The effects of altered freshwater inflows on catch rates of non-estuarine-dependent fish in a multispecies nearshore linefishery     

Stephen J. Lamberth  Laurent Drapeau  George M. Branch 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2009,84(4):527-538

In KwaZulu-Natal on the east coast of South Africa, the commercial and recreational boat-based linefishery is the largest fishery accounting for 1235 t (40%) of the total landed mass there. In particular, the Thukela Banks are where most fishing takes place. Numerous developments ranging from dams to inter-basin transfer schemes either exist or have been proposed for the Thukela River, which is the largest of 17 catchments entering the sea in the region and provides over 40% of the mean annual runoff. Exploratory analyses of the relationships between monthly flows and catch-per-unit-effort were performed using spectral analysis and general linear models on a data set comprising 17 years of monthly commercial catch-and-effort data for 140 species and monthly flow data from 17 catchments. Catchments having a significant influence on catches were those providing the bulk of the runoff volume (75%) reaching the sea. Significant relationships existed between flow and the catches of 14 species, which provided over 90% of the total linefish catch on the Thukela Banks. Time lags between flow events (wet and drought periods) and changes in catch-per-unit-effort corresponded in many cases to age at 50% maturity and/or age-at-first-capture of the species concerned. Under a future maximum-development scenario, corresponding to a 44% reduction in flow from the Thukela River, catches of slinger Chrysoblephus puniceus and squaretail kob Argyrosomus thorpei are forecast to decline by 36% and 28% respectively. These two species currently provide over 50% of the landed mass on the Thukela Banks. Some species should respond positively to a reduction in flow, but any increases in their catches will be negligible, falling within natural variability, and will be insufficient to offset losses of other species because their abundance is naturally low or has been fished down to low levels. National legislation requires that sufficient freshwater flows be set aside to protect ecosystems, so these findings have important management implications, as marine needs for freshwater flows have not previously been addressed.  相似文献   

Recruitment patterns of young-of-the-year mugilid fishes in a West African estuary impacted by climate change     

Sébastien Trape  Jean-Dominique Durand  François Guilhaumon  Laurent Vigliola  Jacques Panfili 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2009

With the persistence of the sub-Saharan drought since the 1970s, the Sine Saloum estuary (Senegal) – the second largest coastal Biosphere Reserve of West-Africa – has become an “inverse estuary” and hypersaline (salinity > 60) in its upstream part. A one-year survey was conducted from April 2007 to March 2008 at eight sites distributed along the salinity gradient, to investigate the recruitment patterns of young-of-the-year mugilids in such an impacted ecosystem. Fishes were sampled monthly with a conical net and a beach seine in salinities ranging from 31 to 104. Samples were identified to the species level. For the smallest individuals (<20 mm SL) a PCR–RFLP technique, developed on the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA region, was used for identification. A total of 8438 juveniles belonging to six of the eight species of mugilids known for the tropical Eastern Atlantic were collected: Mugil bananensis, Mugil cephalus, Mugil curema, Liza dumerili, Liza falcipinnis and Liza grandisquamis. One species, L. dumerili, represented 89% of the total catch. Length–frequency distributions revealed that M. cephalus and L. dumerili preferentially recruited during the dry season whereas the recruitment of M. curema, M. bananensis and L. falcipinnis generally occurred during the wet season. Minimal size at recruitment ranged from 9 to 19 mm SL depending on the species, the smallest size being that of L. dumerili. Despite the general salinity increase in the estuary, most parts of the Sine Saloum were suitable for the juveniles. Only the hypersaline area in the uppermost part of the estuary presented very low fish abundance for all species. According to the species, small recruits (12–20 mm SL) were collected at salinities up to 47–78, suggesting that osmoregulatory capacities had been gained early during ontogenesis, possibly resulting from an adaptation of these populations to changing environmental conditions.  相似文献