Evaluation of Agricultural Contamination Level by Heavy Metals and Pesticides in Sediments of Rivers and Water Bodies for Shrimp Fishing in the Lower Ouémé: Case of the Aguigadji, Ahlan and Sele Stations in Benin

This study assessed sediment contamination by heavy metals and pesticide active ingredients linked to chemical inputs used in agricultural activities in the lower Ouémé. Pesticide residues from the organochlorine, pyrethroid and organophosphorus families were investigated by gas chromatography, and heavy metals (Cd, Pb, As, Ni, Zn, Fe, Mg, Cr and Hg) by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The metallic pollution indices, the contamination factor (CF) and the ecological risk index were calculated. The results revealed 8 active ingredients in the rainy season and 9 in the dry season. Glyphosate was the active ingredient with the highest concentration at all stations, 9.65 ± 0.84 mg/kg recorded in the dry season at the Aguigadji station. All glyphosate values were above the EQS. DDT, Atrazine and Endosulfan also showed high concentrations in the dry and rainy seasons. Emamectin, Abamectin and Lambda Cyhalothrin also showed high concentrations in the dry season at Aguigadji, Ahlan and Sele. Only glyphosate was recorded at the control station (Toho), but in very low concentrations. Lead showed the highest concentrations at all the stations, 265.96 ± 21.02 mg/Kg in the rainy season and 255.38 ± 79.09 mg/Kg in the dry season, all detected at the Aguigadji station and above the EQS. Zn, Ni, Fe, Cu and Cr were all representative in both the dry and rainy seasons at the contaminated stations. Manganese showed high concentrations in the rainy season. Pb showed very high contamination (FC ≥ 6) at the Aguigadji and Ahlan stations and significant contamination (3 ≤ FC 6) at the Sele station in both the rainy and dry seasons. Ni, Hg and Cd, showed either moderate or significant contamination at the contaminated stations. The risk values showed a considerable ecological Ri (190 ≤ Ri < 380) in the rainy season and a moderate ecological Ri (95 ≤ Ri < 190) in the dry season at these contaminated stations.

Identification of Fishing State of Purse Seine Fishing Vessels Based on Multi-Indices

With the popularization of vessel satellite AIS(automatic identification system)equipment and the continuous improve-ment of the AIS data’s coverage,continuity and effectiveness,AIS has become an important data source to study the navigation char-acteristics of vessel groups.This study established an identification model to extract the fishing state and intensity information of fishing vessels,based on the AIS data of purse seine fishing vessels,combined with the variables of vessel position,speed and course.Expert experience,spatial statistics and data mining analysis methods were applied to establish the model,and the Western and Cen-tral Pacific Ocean areas were studied.The results showed that the overall accuracy of identification of the fishing state using Support Vector Machine method is higher,and the method has a good modeling effect.The spatial distribution characteristics of the vessels’fishing intensity based on AIS data showed a significant cluster distribution pattern.The obtained high-intensity fishing area can be used as a prediction of purse seine fishing grounds in the Western and Central Pacific areas.Through the processing and research of AIS data,this study provided important scientific support for the identification of fishing state of purse seine fishing vessels.The spatial fishing intensity of fishing vessels based on AIS data can also be used for the analysis of fishery resources and fishing grounds,and further serve the sustainable development of marine fisheries.

Safety Equipment in Artisanal Maritime Fishing in Gabon: Between Adaptation and the Weight of Socio-Cultural Logics at the Libreville Artisanal Fishing Center (CAPAL)

Maritime safety equipment allows to prevent and minimize the risks inherent to navigation at sea. However, in the artisanal maritime fishery in Gabon, fishermen are confronted with the major difficulty of the inaccessibility of protective tools to carry out fishing trips in all peace of mind. The absence of equipment to help maritime navigation poses the problem of insecurity in which the various artisanal fishermen work, often victims of numerous accidents at sea. This article aims at highlighting the difficulties of accessibility, by the fishermen, of all the conventional protection tools recommended by the administrations. In fact, the methodology used is based on the consultation of official reports and publications on the subject, field observations and semi-structured interviews with 110 actors. The results obtained reveal, on the one hand, a plethora of conventional protective equipment required of fishing vessels. On the other hand, they reveal the high cost of safety equipment which creates, among the professionals concerned, a reluctance to acquire all of the said tools and forces the interested parties to associate them very often with the traditional procedures for rescue at sea.

