Figure - available from: Frontiers in Marine Science
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Biomass of the function groups in the East China Sea ecosystem in the M1997 (1997–2000) and M2018 (2018–2019) mass balance models and the M2018no-SFM (no seasonal fishing moratorium) and M2018SFM (with a seasonal fishing moratorium) dynamic simulations (1997–2018).
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Fisheries management policies (FMPs) have been implemented in coastal countries to ensure a sustainable supply of seafood and the recovery of species diversity. Because of the depletion of fishery stocks, China has introduced a series of FMPs since 1995, including a seasonal fishing moratorium (SFM), a zero-growth strategy, and a minimum mesh size...
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El crucero de evaluación directa de langostino amarillo, langostino colorado y camarón nailon de 2021 se desarrolló en un contexto todavía marcado por la pandemia de COVID19 que afecta al país. Sin embargo, se adoptaron todas las medidas sanitarias pertinentes que permitieron desarrollar con éxito la evaluación de los tres recursos. El apoyo de las...
Citations
... Partial findings from smaller-scale initiatives (Bos, 2025;Zou et al., 2024;Xing et al., 2020) suggest that, although the measure does not reduce total annual effort-on the contrary, it increases it-the quarterly relief offers a window for partial recovery of target species, something the Chinese fleet may later capitalize on. This outcome aligns with the logic of the compensation effect (Xu et al., 2022;Yu et al., 2017 ...
... although the Moratorium proves effective in terms of reducing Chinese effort during the closure quarter (Hypotheses 1 and 2), it is associated with a compensatory increase in effort during the rest of the year (Hypothesis 3), and it fails to reduce the aggregate level of fishing effort. In fact, overall effort increases (Hypothesis 8) (Xu et al., 2022;Yu et al., 2017). ...
... The Voluntary Moratoria, which has existed in China since 1995, consists of the implementation of seasonal fishing suspensions in specific marine areas(Xu et al., 2022). The suspension applies to all vessels flying the Chinese flag that meet certain characteristics, and its fundamental aim is to allow marine species time to regenerate and migrate(Ding, Lu, & Xue, 2021; China's State Council Information Office, 2023).4 ...
This study explores an unprecedented phenomenon in global fisheries governance: the “Voluntary Moratoria” that China applies to its distant-water fleet, far from its exclusive economic zone. Unlike typical coastal fishing bans, this unilateral three-month closure regulates squid jiggers, trawlers, and purse seiners in remote areas (Southwest Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Northern Indian Ocean), challenging classical notions of the “tragedy of the commons” and setting a surprising precedent on the high seas.
This constitutes the first quantitative assessment of a unilateral fishing moratorium applied in distant waters, using a statistical model with more than 50,000 observations based on AIS data, and including a control zone with no closure. The results confirm that Chinese vessels subject to the regulation drastically reduce their fishing effort during the closed season—alongside voluntary reductions by Chinese vessels not formally bound by the rule. However, the Chinese fleet (and foreign vessels) compensate for this drop in other periods, ultimately leading to an increase in total annual fishing effort.
Our finding demonstrates that a dominant State can impose effective restrictions even in the absence of international agreements. The Moratorium succeeds in halting fishing at a critical time for species regeneration, but it also reveals key tensions: other actors take advantage of reduced competition, while the Chinese fleet intensifies its activity in the remaining months. As such, this unilateral initiative embodies both achievements and dilemmas—offering a novel pathway for the sustainable management of common-pool resources on the high seas, while underscoring the need for broader coordination to achieve global sustainability.
... The excessive exploitation of marine resources combined with the intensive discharge of wastewater significantly impairs the capacity of the primary elements in the aquatic ecosystem to be transformed and utilized by higher trophic-level organisms [1,2]. Due to the scarcity of adequate predators, significant energy accumulates in small or juvenile organisms, thereby resulting in a higher local abundance of prey organisms [3]. In this context, some already highly differentiated biological populations will inevitably exhibit cohabitation due to insufficient competitive conditions, which ultimately leads to abundant guilds in the early stages or specific phases of their life history [4,5]. ...
