Two recent papers point to differing trends in the status of fish stocks in the Mediterranean and Atlantic fisheries of Europe. We discuss the possible reasons for these contrasting trends in relation to the history, ecosystems, fisheries and management in the two regions.

Incorporating indigenous knowledge into fisheries management is becoming increasingly important in the derivation of alternative management solutions. It also satisfies the political demands of indigenous communities to exercise their rights and responsibilities to traditional resources and their management. Using a methodology that considers perceptions or constructs of the environment to be d...

Seals and humans often target the same food resource, leading to competition. This is of mounting concern with fish stocks in global decline. Grey seals were tracked from southeast Ireland, an area of mixed demersal and pelagic fisheries, and overlap with fisheries on the Celtic Shelf and Irish Sea was assessed. Overall, there was low overlap between the tagged seals and fisheries. However, whe...

The resilience of small-scale fisheries in developed and developing countries has been used to provide lessons to conventional managers regarding ways to transition toward a social-ecological approach to understanding and managing fisheries. We contribute to the understanding of the relationship between management and the resilience of small-scale fisheries in developed countries by looking at ...

The fisheries of Hawaii and other u.S.-associated islands in the Pacific Ocean are characterized by high diversity, both in the species exploited and the human cultures that exploit them. The commercial sector has undergone rapid growth in recent years, but recreational and subsistence sectors remain important. Information on these fisheries is generally not available in published form. This pa...

Goal To analyze the possibility for recreational fishing to induce genetic changes in exploited fish populations, and thereby to increase awareness of such potential among stakeholders and stimulate increased research effort and long-term monitoring of fish populations exploited by angling fisheries. As a result of selective (i.e. non-random) mortality, exploitation of wild living resources can...

BACKGROUND Conservation of marine ecosystems will require a holistic understanding of fisheries with concurrent spatial patterns of biodiversity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Using data from the UK Government Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) deployed on UK-registered large fishing vessels we investigate patterns of fisheries activity on annual and seasonal scales. Analysis of VMS data shows t...

Recently the congressionally established Ecosystem Principles Advisory Panel issued a report on how best to amend single-species management. A major recommendation was that fisheries management councils develop a fisheries ecosystem plan (FEP) for every ecosystem under their jurisdiction. This document would be an umbrella document containing detailed information on the structure and function o...

Michael F. O’Neill1,2*, George M. Leigh3, You-Gan Wang4, J. Matı́as Braccini5, and Matthew C. Ives6 Agri-Science Queensland, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Maroochy Research Facility, PO Box 5083 SCMC, Nambour, Queensland, 4560, Australia School of Geographic Planning and Environmental Management, and Centre for Applications in Natural ResourceMathematics (CARM) in the School...

Modern fisheries have drastically changed the level and size dependence of mortality faced by fish populations: commercial fishing usually targets medium-sized and large individuals, which often are relatively invulnerable to natural predators. Life-history theory predicts that fish adapt to these changes through evolutionary alterations in their life histories. Experiments and models predict t...