Fishing Production and Fishing Changes in Hong Kong after the Ground Trawl Ban of 31st December 2012:A Geospatial Evaluation

From data published by the Hong Kong SAR(HKSAR)government in their two sole fisheries surveys of 2006 and 2016/2017,the current authors produced regional maps using spatial interpolation to more accurately describe and estimate the geographic coverage of changes in fishing production in Hong Kong waters since the ground trawl ban of 2012 December 31st.These suggest the fishing industry has adapted to smaller craft,and that fishing production increased in several areas in the period after the ground trawl ban came into effect.In addition,the maps enable a smoother assessment to be made of the geospatial changes in fishing production which have occurred since the ground trawl ban and suggest a‘workaround’by fishermen.In particular,small fishing craft known as sampans are able to take advantage by being more suitable vessels for areas such as narrower or shallower bays.Marine plastics pollution is also a proxy indicator of these activities,as evidenced by discarded fishing gear that includes plastic nets,floats,and other fishing boat equipment.

Effects of Different Spatial Resolutions on Prediction Accuracy of Thunnus alalunga Fishing Ground in Waters Near the Cook Islands Based on Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)Neural Network Model

Albacore tuna(Thunnus alalunga)is one of the target species of tuna longline fishing,and waters near the Cook Islands are a vital albacore tuna fishing ground.Marine environmental data are usually presented with different spatial resolutions,which leads to different results in tuna fishery prediction.Study on the impact of different spatial resolutions on the prediction accuracy of albacore tuna fishery to select the best spatial resolution can contribute to better management of albacore tuna resources.The nominal catch per unit effort(CPUE)of albacore tuna is calculated according to vessel monitor system(VMS)data collected from Chinese distantwater fishery enterprises from January 1,2017 to May 31,2021.A total of 26 spatiotemporal and environmental factors,including temperature,salinity,dissolved oxygen of 0–300 m water layer,chlorophyll-a concentration in the sea surface,sea surface height,month,longitude,and latitude,were selected as variables.The temporal resolution of the variables was daily and the spatial resolutions were set to be 0.5°×0.5°,1°×1°,2°×2°,and 5°×5°.The relationship between the nominal CPUE and each individual factor was analyzed to remove the factors irrelavant to the nominal CPUE,together with a multicollinearity diagnosis on the factors to remove factors highly related to the other factors within the four spatial resolutions.The relationship models between CPUE and spatiotemporal and environmental factors by four spatial resolutions were established based on the long short-term memory(LSTM)neural network model.The mean absolute error(MAE)and root mean square error(RMSE)were used to analyze the fitness and accuracy of the models,and to determine the effects of different spatial resolutions on the prediction accuracy of the albacore tuna fishing ground.The results show the resolution of 1°×1°can lead to the best prediction accuracy,with the MAE and RMSE being 0.0268 and 0.0452 respectively,followed by 0.5°×0.5°,2°×2°and 5°×5°with declining prediction accuracy.The results suggested that 1)albacore tuna fishing ground can be predicted by LSTM;2)the VMS records the data in detail and can be used scientifically to calculate the CPUE;3)correlation analysis,and multicollinearity diagnosis are necessary to improve the prediction accuracy of the model;4)the spatial resolution should be 1°×1°in the forecast of albacore tuna fishing ground in waters near the Cook Islands.