... Previous studies have shown that the current environmental conditions in the East China Sea can provide sufficient and rich food resources for both large yellow croaker and small yellow croaker fish species, and there is no intense interspecies competition. For example, Xu [3] found that the current summer fishing ban system has promoted structural improvement of the East China Sea ecosystem and the recovery of food resources. Li [34] found that the food source diversity level and nutritional trophic level span were relatively high and stable in the feeding ground of the East China Sea southwestern waters. ...
... For the past two decades, the implementation of the fishing ban policy by the Chinese government has garnered widespread support from fishermen and has yielded positive ecological, economic, and social benefits. However, there are still numerous issues that need to be addressed [3]. In the present study, we showed that due to the lack of timely, effective, or adequate management, heavy fishing pressure, especially transition fishing for the early-life-stage large yellow croaker in spawning and wintering grounds, is the main factor that has contributed to the decline of its resources and its inability to recover. ...
In recent decades, China’s large-scale stock enhancement programs to restore the collapsing large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) fishery resources have not yielded the desired results, and a comprehensive analysis of the underlying reasons for this problem is required. Based on small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis) catch survey data obtained from 15 fishing ports along the coast of the East China Sea, we examined the proportion of large yellow croakers mixed in the small yellow croaker catch and their biological parameters. In addition, we analyzed the differences in the intestinal microbiota and feeding ecology between these two species to explore the reason why the stock enhancement program failed to achieve the desired outcome. The results show that there is a high likelihood of the two species appearing in each other’s ecological niches, and there is a significant overlap in their dietary ecology. They may cohabitate and form a guild. The fishing season targeting the small yellow croaker indirectly catches the large yellow croaker population, which puts huge fishing pressure on large yellow croaker resource and shows obvious overfishing. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize and adjust the fishing ban policy and stock enhancement strategies, appropriately reducing the fishing intensity after the fishing ban to facilitate the effective accumulation of resource replenishment effects during the fishing ban period, thus effectively restoring wild large yellow croaker resources.
... Overfishing dapat merusak ekosistem perairan Laut Arafura, mengganggu rantai makanan, dan mengurangi produktivitas perikanan secara keseluruhan (Hermanto et al., 2019). Moratorium (Penghentian Sementara) sebagai suatu kebijakan muncul sebagai respons terhadap kekhawatiran akan kerusakan yang ditimbulkan oleh aktivitas penangkapan ikan yang berlebihan terhadap sumber daya laut (Xu et al., 2022). Diterapkan dengan tujuan utama untuk memulihkan stok ikan yang terdampak, moratorium mencerminkan kesadaran akan pentingnya menjaga keberlanjutan sumber daya perikanan. ...
Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Network (LSTM-RNN): Aplikasi Penginderaan Jauh untuk Kelautan & Perikanan Laut Tangkap merupakan hasil kolaborasi penelitian antara ahli kecerdasan buatan dan sains kelautan. Buku ini membahas tantangan dalam pengelolaan perikanan, khususnya di perairan Laut Arafura, yang rawan overfishing dan aktivitas illegal fishing. Dengan menggunakan analisis data canggih dan teknologi terbaru, tulisan ini menawarkan solusi untuk memprediksi dan mengelola sumber daya perikanan lebih efektif, sekaligus mengusulkan metode baru dalam pemetaan Zona Potensi Penangkapan Ikan (ZPPI) yang dapat diakses dan dimanfaatkan oleh nelayan lokal.
Tulisan ini menggali penggunaan teknologi LSTM-RNN berbasis penginderaan jauh untuk meningkatkan pengelolaan sumber daya perikanan laut tangkap. Melalui analisis data yang cermat dan pemanfaatan teknologi terkini, penulis mengeksplorasi metode inovatif untuk meningkatkan efisiensi dan efektivitas dalam pengelolaan perikanan. Tujuannya yaitu untuk memberikan wawasan baru dan mendukung upaya keberlanjutan ekologis dan ekonomi dalam industri perikanan. Buku ini bertujuan menjadi referensi yang berguna bagi peneliti, pengambil kebijakan, dan industri terkait dalam upaya bersama memelihara kekayaan alam dengan bijaksana dan berkelanjutan.
