ABSTRACT: Ecosystem-based fisheries management has been perceived as something desirable but pragmatically unachievable due to several impediments identified earlier during its implementation phase. Over the years, many of these impediments have been resolved but not well communicated to stakeholders, managers, scientists, and policymakers. As a result, several past impediments to implementing ecosystem-based fisheries management have taken on a mythical status. Here we identify six common myths, address why they in fact no longer impede ecosystem-based fisheries management, and propose solutions for moving forward. We assert that these myths need not continue to exist and that improved approaches for fisheries are indeed feasible. by Wesley S. Patrick NOAA Fisheries, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 1315 East– West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. E-mail: [email protected] Access your special Members-Only content →  • Click here to read the Spanish abstract.

A New Embryonic Imprinting Paradigm for Hatchery Programs Straying by hatchery-reared salmon is a major concern for conservation and recovery of many salmon populations. Fisheries managers have attempted to minimize negative ecological and genetic interactions between hatchery and wild fish by using parr-smolt acclimation facilities to ensure successful olfactory imprinting and homing fidelity. However, the effectiveness of offsite acclimation for returning adults to targeted locations has been mixed. Since laboratory and field studies indicate that the period of hatching and emergence from the natal gravel is a sensitive period for olfactory imprinting, we propose an alternative imprinting approach wherein salmon are exposed as embryos to targeted waters transferred to their rearing hatchery. To test the feasibility of this approach, we conducted a series of electrophysiological and behavioral experiments to determine whether water can be successfully transferred, stored, and treated for pathogens without jeopardizing its chemical integrity. Stream water could be frozen or stored for one week at 4° or 10° C without affecting the olfactory signature. Ultraviolet light treatment altered the responses of the olfactory epithelium to stream water; however, behavioral studies suggested that this treatment did not alter the attractiveness of this water. Finally, we describe several alternative approaches to embryonic imprinting using artificial odors. by Andrew H. Dittman, Todd N. Pearsons, Darran May, Ryan B. Couture and David L. G. Noakes Access your special Members-Only content →  • Click here to read the Spanish abstract.  

Publications that involve the identification of important fisheries species generally do not relate scientific names to common names in landing records. For this reason, and in order to contribute to improving the  quality of fisheries statistics and the works based on them, Mexico’s National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries (CONAPESCA) and the National Polytechnic Institute convened to compile a list of common names, scientific names, and codes for the recording of commercially important fisheries species in the Mexican Pacific. This list was recently published as an electronic book (Ramírez-Rodríguez 2013) that includes information on 924 species referenced in the literature as important for commercial, recreational, and ornamental (aquarium or craft) uses, or as incidental catch. The book is available online at sistemas.cicimar.ipn.mx/catalogo or from the author. by Mauricio Ramírez-Rodríguez Access your special Members-Only content → 

LONG-TERM RESEARCH As we conduct fieldwork and process samples in the lab afterwards, we often ponder what the real sample size is. We measured hundreds or thousands of fish, shrimp, clams, or whatever it is that we work on. These seem like adequate sample sizes until we remember that they were all collected at a few sites (e.g., five), and so maybe our true sample size is five. Then it dawns on us that the samples were all taken in a single year, and we have to face the reality that our sample size may actually be one. Interannual variation has always been recognized, but the pressing issues of climate change, invasive species, and habitat degradation (and restoration) make it all the more important that we keep tabs on important physical conditions and biotic responses over long periods of time in order to discern patterns in freshwater (Dauwalter et al. 2009; Dodds et al. 2012; Wagner et al. 2013) and marine systems (Millner and Whiting 1996; Rogers et al. 2011). Long-term research projects are difficult for agencies to start because they involve tough decisions, such as where to situate the study and what the study goals are, but once it gets going, the momentum often carries the study for a while. However, inevitably, budget cuts, retirement or reassignment of key staff, changing priorities within the agency, or other processes undermine support for the project, and many end just as they are becoming most valuable. Some faculty members or teams at universities carry out long-term research, and the National Science Foundation supports some Long-Term Ecological Research Network sites, but for many faculty members, it can be very difficult to obtain continued funding for what some deride as “mere monitoring.” Access your special Members-Only content →   