Scale and Associated Factors of Using Pyrethroid-Impregnated Mosquito Nets as Fishing Tools on Nokoué Lake within Sô-Ava Municipality in Benin, 2020

Background: In lacustrine communities, whether in Benin or elsewhere, populations use impregnated mosquito nets (IMNs) as fishing nets. This depletes the lake of its fishery resources, which in turn are contaminated by the pyrethroids impregnated in the nets. This study aims to determine the scale and factors associated with the use of pyrethroid-impregnated mosquito nets as fishing tools in the municipality of Sô-Ava in Benin. Methods: This is a cross-sectional and analytical study with two components. First, a quantitative component was made up of 280 volunteers who were interviewed in the seven districts of the city. Data collection was done in two phases: the first from September to October 2020, and the second in August 2022. Data were analyzed with Stata and logistic regression was used. Another qualitative component was made up of forty participants chosen by reasoned choice, of which 32 were split into four focus groups of eight members each, and the rest participated in semi-structured interviews. Triangulation of the different sources was used to analyze the data. Results: Around 67% of the population reported using impregnated mosquito nets as fishing tools and 33% exclusively for malaria. Seasonal fishermen (ORa = 2.03, CI = 1.35 - 4.97, P = 0.004) and years of professional experience (ORa = 1.53, CI = 1.00 - 2.05, P = 0.021) increase the risk of using these nets as fishing tools. The use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets against mosquitoes causes skin scratching and impairs breathing because of the impregnation products, as reported by respondents. Conclusion: A high prevalence of inappropriate use of impregnated mosquito nets in fishing practices is highlighted in this study. Interviews in the field revealed that nets are diverted for fishing purposes to increase the volume of catches. Consequently, it will be appropriate to assess the pyrethroid content in water and fishery products.

Fishing Dynamic and Stock Status of Endeavour Shrimp(Metapenaeus ensis de Haan)in Bombana Waters,South-East Celebes

The high market demand for endeavour shrimp(Metapenaeus ensis de Haan)has caused intensive fishing for this resource and tends to threaten their sustainability.Assessment of fishing dynamic and stock status of fisheries resource is the main point to formulate its proper sustainable management in the future.The purpose of this study was to determine the stock status of endeavour shrimp in the Bombana and its surrounding waters.The study was conducted from April to November 2021 using a survey method to analyze the length at first capture(L_(c)),length at first maturity(L_(m)),growth rate(K),maximum theoretical carapace length(Loo),and mortality rate such as total mortality rate(Z),fishing mortality rate(F)and natural mortality rate(M).The study results revealed that the endeavour shrimp growth pattern in Bombana was negative allometric and that the ratio of males and females was not balanced.The length at first capture(L_(c))was 29.83 mm(carapace length)and the length at first maturity(L_(m))was at a total carapace length of 31.67 mm.The growth rate(K)was 1.0 per year and maximum theoretical length(L_(∞))was 46.2 mm.The estimate total mortality rate(Z)was 2.52 per year,the fishing mortality rate(F)and natural mortality rate(M)were 0.91 per year and 1.61 per year respectively.The exploitation rate(E)was 0.36 per year,therefore the stock status is not categorized overfishing.In order to ensure the sustainability of the endeavour shrimp,then the effort must be increased by about 28%of the current effort.

Evaluation of the “fishing down marine food web” process in the north-west of Persian Gulf(Khuzestan Province) during the period of 2002–2011

The worldwide increase in commercial fisheries and its impact on ecosystems as well as inefficient fishery management have led to overfishing and frequent breakdown of traditional fish stocks. In this context, an analysis of Khuzestan inshore fisheries data covering the years 2002-2011, was conducted in reliance on testing for occurrence of the fishing down marine food webs （FDMFW） phenomenon in the North of Persian Gulf Large Marine Ecosystem （LME）. In this study, the mean trophic level （mTL） and the fishing-in-balance （FIB）-index of Khuzestan landings during this period of time were estimated using the trophic level of 47 fishery resources. Increase in total landings （I1） was observed, which explained the high fishing yield in major fishery resources （especially demersal）. Moreover, the moderates decreasing trend in mTL per decade, and the increasing trend in FIB-index were observed. The status of fishery resources in Khuzestan inshore waters （under exploited but not overexploited）, the rise in Y, FIB and slightly drop in mTL can be considered as indirect indicators of the fishing impacts on the trophic structure of marine communities. Based on this result, probability occurrence of FDMFW process in Khuzestan inshore waters is low to some extent. However, we suggest that the goal of management programs in Khuzestan inshore waters should prevent the continuance of this trend in the long-term using an ecosystem-based approach.

