural changes and anthropogenic pressure was in the process of restoration through an effective hydrological intervention during 2000 after thorough scientific investigation including EIA study. The rich fisheries of Chilika lagoon that support livelihood of 0.2 million local fisherfolk was in dwindling state during the eco-degradation phase. Studies on fisheries and fish biodiversity of the lagoon for 4 years before and 4 years after the intervention showed the stark and rapid recovery of fishery immediately after opening of the new mouth with sixfold increase in average annual landing. The average productivity (11.3 t km⁻²) and CPUE (6.2 kg boat-day⁻¹) during post intervention phase registered 528 and 464% increase, as compared to Pre-intervention years. In total, 277 species of fish and shell fish were documented as occurring in Chilika lagoon before the hydrological intervention. Inventory survey for fish and shell fish species diversity during and after hydrological intervention documented 68 and 97 species, respectively. New records of 56 species of fish and shell fish (7 freshwater, 20 brackishwater and 29 marine) were documented from Chilika lagoon after the hydrological intervention. Analysis of commercial catches showed that the migratory species contributed to the bulk of catches (75% by species and 68% by catch weight). Fish yield and biodiversity seemed to be very sensitive to salinity and hydrologic dynamics of the lagoon. Correlation analysis indicated inverse relationship between water transparency and fish catch (R ² = 0.715; d.f. = 25; P < 0.01). Positive correlation between salinity and prawn landing (R ² = 0.542; d.f. = 25; P < 0.01) and salinity and mud crab landing (R ² = 0.628; d.f. = 25; P < 0.001). Average salinity for the whole lagoon was significantly increased by 42.7% (P < 0.007) as compared to pre-intervention situation. Maintenance of estuarine character of Chilika’s ecosystem particularly the salinity gradient, un-hindered auto-recruitment of fish and shell fish and prevention of destructive fishing are the key factors for fisheries enhancement. Unless carefully planned conservation and regulation measures are ensured with the active participation of local communities during the early phase of restoration, the present scenario of fisheries enhancement may not sustain for longer time.     

Response of downstream migrant juvenile Pacific salmonids to accelerating flow and overhead cover

Mechanical structures designed to divert or guide juvenile migrant salmon at dams often work less effectively than expected. This likely results from a lack of understanding of fish behaviour. In order to address this, a series of experiments was conducted at McNary dam, USA, to assess the influence of hydraulic transition and overhead cover on the behaviour of seaward migrating juvenile Pacific salmon. Fish passing through a flume encountered a choice of route that varied based on hydraulic factors and overhead cover. Direct observation revealed that individuals elicited strong avoidance behaviour when they encountered areas where hydraulic conditions changed rapidly or were covered. Our findings have implications relevant to fish pass design and culvert restoration in Europe. Critically, improvement of current fish pass design and development of alternative mechanisms that effectively block fish access to, and divert fish away from poor passage routes, requires consideration of the behavioural component of fish migration. Guest editors: R. L. Welcomme & G. Marmulla Hydropower, Flood Control and Water Abstraction: Implications for Fish and Fisheries     

The politics of a new legal order for fisheries

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) Fishing is considered a major threat to high seas fish stocks. Each of the the international regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) are combating some form of IUU fishing and this led the Food and Agriculture Oranization of the United Nations (FAO) to adopt the International Plan of Action to Deter, Prevent and Eliminate IUU Fishing (IPOA-IUU). This article will analyze the issues involved with IUU fishing, examine the recommendations in the IPOA, and consider examples of successful management and enforcement measures in use by states and RFMOs. Finally, recent developments in China will be viewed as an example of how international cooperation is contagious.     

Context‐dependent interplays between truncated demographies and climate variation shape the population growth rate of a harvested species

Fisheries ecologists traditionally aimed at disentangling climate and fishing effects from the population dynamics of exploited marine fish stocks. However, recent studies have shown that internal characteristics and external forcing (climate and exploitation) have interactive rather than additive effects. Thought most of these studies explored how demographic truncation induced by exploitation affected the response of recruitment to climate, identifying a general pattern revealed to be difficult as interactions are often case‐specific. Here we compared five exploited stocks of European hake Merluccius merluccius from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea to investigate how the interaction between internal characteristics and external forces affect the variability of the population growth rate and their consequences on recruitment. Our results show that demographic truncation induces a novel population scenario in which the growth rate is maximized when the reproductive stock is younger and less diverse. This scenario is shaped by the climate variability and the fishing pattern. The population growth rate becomes more dependent on the maturation schedule and less on the survival rates. The consequences for the recruitment dynamics are twofold; the effect of density‐dependent regulatory processes decreases while the effect of the density‐independent drivers increases. Our study shows that the interaction between internal characteristics and external forces changes across geographic locations according to 1) the importance of demographic truncation, 2) the influence of the climate on the regional hydrography and 3) the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the physical environment to which fish life history is adapted.     

