Article
Environmental Sciences
Richard D. Pillans, Gary C. Fry, Geoff D. Carlin, Toby A. Patterson
Summary: The critically endangered speartooth shark, known from northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, faces significant threats from bycatch in commercial and recreational crab pots. The limited genetic exchange among populations residing in different rivers highlights the isolation of this small population. Urgent management intervention, such as gear modifications or spatial closures, is necessary to ensure the viability of this genetically isolated population.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Xing-Han Wu, Shang Yin Vanson Liu, Sheng-Ping Wang, Wen-Pei Tsai
Summary: The Taiwanese tuna longline fishery is a major catcher of the shortfin mako shark in the Indian Ocean, with a stable and increasing trend in recent years. The study found significant variation in the size distribution of shortfin mako sharks by region and season, with larger sharks in equatorial and tropical regions and smaller ones in temperate waters. Cluster analysis identified five fishing clusters based on catch compositions.
REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Cecilia A. O'Leary, Stan Kotwicki, Gerald R. Hoff, James T. Thorson, Vladimir V. Kulik, James N. Ianelli, Robert R. Lauth, Daniel G. Nichol, Jason Conner, Andre E. Punt
Summary: The study highlights the importance of intercalibrating disparate data to accurately index populations as they move beyond historical survey footprints. By combining US and Russian data, the research assesses changes in the availability of groundfish biomass in the Bering Sea, emphasizing the need for international cooperation on assessing spatial availability of stocks common to multiple countries.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yanlong He, Lixia Zhao, Shouhai Liu, Xin Zhao, Yutan Wang, Xiaoshan Jiang
Summary: Ecological corridors are important for protecting biodiversity, but their significance for migratory species in estuaries is not well understood. This study investigated the migration patterns and optimal habitats of Coilia mystus in the Yangtze estuary. The results provide insights into maintaining population and community connectivity in this important ecosystem.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Carlos Mesquita, Helen Dobby, Graham J. Pierce, Catherine S. Jones, Paul G. Fernandes
Summary: This study analyzed the spatial distribution and population abundance of brown crab around Scotland, establishing abundance and recruitment indices for the species for the first time. The findings are crucial for the stock assessment of brown crab and can help improve fisheries management advice for this species in Scotland.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Akshay . A. Kumar, P. H. Anvar Ali, Sreekanth Giri Bhavan
Summary: The finfish catch structure of Ashtamudi Estuary, a Ramsar site of international importance, was assessed from May 2019 to April 2020. The study found that the annual finfish landings were 195.4 tonnes, contributed by 148 species of finfishes and a single species of Elasmobranch. Gill nets were the dominant gear in the finfish landings, followed by scoop nets and hook and lines, seine nets, stake nets and Chinese dip nets, and cast nets. Various factors, such as the decrease in the number of active fishers, declining mangrove cover, loss of wetland area, unsustainable fishing practices, and increasing anthropogenic pressures from urbanization, may have contributed to the decline in finfish landings. The paper also discusses management measures to improve the fish catch from the estuary in a sustainable way.
REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Iosu Paradinas, Janine B. Illian, Alexandre Alonso-Fernaendez, Maria Grazia Pennino, Sophie Smout
Summary: Species Distribution Models (SDMs) play a crucial role in fisheries management, and the integration of various data sources has become an attractive approach to improve model predictions. Integrated Species Distribution Models (ISDMs) have the ability to formally combine different types of data and account for scale proportional gear efficiencies. This study demonstrates the use of ISDMs to integrate information from afishery-independent trawl survey and a fishery-dependent trammel net observations, showing the sensitivity of model outputs to different weightings for the commercial data. The results are compared to ensemble modelling, highlighting the requirement for consistency in response variables and link functions across models.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Kwang-Ming Liu, Kuan-Yu Su, Chien-Pang Chin
Summary: Cetacean and shark depredations in a small-scale longline fishery in southeastern Taiwan were investigated using interviews and logbooks. Cetacean depredations were more serious than shark depredations, with damage rates of 19.26% and 11.56% respectively. Cetacean depredation indices were estimated to be 0.93 per 1000 hooks, significantly higher than the shark depredation index of 0.22 per 1000 hooks. The annual economic loss due to cetacean and shark depredations were estimated to be USD 441.9 thousand and USD 58.8 thousand respectively.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Nicholas Dunn, David J. Curnick, Chris Carbone, Aaron B. Carlisle, Taylor K. Chapple, Rosalie Dowell, Francesco Ferretti, David M. P. Jacoby, Robert J. Schallert, Margaux Steyaert, David M. Tickler, Michael J. Williamson, Barbara A. Block, Vincent Savolainen
Summary: eDNA methods are increasingly used to detect shark species, but they have not yet become routine monitoring techniques for elasmobranch species. This study developed species-specific eDNA assays for grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) and silvertip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus). The results showed that eDNA detections were reduced and sporadic around the northern atolls under high pressure from illegal fishing, while detections were ubiquitous and consistent around the highly protected atoll Diego Garcia.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Muhammad Rozaimi Mohd Zaki, Syatirah Husna Mohamad Zaid, Azim Haziq Zainuddin, Ahmad Zaharin Aris
Summary: This study evaluates the abundance and distribution of microplastics in the gastropods of a tropical estuary in Malaysia, finding that microplastics mainly originate from urban areas in the estuary. The majority of microplastics are fibers with black color.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Matthew L. H. Cheng, Thomas C. Lippmann, Jennifer A. Dijkstra, Gabriela Bradt, Salme Cook, Jang-Geun Choi, Bonnie L. Brown
Summary: The study found that microplastics are present in sediment cores from the Great Bay Estuary in the Gulf of Maine region, with accumulation increasing over several decades but beginning to decrease in recent years. The distribution of microplastics is more influenced by bed characteristics than typical properties of microplastics, with the highest accumulation likely occurring in areas with weaker hydrodynamic flows and lower bed shear stress. These findings provide a baseline and predictive understanding of microplastic occurrence in the estuary.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Dimitrios K. Moutopoulos, Evridiki Lazari, George Katselis, Ioannis Giovos
Summary: The study conducted a thorough investigation on the interaction between Greek fisheries and shark species through historical records, highlighting changes in shark presence over the past century, especially in relation to conflicts with humans. These findings emphasize the importance of historical data in informing the development of effective conservation strategies and policies.
Article
Fisheries
David Shiffman, Charles Bangley, Catherine Macdonald
Summary: The case of British Columbia's fishery for Pacific spiny dogfish provides insights into the factors that led to its decline, despite initially being the first certified sustainable shark fishery. A combination of temporary reduction in biomass, negative response to environmental messaging, management changes, and consolidation of the fishing industry contributed to the fishery's cessation. This study highlights the complexities and challenges in managing sustainable shark fisheries.
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Rebecca A. Howard, Lorenzo Ciannelli, W. Waldo Wakefield, Melissa A. Haltuch
Summary: This study investigates whether fishery-dependent time series can be used to fill data gaps where fishery-independent data are not available. The research found that fishery-dependent data from shallow waters have more research value compared to scientific survey data.
FISHERIES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Harrison Carmody, Tim Langlois, Jonathan Mitchell, Matthew Navarro, Nestor Bosch, Dianne McLean, Jacquomo Monk, Paul Lewis, Gary Jackson
Summary: The study utilized a 13-year dataset from the Mackerel Managed Fishery in Western Australia to quantify the impact of fishing effort and environmental variables on shark depredation. Results showed varying depredation rates across different management zones and a positive correlation between commercial fishing activity, recreational fishing effort, and shark depredation.
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2021)
Article
Fisheries
Grace Roskar, Michael P. McCallister, Matthew J. Ajemian
MARINE AND COASTAL FISHERIES
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Y. Stacy Zhang, Savannah H. Swinea, Grace Roskar, Stacy N. Trackenberg, Rachel K. Gittman, Jessie C. Jarvis, W. Judson Kenworthy, Lauren A. Yeager, F. Joel Fodrie
Summary: Major storms can have various impacts on coastal ecosystems, including habitat destruction, water quality degradation, and organism mortality. A study conducted in Back Sound, NC showed that hurricanes did not significantly alter the nursery role of shallow-water habitats for juvenile fishes, possibly due to the relative persistence of seagrass habitat. However, increasing storm intensity was correlated with greater declines in fish catch and may affect the emigration and return rate of fish after storms. The resilience of estuarine fishes to acute storm impacts in the face of chronic environmental degradation and predicted increases in major tropical cyclone frequency and intensity remains an important question.