Variations of oceanic fronts and their influence on the fishing grounds of Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwest Pacific

Two predominant currents, the warm Kuroshio Current and the cold Oyashio Current, meet in the North- west Pacific Ocean. The dynamics of physical oceanographic structures in this region, including frontal zones and meandering eddies, result in a highly productive habitat that serves as a favorable feeding ground for various commercially important species. Neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii, is an im- portant oceanic squid, which is widely distributed in the North Pacific Ocean. Based on the catch data col- lected by Chinese squid jigging fleets and relevant environmental data, including sea surface temperature （SST） and fronts （represented by gradients of SST and thermocline） during 1998-2009, the variations of oceanic fronts and their influence on the fishing grounds of O. bartramii were evaluated, and the differ- ences in distribution of fishing grounds of O. bartramii in 2000 and 2002 were compared by describing the differences in vertical temperature between 0-300 m. It was found that the preferred horizontal tem- perature gradient of SST for O. bartramii tended to be centered at 0.01-0.02~C/nm, which attracted nearly 80% of the total fishing effort, and the preferred horizontal temperature gradients at the 50 m and 105 m layers were mainly located at 0.01-0.03~C/nm, which accounted for more than 70% of the total fishing effort during August-October. The preferred vertical temperature gradient within the 0-50 m layer for O. bartramii tended to be centered at 0.15-0.25~C/m during August and September and at 0.10-0.15~C/m in October, implying that the mixed surface layer was distributed at depths of 0-50 m. It was concluded that the vertical temperature gradient was more important than the horizontal temperature gradient in playing a role in forming the fishing ground. The results improved our understanding of the spatial dynamics of the 0. bartramii fishery.

FVID: Fishing Vessel Type Identification Based on VMS Trajectories

Vessel Monitoring System(VMS) provides a new opportunity for quantified fishing research. Many approaches have been proposed to recognize fishing activities with VMS trajectories based on the types of fishing vessels. However, one research problem is still calling for solutions, how to identify the fishing vessel type based on only VMS trajectories. This problem is important because it requires the fishing vessel type as a preliminary to recognize fishing activities from VMS trajectories. This paper proposes fishing vessel type identification scheme(FVID) based only on VMS trajectories. FVID exploits feature engineering and machine learning schemes of XGBoost as its two key blocks and classifies fishing vessels into nine types. The dataset contains all the fishing vessel trajectories in the East China Sea in March 2017, including 10031 pre-registered fishing vessels and 1350 unregistered vessels of unknown types. In order to verify type identification accuracy, we first conduct a 4-fold cross-validation on the trajectories of registered fishing vessels. The classification accuracy is 95.42%. We then apply FVID to the unregistered fishing vessels to identify their types. After classifying the unregistered fishing vessel types, their fishing activities are further recognized based upon their types. At last, we calculate and compare the fishing density distribution in the East China Sea before and after applying the unregistered fishing vessels, confirming the importance of type identification of unregistered fishing vessels.

Roles of fishing and climate change in long-term fish species succession and population dynamics in the outer Beibu Gulf,South China Sea

A prevailing,controversial hypothesis is that fishing pressure has played a greater role than climatic and environmental drivers,in changing fish species succession and biomass fluctuation in the South China Sea(SCS).Based on otter trawl survey data from 1959 to 2010 in the outer Beibu Gulf(OBG),northern SCS,large seasonal and interannual variation is reported for fish species composition,the proportional abundances of dominant taxa,and fish biomass.Generalized additive models are developed to quantify relationships between fish biomass and the external factors of fishing pressure and climate change.Fishing pressure proved to be the main driver of sharp declines in demersal fish stocks,with high-value species being replaced by low-value ones over time.Abrupt decreases in fish biomass during the years of 1993 and 1998 correspond to El Nino events,with climate change possibly the main driver of proportional representation of pelagic species in fisheries trawl catch.The need to differentiate impacts of fishing and environmental drivers on fish species with different life history strategies is stressed to better understand fish community dynamics.

