Stock discrimination of spottedtail goby (Synechogobius ommaturus) in the Yellow Sea by analysis of otolith shape

Otolith shape is species specific and is an ideal marker of fish population affiliation. In this study, otolith shape of spottedtail goby Synechogobius ommaturus is used to identify stocks in different spawning locations in the Yellow Sea. The main objectives of this study are to explore the potential existence of local stocks of spottedtail goby in the Yellow Sea by analysis of otolith shape, and to investigate ambient impacts on otolith shape. Spottedtail goby was sampled in five locations in the Yellow Sea in 2007 and 2008. Otoliths are described using variables correlated to size (otolith area, perimeter, length, width, and weight) and shape (rectangularity, circularity, and 20 Fourier harmonics). Only standardized otolith variables are used so that the effect of otolith size on the shape variables could be eliminated. There is no significant difference among variables of sex, year, and side (left and right). However, the otolith shapes of the spring stocks and the autumn stocks differ significantly. Otolith shape differences are greater among locations than between years. Correct classification rate of spottedtail goby with the otolith shape at different sampling locations range from 29.7%–77.4%.

Status and historical changes in the fish community in Erhai Lake

Erhai Lake is the second largest freshwater lake on the Yunnan Plateau, Southwest China. In recent decades, a number of exotic fish species have been introduced into the lake and the fish community has changed considerably. We evaluated the status of the fish community based on surveys with multimesh gillnet, trap net, and benthic fyke-net between May 2009 and April 2012. In addition, we evaluated the change in the community using historical data （1952-2010） describing the fish community and fishery harvest. The current fish community is dominated by small-sized fishes, including Pseudorasbora parva, Rhinogobius giurinus, Micropercops swinhonis, Hemiculter leucisculus, and Rhinogobius cliffordpopei. These accounted for 87.7% of the 22 546 total specimens collected. Omnivorous and carnivorous species dominated the community. A canonical correspondence analysis （CCA） plot revealed that the distribution of fishes in the lake is influenced by aquatic plants, water temperature, pH, and season. The abundance of indigenous species has declined sharply, and a majority of endemic species have been extirpated from the lake （a decrease from seven to two species）. In contrast, the number of exotic species has increased since the 1960s to a total of 22 at present. The fishery harvest decreased initially following the 1960s, but has since increased due to the introduction of non-native fish and stocking of native fish. The fishery harvest was significantly correlated with total nitrogen, not total phosphorus, during the past 20 years. Based on our results, we discuss recommendations for the restoration and conservation of the fish resources in Erhai Lake.

Last 150-Year Variability in Japanese Anchovy (Engraulisjaponicus) Abundance Based on the Anaerobic Sediments of the Yellow Sea Basin in the Western North Pacific

Relatively short historical catch records show that anchovy populations have exhibited large variability over multi-decadal timescales.In order to understand the driving factors(anthropogenic and/or natural) of such variability,it is essential to develop long-term time series of the population prior to the occurrence of notable anthropogenic impact.Well-preserved fish scales in the sediments are regarded as useful indicators reflecting the fluctuations of fish populations over the last centuries.This study aims to validate the anchovy scale deposition rate as a proxy of local anchovy biomass in the Yellow Sea adjoining the western North Pacific.Our reconstructed results indicated that over the last 150 years,the population size of anchovy in the Yellow Sea has exhibited great fluctuations with periodicity of around 50 years,and the pattern of current recovery and collapse is similar to that of historical records.The pattern of large-scale population synchrony with remote ocean basins provides further evidence proving that fish population dynamics are strongly affected by global and basin-scale oceanic/climatic variability.

Fish community diversity in the middle continental shelf of the East China Sea

The status of fishery stocks in the coastal waters of China is far from ideal, mainly due to climate change and the impacts of human activities （e.g., pollution and overfishing）. Thus, the restoration and protection of fishery resources have become critical and complex. The stability and balanced structure of the fish community is a basic foundation for the protection of fishery resources. Based on data collected from bottom trawls by the R/V Beidou in continental shelf of the East China Sea in November 2006 and February 2007, changes in the composition and diversity of fish species and functional groups were analyzed. The research area was divided into offshore waters and inshore waters by the two-way indicator species analysis （TWIA）. The results showed that the dominant species were different between offshore waters and inshore waters and also varied with the survey time. The most abundant family was Sciaenidae and Teraponidae in November 2006, Sciaenidae, Engraulidae and Triglidae were most abundant in February 2007. The species belonged mainly to mobile piscivores （G6）, benthivores/piscivores （G4）, benthivores （G3） and planktivores （G1）, and the dominant species in November 2006 were commercial species （e.g. Larimichthys polyactis and Trichiurusjaponicus）, but small-sized species were dominant in February 2007 （e.g., Harpadon nehereus, Benthosema pterotum, Champsodon capensis, and Acropoma japonieum）. The species diversity showed a similar trend as the functional group diversity. Stations with higher diversity were mainly distributed in inshore waters in February 2007, whereas higher diversity was found in offshore waters in November 2006. The highest biomass and species number were found in G6 group, followed by the G4, G5 and GI groups. The distribution of the number of individuals of each functional group showed the opposite trend as that of the biomass distribution. In addition, the size spectra were mainly concentrated around 3-29 cm, and the individual number of fish species gradually decreased with the increase in body size, but the relative biomass showed a moderate fluctuation in each size class. These changes showed that species with faster growth rate and earlier maturity age became dominant in continental shelf of the East China Sea. So the variations in biological characteristics of fish should be fully considered in maintaining sustainable utilization of fishery resource.