ABSTRACT: Despite the conspicuous character of sawfish (Pristis spp.) in shallow estuarine waters, current records in the southern Gulf of Mexico are so scarce that they have been declared locally extinct from many areas where they formerly occurred (Fernandez-Carvalho et al. 2013). In Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico, historical reports for sawfish exist for the upper Usumacinta River (Emiliano Zapata City), Chiltepec Lagoon in Tabasco (Castro-Aguirre et al. 1999), and the Términos Lagoon, Campeche (Zarur 1962) in the 1960s; however, recent but occasional reports are restricted to Mexican Caribbean waters (Schmitter-Soto et al. 2009). Here, we present an anonymous photo (see p. 55) taken in the 1950s in Frontera City, Tabasco, Mexico, found during our fieldwork on reconstructing past fishery conditions based on the traditional ecological knowledge from fishers of the Tabasco coast. This enlightening image is currently part of the electronic historical collection of local chronicler Placido Santana, who donated a copy to support our research. Based on tooth size and first dorsal fin position, this sawfish was likely a 6-m-long Largetooth Sawfish (Pristis pristis) caught in the lower Grijalva River; this photo represents the only documented record for the lower Grijalva-Usumacinta River. According to senior fishers interviewed in the Port of Frontera, in the rear of the photo is an antique canoe (calculated 7 m length) made from the wood of large trees, such as the balsa tree (Ochroma pyramidale) or the endangered horse-eye bean (Ormosia macrocalyx; Diario Oficial de la Federación 2010). Inside the right side of the canoe, there are fishing nets made from henequen (Agave fourcroydes) natural fibers (Ramírez 2005), which were used by artisanal fishermen in southern Mexico prior to the appearance of nylon fishing nets in the 1960–1970s (Espinoza-Tenorio et al. 2011). by Manuel Mendoza-Carranza and Alejandro Espinoza-Tenorio Access your special Members-Only content → 

Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) have been an important part of the ecological community and co-evolved with aquatic species of the western rivers of the United States. Scarce information on Pacific Lamprey has hindered conservation and management efforts. To assess and conserve Pacific Lamprey, we developed a conservation initiative composed of three parts: assessment, conservation agreement, and regional implementation plans. We applied a novel ranking system that characterized risk to Pacific Lamprey throughout the U.S. range. We found that the majority of watersheds are at relatively high risk of extirpation, with few secure. The risk assessment results were instrumental in gaining partners’ support for a conservation agreement, with the goal of achieving long-term persistence and supporting traditional tribal cultural use of Pacific Lamprey. This extensive support has led to a collaborative effort in developing implementation plans and delivering numerous conservation actions. This approach for assessing Pacific Lamprey status and identifying restoration priorities is easily transferable to other species. by Christina Wang and Howard Schaller Access your special Members-Only content →  • Click here to read the Spanish abstract.    

Learning to Manage and Managing to Learn: Sustaining Freshwater Recreational Fisheries in a Changing Environment ABSTRACT: Freshwaters are being transformed by multiple environmental drivers, creating uncertainty about future conditions. One way of coping with uncertainty is to manage for resilience to unanticipated events while facilitating learning through adaptive management. We outline the application of these strategies to freshwater recreational fisheries management using a case study in Wisconsin, USA, where black bass (Micropterus spp.) populations are increasing, while Walleye (Sander vitreus) populations are decreasing. Managing for heterogeneity in functional groups (e.g., age classes and prey species of sport fishes), fishery objectives, and regulations can increase resilience, although heterogeneity must be balanced with replication to facilitate learning. Monitoring designed to evaluate management objectives and inform about critical uncertainties, when combined with heterogeneity, creates opportunities for adaptive management, another critical resilience strategy. Although barriers exist to implementing resilience strategies, management designed to accommodate uncertainty and illuminate its consequences is needed to maintain critical fisheries in a rapidly changing world. by Gretchen J. A. Hansen, Jereme W. Gaeta, Jonathan F. Hansen, and Stephen R. Carpenter Access your special Members-Only content →  • Click here to read the Spanish abstract.