The impact of spatial scale on local Moran's I clustering of annual fishing effort for Dosidicus gigas offshore Peru

The spatial scale(?shing grid) of ?sheries research af fects the observed spatial patterns of?sheries resources such as catch-per-unit-ef fort(CPUE) and ?shing ef fort. We examined the scale impact of high value(HH) clusters of the annual ?shing ef fort for Dosidicus gigas of fshore Peru from 2009 to 2012.For a multi-scale analysis, the original commercial ?shery data were tessellated to twelve spatial scales from 6′ to 72′ with an interval of 6′. Under these spatial scales, D. gigas clusters were identi?ed using the Anselin Local Moran's I. Statistics including the number of points, mean CPUE, standard deviation(SD),skewness, kurtosis, area and centroid were calculated for these HH clusters. We found that the z-score of global Moran's I and the number of points for HH clusters follow a power law scaling relationship from2009 to 2012. The mean ef fort and its SD also follow a power law scaling relationship from 2009 to 2012.The skewness follows a linear scaling relationship in 2010 and 2011 but ?uctuates with spatial scale in2009 and 2012; kurtosis follows a logarithmic scale relationship in 2009, 2011 and 2012 but a linear scale relationship in 2010. Cluster area follows a power law scaling relationship in 2010 and 2012, a linear scaling relationship in 2009, and a quadratic scaling relationship in 2011. Based on the peaks of Moran's I indices and the multi-scale analysis, we conclude that the optimum scales are 12′ in 2009 ? 2011 and 6′ in 2012, while the coarsest allowable scales are 48′ in 2009, 2010 and 2012, and 60′ in 2011. Our research provides the best spatial scales for conducting spatial analysis of this pelagic species, and provides a better understanding of scaling behavior for the ?shing ef fort of D. gigas in the of fshore Peruvian waters.

A Qualitative Appraisal of China’s Efforts in Fishing Capacity Management

This paper provides a critical review of some major efforts made by China to manage the fishing capacity of its marine capture fisheries. It begins by reviewing the key concepts and issues closely related to fishing capacity management. Following on this, a brief introduction to China’s marine capture fisheries is offered, especially the trends of its marine landings and marine fishing fleets and the status of fish stocks in waters under its jurisdiction. Next comes the main concern of the paper, i.e., some major actions recently initiated by China to deal with the overcapacity problem confronting it. The paper ends with conclusions and suggestions.

A Model for the Calculation of Velocity Reduction Behind A Plane Fishing Net

A model for the calculation of velocity reduction behind a fishing net is proposed in this paper. Comparisons are made between the calculated results and experimental data. It is shown that by the application of the effective adjacent area coefficient of fluid flowing around a solid structure to the fishing net, the calculated results agree well with the experimental data. The model proposed in this paper can also be applied to the analysis of the velocity reduction within a fishing cage and can be introduced into the numerical simulation of the hydrodynamic behavior of fishing cages for the improvement of computational accuracy.

