Fisheries Management and Ecology最新文献

Balancing marine economic development with ecological protection has been a common challenge for coastal countries. Taking the construction of marine ecological civilization demonstration zones as an example, we conducted a study based on panel data from 42 coastal cities in China between 2003 and 2022. Using a difference-in-differences model, we examined its impact effects and mechanisms on marine fisheries, aiming to offer valuable insights for promoting the development and conservation of marine resources. The results indicate that, first, the establishment of these zones inhibited the growth of local marine fishery economic efficiency, and this finding remains robust across a series of checks. Second, the policy effects show clear heterogeneity; coastal cities adjacent to the South China Sea, with greater governmental attention to environmental protection and higher levels of rural education, experienced milder transitional pressures in the fishery sector. Third, improvements in agricultural innovation and the advancement of rural informatization helped reduce short-term economic costs in pilot cities and enhanced their performance in marine cultivation and fishery sustainability. Based on a global perspective and China's practice, we proposed three management implications: (1) establish an inclusive and resilient marine governance framework; (2) implement differentiated development paths based on regional comparative advantages; (3) build a multi-stakeholder, collaborative governance model.

Climate change is an urgent global challenge that transforms atmospheric and oceanographic conditions, impacts marine ecosystems through rising sea temperatures and sea levels, causes fish habitat to shift, and influences the dynamics of fisheries productivity. We developed an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model to analyze the impact of climate change on capture fisheries production within a blue economy framework. Using data on the sea environment and fisheries production, the model predicted fisheries productivity and the risk of climate change to productivity. The best-performing model (MAPE = 7.41%, MSE = 0.0024, MAE = 0.0370) accurately predicted productivity for vessels below 30 GT at the Pekalongan Fisheries Port on Java Island, Indonesia. Our findings highlight the potential of ANN models to support mitigation and adaptation efforts that contribute to fisheries sustainability and enhance resilience to climate change impacts.

We used an innovative mixed-methods approach as a solid reference for capacity assessments in comparable contexts of socio-ecological systems. Our study focused on using the flats fishery and other sectors in the Rio Lagartos Biosphere Reserve in Yucatán, México to model and compare the Optimal Boating Density, hierarchical Cifuentes' Effective Carrying Capacity, and Monte Carlo spatial simulation models. The latter is proposed as novel as it compares three different angling quality scenarios (minimum of 14 and maximum of 28 boats per day) and 9 and 13 boats for best angling quality and experience with a 95% confidence interval. Our findings emphasize the importance of integrating biological, physical, social, and spatial factors for effective management of fisheries and tourism activities in protected marine areas. Overall, we provide managers with immediate, actionable numerical guidelines that can be part of a strategic plan that incorporates marine resource users, promotes cooperation across sectors, and ensures regulations are adaptive and provide long-term benefits to local communities.

The demand for fish maw, a dried swim bladder considered a seafood delicacy, is expanding to new species and regions worldwide. Elevated demand increases the price of maw-supplying species, which drives higher exploitation rates (i.e., fishing pressure). This situation is exacerbated when fishers increase their catch to maximize economic gain from selling maw. However, few case studies have explicitly explored the relationship between the value of maw-supplying species and exploitation rates. Further, the weight of fish needed to yield a kg of maw (the ratio of body-to-maw weight) is unknown for many traded species. Here, the black-spotted croaker (Protonibea diacanthus), one of the most valuable maw-supplying species, in Kuwait waters was used as a case study to: (i) assess the historical status of the stock using a catch-based assessment model; (ii) examine the relationship between fish price and exploitation rate; and (iii) quantify the body-to-maw weight ratio from body and maw weights. The current stock was overexploited and price was strongly associated with exploitation rate, with years of higher prices coinciding with higher exploitation rates. Moreover, the body-to-maw weight ratio indicated that 33.3 kg of black-spotted croaker was harvested to produce 1 kg of maw. The future of black-spotted croaker was discussed under two scenarios: continue business-as-usual, where the species is fished without strong management intervention, or minimize the risk of stock collapse through understanding its population dynamics, implementing fishery regulations (e.g., minimum size limit, seasonal closures) based on that understanding, and using international trade agreements such as Appendix II of CITES.

Stream restoration measures in Swiss rivers have included fish passage construction, creation of shelters and water quality enhancement. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of these actions on brown trout populations has not been elucidated through long-term studies. The initiation of stream restoration measures in the Boiron of Morges, a tributary of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, provided an opportunity to (1) determine the effectiveness of stocking, (2) assess the impact of pollution, and (3) evaluate the influence of stream restoration measures on a potamodromous brown trout (Salmo trutta) population, which was suspected to increase in population density. Electrofishing has been used to survey the population biannually since 1997. Surveys revealed that stocking was ineffective, whereas recolonisation after pollution was rapid in sections accessible by potamodromous spawners migrating from the lake, but was delayed by 2 years in sections upstream of an impassable barrier. Overall, water quality improvement and fish migration were the main restoration actions essential for enhancing brown trout population viability.