Seasonal variation in species composition and abundance of demersal fish and invertebrates in a Seagrass Natural Reserve on the eastern coast of the Shandong Peninsula,China

Seagrass habitats are structurally complex ecosystems, which support high productivity and biodiversity. In temperate systems the density of seagrass may change seasonally, and this may influence the associated fish and invertebrate community. Little is known about the role of seagrass beds as possible nursery areas for fish and invertebrates in China. To study the functioning of a seagrass habitat in northern China, demersal fish and invertebrates were collected monthly using traps, from February 2009 to January 2010. The density, leaf length and biomass of the dominant seagrass Zostera marina and water temperature were also measured. The study was conducted in a Seagrass Natural Reserve(SNR) on the eastern coast of the Shandong Peninsula, China. A total of 22 fish species and five invertebrate species were recorded over the year. The dominant fish species were Synechogobius ommaturus, Sebastes schlegelii, Pholis fangi, Pagrus major and Hexagrammos otakii and these species accounted for 87% of the total number of fish. The dominant invertebrate species were Charybdis japonica and Octopus variabilis and these accounted for 98% of the total abundance of invertebrates. There was high temporal variation in species composition and abundance. The peak number of fish species occurred in August–October 2009, while the number of individual fish and biomass was highest during November 2009. Invertebrate numbers and biomass was highest in March, April, July and September 2009. Temporal changes in species abundance of fishes and invertebrates corresponded with changes in the shoot density and leaf length of the seagrass, Zostera marina.

Muscle Aerobic Capacity and Filleting Yield of Farmed Fish Species in the Mediterranean Sea

In the present work, we compared indices of metabolism and feed conversion efficiency of a semi benthic and two pelagic mari-cultured fish species in the Mediterranean Sea. The metabolism of fish species varies according to habitat and ecophysiological adaptations. For example, with increasing depth, some species may exhibit adaptations to lower temperature and hypoxic conditions with a reduction in mass specific metabolic rate. Meagre （Argyrosomus regius） is a semi-benthic fish found at depths between 30 m and 300 m. Sea bass （Dicentrarhus labrax） and gilthead sea bream （Sparus auratus） are semi-pelagic fish species widely cultivated in the Mediteranean Sea. The aerobic metabolic potential and feed conversion efficiency of meagre were very different from the sea bass and gilthead sea bream. Compared to these two semic-pelagic fish species, meagre exhibited less efficient feed conversion rate, fillet yield. The results provide an estimate of the quantity of fish required to produce 1 kg of fillet weight, an estimation which is required for the operational management of fish processing companies and for estimating the wastes of fish processing factories during filleting.

Monitoring Response of Diadromous Populations to Fish Passage Improvements on a Massachusetts Coastal Stream

One technical fishway and two innovative nature-like fishways were installed at three dams on the Acushnet River in Acushnet, Massachusetts to facilitate migration of river herring and juvenile American eels （elvers）. Pre-construction and post-construction monitoring of river herring and elver populations used census counting and abundance estimation, respectively. Numbers of adult river herring returning to the upstream spawning grounds during the pre-construction phase were very low; elver counts declined during the pre-construction period and served as baseline levels to determine the effectiveness of the new fishways. Post-construction monitoring of river herring and elvers indicated an increasing trend of spawning adult river herring returning to the spawning grounds, with the total count in the fourth year of post-construction representing an increase of 1,140% over baseline, pre-construction conditions. Results also show increased elver recruitment into the river as well as increased proportions of elvers accessing habitat in the upper watershed that was mostly inaccessible prior to fishway installation. The new fishways at the three dams on the river have improved diadromous fish passage, thereby increasing the probability of restoring healthy populations of river herring and American eels to the Acushnet River system.