A trait‐based approach reveals the feeding selectivity of a small endangered Mediterranean fish

Functional traits are growing in popularity in modern ecology, but feeding studies remain primarily rooted in a taxonomic‐based perspective. However, consumers do not have any reason to select their prey using a taxonomic criterion, and prey assemblages are variable in space and time, which makes taxon‐based studies assemblage‐specific. To illustrate the benefits of the trait‐based approach to assessing food choice, we studied the feeding ecology of the endangered freshwater fish Barbus meridionalis. We hypothesized that B. meridionalis is a selective predator which food choice depends on several prey morphological and behavioral traits, and thus, its top‐down pressure may lead to changes in the functional composition of in‐stream macroinvertebrate communities. Feeding selectivity was inferred by comparing taxonomic and functional composition (13 traits) between ingested and free‐living potential prey using the Jacob's electivity index. Our results showed that the fish diet was influenced by 10 of the 13 traits tested. Barbus meridionalis preferred prey with a potential size of 5–10 mm, with a medium–high drift tendency, and that drift during daylight. Potential prey with no body flexibility, conical shape, concealment traits (presence of nets and/or cases, or patterned coloration), and high aggregation tendency had a low predation risk. Similarly, surface swimmers and interstitial taxa were low vulnerable to predation. Feeding selectivity altered the functional composition of the macroinvertebrate communities. Fish absence favored taxa with weak aggregation tendency, weak flexibility, and a relatively large size (10–20 mm of potential size). Besides, predatory invertebrates may increase in fish absence. In conclusion, our study shows that the incorporation of the trait‐based approach in diet studies is a promising avenue to improve our mechanistic understanding of predator–prey interactions and to help predict the ecological outcomes of predator invasions and extinctions.     

Indices of national interest in the oceans

Abstract

Each of the 148 independent States of the world has a particular set of interests in the oceans; these interests are reflected in policies regarding the international law of the sea. By analyzing the nature of national marine interests it is possible both to develop a generalized model which can be applied to any one of the world's countries, and to divide States into groupings, depending on their physical, economic, historic or other characteristics with respect to the marine environment. The four basic components of the national marine interest are accessibility, investment, dependence and control. These components are important to an understanding of the positions of the 30 land‐locked, 20 shelf‐locked and 98 other countries in current and upcoming law of the sea negotiations.     

Influence of the macrophyte <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eichhornia azurea</Emphasis> on fish assemblage of the Upper Paraná River floodplain (Brazil)

The architecture of aquatic macrophytes adds structural complexity to the littoral region. This increased habitat heterogeneity prompts greater diversity and stability of biotic communities. However, there are few studies that explore the ecological role of macrophytes in the Neotropical region. Then, the aim of this study was to determine spatial and diel influence of near-shore Eichhornia azurea stands on fish assemblage attributes and structure, in the Upper Paraná River floodplain, considering a meso-habitat scale. To achieve this objective, fish were trapped in four stands of macrophytes, in three positions (middle and border of the stand and open area) with samplings taken at different times of the day (6 h, 12 h and 18 h). A total of 537 fish of 16 species were caught. Dissolved oxygen varied significantly among positions. Fish assemblage attributes (species richness, evenness and Shannon Diversity Index) also varied among positions. Fish assemblage structure (summarized by a detrended correspondence analysis) and size structure were strongly influenced by times of the day and positions. The patterns observed can be explained by factors such as oxygen concentration, food resource availability and predation, all influenced by macrophytes. We suggest that any strategy to manage fish diversity and fish stocks has to consider aquatic macrophytes.     

