News

AFS Journals Offer Insights into Conservation of Apex Predators

Why You Need Granders in a Blue Marlin Fishery The capture of a marlin greater than 500 kg represents a major life achievement for billfish anglers, and fishers refer to marlin of that size using colloquial descriptors such as “Grander” or “Big Julie” depending on location and species. However, their presence in a fishery is... Read More

Sadly, Lionfish Are More Widespread Than We Thought

The invasion of Caribbean reef systems by lionfish Pterois spp. is well documented, and they are now encountered commonly by anglers and sport divers in many areas. However, a trawl survey conducted by the authors found them to be even more widespread in deep (>30 m) low-relief habitats and abundance increased sharply during 2010–2013. Read More

Lobster Trap Debris in a Marine Sanctuary—More Than You Could Imagine

Every year, commercial fishing traps are lost, abandoned, or discarded, contributing to the ever-increasing amount of marine debris submerged on the seafloor. Although recognized worldwide as a detriment to marine ecosystems, quantitative data on the amount of abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear is lacking. This journal review originally appeared in the April 2015 issue of Fisheries... Read More

Predicting Brook Trout Presence at the Local Level, Where It Counts

Journal Summary: Predicting Brook Trout Occurrence in Stream Reaches throughout their Native Range in the Eastern United States Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis are a popular sport species, but their conservation status is of great concern because many eastern populations have declined. Brook Trout are a paradox. From a basin perspective, they are still present throughout... Read More

AFS Journals Support Sustainable Aquaculture

• Evaluation of hydrogenated soybean oil in feeds for hybrid Striped Bass fed in conjunction with finishing periods of different durations • Dietary supplementation with allspice Pimenta dioica reduces the occurrence of streptococcal disease during first feeding of Mozambique Tilapia fry The science of aquaculture has been on a long journey toward sustainable practices, and... Read More

Cast Nets are Useful Sampling Tools, and You Should Try One

Cast nets are commonly used by both sport and commercial anglers in estuarine habitats along the southern U.S. coast, but they are rarely used by fisheries scientists, especially when compared to other gears. This is due to the fact that they require practice and skill to deploy, but also because sampling with them is considered... Read More

Photo of Octopus being Anesthetized

How to Anesthetize an Octopus

Abstract Recent progress in animal welfare legislation relating to invertebrates has provoked interest in methods for the anesthesia of cephalopods, for which different approaches to anesthesia have been tried but in most cases without truly anesthetizing the animals. For example, several workers have used muscle relaxants or hypothermia as forms of “anesthesia.” Several inhalational anesthetics are known to... Read More

News Bites – June 2015

“Fish Fight” What does a seahorse made of balloons look like? “He Smells Sea Smells at the Seashore” Leafy seadragons 101 Trout fishing from a swimming pool?! “Monsters of the Deep” Octopus’ favourite real estate: a coconut  What is a Fishackathon? The cod are back in town  Lobsters come in all sizes and colours “The Surprising Way Jellyfish... Read More