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Invasive species

Posted by abby on November 22, 2016

Lionfish are non-native and invasive to the Caribbean Sea.

A fish species is considered invasive if its position in an ecosystem negatively impacts other species. Generally, these are non-native species which have been introduced into a region by humans (either intentionally or unintentionally) with detrimental consequence to resident fish and other aquatic organisms. However, some argue that a native species can also be considered invasive if humans have altered its natural ecosystem to the point where the species can throw the whole system into disequilibrium.

For further information, please check out a related post on The Fisheries Blog – Blurred lines: Can climate change-induced range expansion qualify a species as invasive?

Inland fisheries

Posted by abby on January 30, 2015

Inland fisheries account for 40% of global finfish production from 3% of the volume of water on earth.

Inland waters are defined by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization as the “surface water existing inland including lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, natural or artificial watercourses and reservoirs, and coastal lagoons and artificial waterbodies.” Inland fisheries, by consequence, are the fishing activities associated with those waterbodies. Inland fisheries “may involve capture of wild fish or raising of fish through aquaculture.”

For more information, please checkout The Fisheries Blog‘s post on the importance of inland fish and fisheries.

IUU fishing

Posted by abby on February 28, 2014 Leave a Comment

Portuguese naval officers and Gabonese sailors inspect a holding bay for fish aboard an illegal fishing vessel.

IUU fishing is illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing. According to the 2001 FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing,

Illegal fishing refers to activities:

conducted by national or foreign vessels in waters under the jurisdiction of a State, without the permission of that State, or in contravention of its laws and regulations;
conducted by vessels flying the flag of States that are parties to a relevant regional fisheries management organization but operate in contravention of the conservation and management measures adopted by that organization and by which the States are bound, or relevant provisions of the applicable international law; or
in violation of national laws or international obligations, including those undertaken by cooperating States to a relevant regional fisheries management organization.

Unreported fishing refers to fishing activities:

that have not been reported, or have been misreported, to the relevant national authority, in contravention of national laws and regulations; or
undertaken in the area of competence of a relevant regional fisheries management organization which have not been reported or have been misreported, in contravention of the reporting procedures of that organization.

Unregulated fishing refers to fishing activities:

in the area of application of a relevant regional fisheries management organization that are conducted by vessels without nationality, or by those flying the flag of a State not party to that organization, or by a fishing entity, in a manner that is not consistent with or contravenes the conservation and management measures of that organization; or
in areas or for fish stocks in relation to which there are no applicable conservation or management measures and where such fishing activities are conducted in a manner inconsistent with State responsibilities for the conservation of living marine resources under international law.

While all three types of IUU fishing result from a lack of resources (to enforce, report, and regulate), lumping these three different types of fishing under one category simplifies the complex issues, linking illegal activities (i.e., illegal fishing) with legal activities (i.e., unreported and unregulated fishing). Illegal fishing is a regulatory issue; unreported and unregulated fisheries do not break any law – they are management issues, or rather a lack of management issue. IUU fishing often basks in a negative light, but this legal distinction makes it difficult to chastise fishermen just because their government lacks the capabilities to report or regulate their fishery. For more information on the challenges to managing IUU fishing, please refer to the following AFS publication:

Serdy, Andrew. 2011. Simplistic or Surreptitious? Beyond the Flawed Concept(s) of IUU Fishing. Pages 253-279 in W.W. Taylor, A.J. Lynch, and M.G. Schechter, editors. Sustainable Fisheries: Multi-Level Approaches to a Global Problem. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland.

Ichthyology

Posted by abby on February 21, 2014 1 Comment

Ichthyology is the study of fishes

Ichthyology is the study of fishes*. With an estimated 27,977 species, fish are the most numerous and diverse group of vertebrate species. In fact, there are more fish species than all other groups of vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) combined.

One could argue that people have been studying fish for the purposes of food since prehistoric times, but the scientific study of fish began in earnest during the European Renaissance. While famed taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus did identify many fish species, his colleague, Peter Artedi, is considered the “father of ichthyology” for standardizing morphometric (measurement ) and meristic (count) methods still used to classify species. According to FishBase, a comprehensive, publically accessible database of fish species , over 10 species are named in his honor.

Beginning with basic anatomy and systematics (study of evolutionary relationships among fishes), ichthyology has broadened to include ecology (study of interactions between fish and their environment), physiology (study of internal function of fish), and behavior. Ichthyology forms the foundation of fisheries science which applies the understanding of fishes in the context of fisheries (the harvest of fish and other aquatic organisms for human use).

*Note that fish is singular and plural when in reference to a single species. Fishes is plural in reference to more than one species.

Fishionary

A blog about fish words!

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Invasive species

Inland fisheries

IUU fishing

Ichthyology