Food and feeding relationships of young fish in the first weeks after the beginning of exogenous feeding in Lake Opinicon,Ontario

Synopsis Young fish of six species in an open water community all began their exogenous feeding by taking nauplii and small cyclopoids of body length (less tail) of 0.1–0.3 mm. Appearance of larvae of the different species in the system was, however, sequential, the resource being utilized by the different species in turn. The sequence was: Perca flavescens, Percina caprodes, Pomoxis nigromaculatus, Ambloplites rupestris, Lepomisgibbosus and L. macrochirus.The larvae and juveniles changes their diet rapidly as they grew. Fish 10–14 days after hatching and 8–10 mm in length i.e. close to the beginning of the juvenile period, consumed larger-bodied prey items (including several genera of Cladocera) and had more diversified diets than the 4.5–6.0 mm first-feeding larvae. These differences, and progressive dispersal of the larger young from the area, served to minimize the chances of food competition between batches of young of different ages.The composition of the fish community of larvae changed from week to week as new species entered it, increased in size and departed. Patterns of food utilization changed accordingly.Numbers of cyclopoids, their nauplii, and Bosmina longirostris, fell rapidly in May — early June, and did not increase again until August. These changes coincided with the rise and fall in numbers of the young fish in the habitat.Paper presented in the symposium \lsEmbryonic and larval periods of fishes: present status and significance\rs, Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research (CCFFR), Fredricton, New Brunswick, January 1977.     

Status of research on Yangtze fish biology and fisheries

The Yangtze is the largest river in China and the third largest river in the world. Being pregnant with plentiful fish resources, it is not only the representative of the areas with biological diversity, but also a cradle of freshwater fisheries in China. In the Yangtze, at present, the fishery resources are seriously depleted; the fishery yield by fishing is significantly reduced; significant changes have occurred on the structure of fish community, with decrease in migratory fish species, reduction in the quantity of the populations of rare, peculiar and economically important fish species and increase in the number of exotic fish species, and severe trend in fish stunting. Habitat fragmentation and shrinkage, resources overexploitation, water pollution and invasion of exotic species are the main causes for threatening fish stocks in the Yangtze River. Since 1950’s, a lot of scientific researches have been conducted on biology of fishes from the Yangtze River and its fisheries to provide scientific basis for their protection. In recent years, measures such as closed spring, fish reserves, artificial enhancement & release, ecological rehabilitation, fishery management and international cooperation have played important roles. Nevertheless, researches on fishes from the Yangtze cannot adequately meet the demand for their protection. Especially, those in the aspects of population ecology of Yangtze fishes, species endangerment mechanism, ecological effects of large hydraulic projects and protection strategy are not deep enough. It is recommended that scientific researches should be conducted in comprehensive survey of Yangtze fish resources, fish endangerment mechanism, techniques in artificial enhancement and release of key species, risk assessment of exotic species, ecological rehabilitation of major fisheries functional zones, etc.     

Tracing the origins of stocks of the endangered species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Primula sieboldii</Emphasis> using nuclear microsatellites and chloroplast DNA

We examined the origins of cultivated stocks of the endangered species Primula sieboldii at the individual plant level by using an assignment test based on eight microsatellite loci and regional features of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variation of wild populations. To confirm that we had sufficient information for estimating the origins of the stocks, we performed an assignment test with 920 genets that we collected from 32 wild populations with known origins. The test assigned 99.6% of the genets to the population from which they had been sampled, confirming the suitability of the method. We then performed the assignment test with 29 cultivated stocks. The alleged origins of 19 were confirmed by microsatellite and cpDNA variations. In contrast, the alleged origins of five were rejected by both markers. Five stocks, which do not have a reference population located within 30 km of their reputed origin, were not assigned to any population. Stocks whose alleged origins were rejected are inappropriate as restoration materials, because their introduction might disturb local gene pools. Six stock haplotypes could not be detected in wild populations. This may suggest the loss of genetic diversity in the wild and the value of stocks as a gene bank. The genetic method used in this study will also be helpful to detect cryptic invasion by nonendemic genotypes or to trace the origins of plants collected for commercial purposes, a threat to many endangered species.     

The law of the sea and management of anadromous fish stocks

Abstract

Unilateral declarations of 200‐mi fishing zones by coastal states are likely to find universal recognition in new articles of international law. These probably will conform to the Single Negotiating Text currently under discussion in continuing sessions of the Third Conference on the Law of the Sea. The articles of this Text are clearly designed to protect and strengthen the fisheries rights of coastal states. Ironically, the new rules may prove counterproductive in respect of the major salmon stocks that migrate beyond 200‐mi limits. Effective protection of state‐of‐origin rights on the high seas beyond these limits will be difficult. Distant water fishing fleets experiencing reduced access to 200‐mi coastal zones will be tempted to increase, their efforts on stocks found in the remaining high seas. Salmon interception by neighboring states will also remain a problem. The article analyzes protective strategies and accommodations that may be pursued by states of origin.