... Due to China's implementation of fisheries resource protection measures, predominantly involving seasonal fishing moratoriums (Jiang et al. 2009;Xu et al. 2022), the waters around Lvhua Island fall under the management zone for the off-season fishing moratorium. ...
Shrimp trawling is a primary fishing method in the East China Sea. Based on survey data from fishery resource monitoring vessels and on-site sampling data collected before and after the 2020 fishing moratorium in the waters around Lvhua Island, East China Sea, we employed statistical and stable isotope methods to analyze the composition and trophic levels of shrimp trawl bycatch. The results revealed diverse species in the bycatch around Lvhua Island, primarily consisting of coastal benthic organisms. The composition structure exhibited significant differences before and after the fishing moratorium, with Sebastiscus marmoratus identified as the dominant species, showing relative importance index percentages (%IRI) of 29.49% and 78.05% before and after the moratorium, respectively. Stable isotope analysis determined carbon and nitrogen isotope values for the shrimp trawl bycatch around Lvhua Island before and after the moratorium, estimating average trophic levels of 3.43 and 3.60, placing the trophic hierarchy at level 3. The distribution of carbon stable isotope ratios indicated noticeable ecological niche overlap among various biological groups in the waters around Lvhua Island.
... The seasonal fishing ban, however, will decrease the revenue of fishermen, making it challenging to strike a balance between sustainable fisheries and economic growth. Given that fishing efforts are under control and the marine ecology is maturing, eco-friendly nocturnal fisheries can address this problem (Xu et al. 2022). Allowing legal night-light fishing vessels equipped with a positioning system to operate during the fishing ban can boost coastal economies and help regulatory agencies combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fisheries. ...
Offshore small-scale fisheries, constituting 31% of global marine captures, are crucial for the promotion of sustainable fisheries. However, current fishery monitoring, assessments, and management remain incomplete. Nighttime remote sensing provides a critical perspective for monitoring fishery activities. Thus, in this study, a dynamic threshold fishing vessel detection (DTFVD) model was developed to assess and manage the spatiotemporal variations of offshore fisheries. Results demonstrated that the DTFVD model provides superior accuracy in nighttime fishery monitoring and can successfully identify a robust seasonal bimodal distribution of the Yellow-Bohai Sea's fisheries. By analysing the impacts of climate, environmental, and policy factors, this study reveals that ocean dynamics affect the seasonal and geographic distribution of offshore nighttime fisheries by enhancing ocean mixing and ecological processes. The effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns and Chinese summer fishing moratorium on offshore fisheries were also determined by nighttime remote sensing. According to future climate warming predictions, the habitats for the recruited migratory fish population may gradually move northward and disappear under climate risks, leading to the disappearance of suitable fishing areas for nighttime fisheries. Therefore, this study suggests integrating nighttime remote sensing into offshore fishery monitoring and assessment efforts for climate-adapted fishery management strategies.
... The Chinese government implements an annual summer fishing moratorium system from May to September each year. The seasonal variations in habitat utilization observed in our study provided evidence that this program effectively provides a vital period of rest for the U. edulis population, which significantly contributes to the improved protection and conservation of this valuable fishery resource [65,66]. ...
Simple Summary
The swordtip squid (Uroteuthis edulis) is both of commercial and ecological importance and vital in the coastal China ecosystem. However, the limited ecological research requires further investigations into its habitat preferences. To address this, we studied how the habitat of U. edulis varies and what environmental factors drive its movements across different seasons in the East China Sea (ECS) and southern Yellow Sea. The study found that U. edulis predominantly inhabited the central and southern regions of the ECS, with a slight shift in the geometric center of its habitat across seasons. The preferences for sea surface temperature, sea surface height, and depth were the primary factors affecting its distribution. During summer and autumn, the suitable habitats of U. edulis were larger and expanded northwards towards the coastline, but in spring and winter, they retreated southwards to waters near the edge of the ECS continental shelf. These patterns are likely influenced by the changing mixture of ocean currents and varying environmental conditions throughout the year. This study provides valuable insight into how U. edulis is distributed in response to the changing environment, which can help to better manage and protect their populations.