Fishing Ground Distribution of Neon Flying Squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in Relation to Oceanographic Conditions in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii, is a squid species of the North Pacific Ocean, which plays an important economical role in the international fishery. Logbook data for Chinese squid-jigging fishery over 2004–2011 were used to evaluate the relationship between the fishing grounds of the squid and the convergent frontal areas, which were defined by the contour lines of specific sea surface temperature(SST) and chlorophyll-a(Chl-a) concentration. Our results indicate that the SST in the range of 15 to 19℃ and the Chl-a concentration in the range of 0.1 to 0.4 mg m^(-3) are the favorable conditions for the aggregation of the squid. Additionally, we deduced that the SST at 17.5℃ and the Chl-a concentration at 0.25 mg m^(-3) are the optimal environmental conditions for the aggregation of O. bartramii. In August, the annual CPUE is positively correlated with the proportion of the fishing grounds with favorable SST and Chl-a concentration, as well as the combination of the two variables, implying that the abundance of the squid annually is largely depending on the presence of the favorable environmental conditions for fishery in August. Minor spatial difference between mean latitudinal location of the 17.5℃ SST and 0.25 mg m^(-3) Chl-a fronts can increase the CPUEs of O. bartramii. Furthermore, the monthly latitudinal gravity centers of the CPUE closely followed the mean latitudinal position of the contour lines of the 17.5℃ SST and the 0.25 mg m^(-3) Chl-a concentration. Our findings suggest the convergent oceanographic features(fronts) play significant roles in regulating the distribution and abundance of the western stock of the winter-spring cohort of O. bartramii, which can help people to improve their ability to discover the O. bartramii fishing grounds with higher productivity.

Assessment of Heavy Metals,Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons,and Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances in two Marine Crustaceans(Oratosquilla oratoria and Portunus trituberculatus)in the Zhoushan Fishing Ground of China East Sea

Heavy metals,polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs),and perfluorinated alkyl substances(PFASs)polluted in 155 samples of two marine crustaceans(Oratosquilla oratoria and Portunus trituberculatus)harvested in the Zhoushan fishing ground in the East China Sea were assessed.The results showed that Pb,Hg,and iAs in the whole edible parts of O.oratoria and P.trituberculatus were at trace levels,far below the limits set by the China’s national standard,whereas the exceeding standard rates of Cd in the whole edible parts of O.oratoria and P.trituberculatus were 98.6%and 75.6%,respectively.Moreover,the average Cd levels and the exceeding standard rates of Cd in the visceral tissues of O.oratoria were significantly higher than those in the muscle tissues(4.64 mg kg^(−1)vs.0.49 mg kg^(−1)and 96.7%vs 30%,respectively).PAHs with high detection frequency in the two marine crustaceans included NA,AC,FL,and PHE.Total contents of 15 PAHs(abbreviated asΣ15 PAHs)in whole edible parts of O.oratoria and P.trituberculatus were 10.75–65.9μg kg^(−1)(mean=18.7μg kg^(−1)and 13.26–181μg kg^(−1)(mean=24.2μg kg^(−1),and those in the muscle and the visceral tissues of P.trituberculatus were 9.58–160μg kg^(−1)(mean=21.1μg kg^(−1)and 18.22–201μg kg^(−1)(mean=32.7μg kg^(−1),respectively.Furthermore,PFASs that were found at high contents included PFOA,PFOS,and PFOSA,and total contents of 23 PFASs(Σ23 PFASs)ranged 0.0162–5.104μg kg^(−1)(mean=0.915μg kg^(−1).Collectively,the present work provides new data on the contamination in two marine crustaceans captured in the Zhoushan fishing ground in the China East Sea,which can be useful for making suggestions on proper consumption amounts of the two marine crustaceans.

Inferring Behavior of Chinese Krill Fishing Vessel Using a Simple Walk Model

Each type of fishery has its own characteristic behavior, and understanding this condition is an important part of devel- oping and managing fishing operations comprehensively. Based on the random walk model, the relationship between distance and frequency distribution of adjacent fishing positions was analyzed by the Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) Subareas 48.1, 48.2, and 48.3. The frequency of distances between consecutive hauls demonstrated a heavy- tailed distribution, which could be used to estimate the value of parameter μ in the power function F(l)~ l μ of a random walk model to determine the type of random walk patterns that characterize Chinese krill fishery. Results indicated that the fishing pattern of the Chinese krill fishery is consistent with the Lévy random walk model, with which the step-length is applied to analyze the walking pattern. When a defined walk in a space of dimension is greater than one, the steps made are in isotropic random directions. Fur- thermore, a strong and positive correlation between fishing behavior (using the parameter μ as an indicator) and catch per unit effort of the Chinese krill fishery was observed.

