Understanding implications of consumer behavior for wildlife farming and sustainable wildlife trade

Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild‐sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in‐person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64–742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3–3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long‐term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation‐demand‐focused initiatives. Lack of data from long‐term social–ecological assessments hinders the evaluation of and learning from wildlife farming. This information is key to understanding under which conditions different interventions (e.g., bans, wildlife farming, social marketing) are likely to succeed.     

东海区带鱼伏季休渔效果及其资源的合理利用

根据2002-2003年东海区带鱼年龄鉴定资料,并引用以往的带鱼渔业生物学研究结果,作为估算带鱼死亡系数和建立动态综合模型所需的有关参数值估算的依据,从而运用Ricker动态综合模型分析了在现行渔业条件下东海区带鱼伏季休渔效果和带鱼资源利用状况以及变更渔业利用情况对带鱼渔业所产生的影响。结果表明:在现行渔业下(tc=0.5a,F=2.61/a),东海区实施3个月的伏季休渔制度能使年平均资源量增加87%,年产量增加29%,渔获平均体重增加42%;带鱼资源的利用虽处于捕捞过度状态之中,但尚能承受较大的捕捞压力,资源结构利用不合理之处是捕捞大量的幼鱼群体,渔获个体依然过小,渔获平均体重仅为75g/ind.;单位补充量渔获量(Y/R)随tc变化的影响大于随F的变化,建议在维持现有伏季休渔制度下,应逐渐降低捕捞强度,并以提高起捕规格放大网目尺寸作为今后一个时期首选的渔业管理目标,应是较为现实的资源合理利用措施。     

南方涝渍地区退田还渔的一个实例分析

以江汉平原四湖涝渍地区的一个经围湖造田形成的典型农业微域为研究对象,在对其土壤和作物生长状况进行调查的基础上,探讨了退田还渔的必要性与具体方案。结果表明,对小型湖泊通过围湖造田所形成的农业微域,在人工排水和土地平整不充分的情况下,其地貌和土壤还残留有原有湖泊的影响,处于原湖泊低处的土壤表现出明显的沼泽化和严重潜育化的特征。在该地区种植水稻产量比正常地区减产达16%～26.8%。利用数量化理论Ⅰ确定了该地区适宜退田还渔的具体位置和面积。按照这一方案实施的结果,该地区从1997～2001年的5年中精养鱼塘面积增加9倍,养鱼的效益比种植水稻高5～10倍,还减轻了该地区夏季和冬季的排水压力。     

高强铝合金超塑挤压成形

主要介绍了工业牌号高强铝合金在供应态或经简单预处理后在通用油压机上超塑成形的实例,并分析探讨了非理想组织材料超塑成形中微观组织的变化。     

细水雾灭火剂在商用厨房中的应用研究

商用厨房火灾的最主要原因是油锅的持续高温引发食用油自燃起火,食用油极易复燃的火灾行为大大增加了其扑救难度,通过实验表明,细水雾灭火剂极强的冷却作用能够有效扑救食用油火灾.     

我国渔港发展现状及等级划分

论述了渔港在我国渔业发展中的重要地位及作用,分析了黄渤海海区、东海海区和南海海区三个海区的水域面积、锚地面积、鱼市场面积、年进出港船数、水产品年加工量、水产品年卸港量、本港总船数、外港总船数共9个定量指标和各海区渔业资源状况及管理水平状况等定性指标,探讨了我国渔港发展现状,并对我国渔港等级划分标准提出了一些参考性意见,认为全国渔港的等级以海区为中心进行评估更显科学性、合理性,更符合各海区及各渔港的发展状况,有利于渔港管理部门有针对性地对渔港进行发展战略上的管理。     

A framework for understanding the consumptive orientation of recreational fishermen

Fishermen were aggregated into high-, mid-, and low-consumptive groups according to the importance they placed on catching fish. Analysis of variance indicated that each consumptive group was unique in the importance it placed on other fish-related variables. Low-consumptive fishermen rated most other aspects of the fishing experience, such as interacting with nature, relaxation, and escaping the daily routine, more important than did high-consumptive fishermen. Low-consumptive fishermen also fished more frequently and were generally more satisfied with their most recent fishing trip than were high-consumptive-oriented fishermen. The three groups can be viewed as different fishing constituencies. By understanding their characteristics, we can gain additional insights into the impacts of management decisions on recreational fishermen and their experiences.     

Toward Adaptive Management: The Impacts of Different Management Strategies on Fish Stocks and Fisheries in a Large Regulated Lake

We applied the adaptive management approach to analyze the demand and feasibility of adaptive management of fish stocks in a large regulated lake, Oulujärvi, in northern Finland. The process consisted of four phases: (1) analysis of the current state of the fisheries system (fishers, related markets and industry, fisheries researches and authorities, related organizations, etc.); (2) analysis of the objectives of different stakeholders; (3) the composition of alternative management strategies and assessment of their impacts; and (4) recommendations for future management. We used catch statistics from the period 1973–1995 to analyze fish stocks and fishing. Fish species involved were brown trout (Salmo trutta L.), whitefish [Coregonus lavaretus (L.) sl.], vendace (Coregonus albula L.); and pikeperch (Stizostedion lucioperca L.). Questionnaires and interviews were applied to ascertain the opinions of different groups of fishermen. Several models and cost–benefit analysis were used to assess the ecological, economic, and social impacts of three alternative management strategies. The results emphasize that when determining stocking levels and fishing regulations, the system should be considered as a whole, and impacts on major fish species and different groups of fishermen should be assessed. The stocking policy and fishing regulations should also be flexible to accommodate changing biotic and societal conditions. The key questions in applying the adaptive management process in Oulujärvi fisheries are how to determine clear objectives for fisheries management, find a fisheries management structure that provides workable interactions between different stakeholders, and arrange cost-effective monitoring. The lessons learned from the Oulujärvi experience and recommendations for fisheries management are relevant to other lakes with conflicting objectives of different stakeholders.     

DECISION-MAKING IN THE DEVLOPMENT OF URBAN WATERFRONTS FOR PARK/BUSINESS USE1

Abstract: Opportunities for the development of an amalgam of park and leisure-oriented commercial establishments in urban-core waterfont settings exist in many U.S. cities. Public awareness of the need to enhance the environmental quality of these waterfont areas has resulted in a demand for planning and implementation action. However, the lack of understanding of urban political systems has been an inhibiting factor in the development of this park/ business concept. The major factors that influence the decision-making process leading to the development of urban-core waterfronts for park/business use are identified inthis paper. Understanding this decision-making process can aid project implementation and avoid waste of planning effort in time, dollars, and productivity.     

Assessing the Risk of Ships Striking Large Whales in Marine Spatial Planning

Marine spatial planning provides a comprehensive framework for managing multiple uses of the marine environment and has the potential to minimize environmental impacts and reduce conflicts among users. Spatially explicit assessments of the risks to key marine species from human activities are a requirement of marine spatial planning. We assessed the risk of ships striking humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), blue (Balaenoptera musculus), and fin (Balaenoptera physalus) whales in alternative shipping routes derived from patterns of shipping traffic off Southern California (U.S.A.). Specifically, we developed whale‐habitat models and assumed ship‐strike risk for the alternative shipping routes was proportional to the number of whales predicted by the models to occur within each route. This definition of risk assumes all ships travel within a single route. We also calculated risk assuming ships travel via multiple routes. We estimated the potential for conflict between shipping and other uses (military training and fishing) due to overlap with the routes. We also estimated the overlap between shipping routes and protected areas. The route with the lowest risk for humpback whales had the highest risk for fin whales and vice versa. Risk to both species may be ameliorated by creating a new route south of the northern Channel Islands and spreading traffic between this new route and the existing route in the Santa Barbara Channel. Creating a longer route may reduce the overlap between shipping and other uses by concentrating shipping traffic. Blue whales are distributed more evenly across our study area than humpback and fin whales; thus, risk could not be ameliorated by concentrating shipping traffic in any of the routes we considered. Reducing ship‐strike risk for blue whales may be necessary because our estimate of the potential number of strikes suggests that they are likely to exceed allowable levels of anthropogenic impacts established under U.S. laws. Evaluación del Riesgo de Colisiones de Barcos y Ballenas en la Planificación Marina Espacial