Effects Assessment of Summer Fishing Moratorium in Daya Bay in the Northern South China Sea

In order to assess effects of Summer Fishing Moratorium (SFM) in Daya Bay, variations in stock density, fish diversity, fish species composition, fish body length and weight, and bio-environments during the pre-SFM (May in 2015) and post-SFM (August in 2015) in Daya Bay were analyzed, based on trawl survey data. Results showed that the average stock density in the post-SFM was 5.65 times of that in the pre-SFM, and the average species numbers in the post-SFM was 1.76 times of that in the pre-SFM. Analysis of fish body length and weight indicated that fish grew faster during the SFM, and body weight was more uniform in the post-SFM. In the post-SFM, the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Pielou evenness index increased by 0.36 and 0.14, respectively, indicating that the fish biodiversity and community structure improved. SFM alleviated fishing intensity, recovered and conserved coastal fish resource. In order to improve efficiency and impacts of SFM and to promote sustainable development of coastal fish resource, prolonging the time of SFM, reducing the number of coastal fishing boats and enforcing the conservation of fish resources were suggested.

Evaluating impacts of pulse fishing on the effectiveness of seasonal closure

Seasonal fishing closures are often used in fisheries management to conserve overfished stocks.As one of the unintended consequences,fishermen often contend for maximizing catches immediately after reopening fisheries.The resultant large catch landings in a short time period(i.e.,pulse fishing)may undermine the benefit of closure.We implemented an end-to-end model OSMOSE-JZB(Object-oriented Simulator of Marine ec OSystem Exploitation OSMOSE)modelling ecosystem in the Jiaozhou Bay located in China to evaluate the impact of pulse fishing on the effectiveness of seasonal closure at levels of fish community,population,and individual.Our study demonstrated that the three-month closure was successful in conserving fish stocks.There were small variations on ecological indicators(i.e.,total biomass of the community,mean trophic level of the community,mean trophic level of the catch,and Shannon-Wiener biodiversity index)when pulse fishing occurred.Pulse fishing seemed not to result in a great shift in community structure.Compared to other species,the biomass of two large predatory fishes were more susceptible to pulse fishing.Pulse fishing could change the pressure of predators to fish stocks via food webs,especially for young individuals.Our simulations indicate that we can improve the effectiveness of seasonal closure by managing pulse fishing.Although the results derived in this study may be specific to the target ecosystem,the general approach is applicable to other ecosystems when evaluating fishing impacts.

A New model to forecast fishing ground of Scomber japonicus in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

The pelagic species is closely related to the marine environmental factors, and establishment of forecasting model of fishing ground with high accuracy is an important content for pelagic fishery. The chub mackerel（Scomber japonicus） in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea is an important fishing target for Chinese lighting purse seine fishery. Based on the fishery data from China＇s mainland large-type lighting purse seine fishery for chub mackerel during the period of 2003 to 2010 and the environmental data including sea surface temperature（SST）, gradient of the sea surface temperature（GSST）, sea surface height（SSH） and geostrophic velocity（GV）, we attempt to establish one new forecasting model of fishing ground based on boosted regression trees. In this study, the fishing areas with fishing effort is considered as one fishing ground, and the areas with no fishing ground are randomly selected from a background field, in which the fishing areas have no records in the logbooks. The performance of the forecasting model of fishing ground is evaluated with the testing data from the actual fishing data in 2011. The results show that the forecasting model of fishing ground has a high prediction performance, and the area under receiver operating curve（AUC） attains 0.897. The predicted fishing grounds are coincided with the actual fishing locations in 2011, and the movement route is also the same as the shift of fishing vessels, which indicates that this forecasting model based on the boosted regression trees can be used to effectively forecast the fishing ground of chub mackerel in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.