Abstract
Accurately modeling the distribution of keystone species is of utmost importance to gain a comprehensive understanding of their complex ecological dynamics and to develop effective strategies for sustainable scientific management. In the coastal China ecosystem, the swordtip squid (Uroteuthis edulis) stands out as a keystone species with significant commercial and ecological value. Despite its importance, research on the ecological dynamics of this species remains limited and requires further investigation. To investigate the spatial and temporal variability in the distribution of U. edulis and identify the key environmental drivers in the East China Sea (ECS) and southern Yellow Sea across different seasons, we generated ensemble models using oceanographic variables and fishery-independent scientific survey data collected from 2016 to 2018. Our results revealed that U. edulis predominantly inhabited the central and southern regions of the ECS throughout the year. The primary environmental variables driving its distribution varied by season, with the sea surface temperature being the most important in spring, sea surface height in summer and autumn, and depth in winter. During summer and autumn, the suitable habitats of U. edulis were found to be largest and extended northwards towards the coastline. However, they migrated southwards to the waters near the edge of the ECS continental shelf with smaller suitable areas in the spring and winter. These results suggested that U. edulis exhibited season-specific habitat preferences and responded to changing environmental conditions throughout the year. The observed seasonal distribution patterns were likely influenced by the fluctuating mixture of waters (ocean currents) from different sources, with varying physical and chemical characteristics throughout the year. Our study provides baseline data for comprehending the population dynamics of U. edulis and highlights the significance of considering species’ habitat preferences in a dynamic environment.
... On the other hand, some temporal changes across years in the VBD count appear to correspond to recent policy changes. The summer fishing moratorium by the Chinese government started in 1998 covering the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the northern part of the South China Sea, running from May to September, while the exact periods and the areas differ depending on the years and types of fishing [33,34]. The monthly fishing activities sharply declined after 2017 for the low-radiance class in May and for the high-radiance class in July ( Figure 13). ...
Remote sensing is essential for monitoring fisheries. Optical sensors such as the day–night band (DNB) of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) have been a crucial tool for detecting vessels fishing at night. It remains challenging to ensure stable detections under various conditions affected by the clouds and the moon. Here, we develop a machine learning based algorithm to generate automatic and consistent vessel detection. As DNB data are large and highly imbalanced, we design a two-step approach to train our model. We evaluate its performance using independent vessel position data acquired from on-ship radar. We find that our algorithm demonstrates comparable performance to the existing VIIRS boat detection algorithms, suggesting its possible application to greater temporal and spatial scales. By applying our algorithm to the East China Sea as a case study, we reveal a recent increase in fishing activity by vessels using bright lights. Our VIIRS boat detection results aim to provide objective information for better stock assessment and management of fisheries.
... Fishing efforts can also influence seasonality in fish community composition . Previous studies have demonstrated that captured fish biomass declines sharply when fishing efforts increase following the lifting of the seasonal fishing moratorium (Wang et al., 2015;Xu et al., 2022). Fishing moratoria in the Pearl River Basin and South China Sea are in effect from March 1 to June 30 and from May 1 to August 16 every year, respectively. ...
Non-destructive and cost-effective fish diversity monitoring approaches are needed for the management and protection of estuarine ecosystems. Environmental DNA (eDNA) technology is a promising, environmentally friendly technology that has been applied in fish diversity studies in estuarine ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the seasonal composition, diversity, and structure of fish community in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) using eDNA technology and gillnetting. We identified 156 fish in the PRE, including 26 orders, 58 families, 93 genera, and 115 species according to eDNA technology. And eDNA technology provided more taxonomic composition information in the PRE than did gillnetting. Significant or highly significant seasonal differences in fish community composition and structure were detected between the wet and dry seasons. Fifteen and eight genus-level indicator taxa differed significantly between the two seasons according to eDNA technology and gillnetting, respectively. However, the significant differences detected in this study suggest that some taxa did not overlap between the two approaches. Therefore, fish diversity monitoring in the PRE should include a combination of eDNA technology and gillnetting for comprehensive fish community data analysis. Our findings have important implications for fish community monitoring and estuarine ecosystem management.
... Therefore, these larvae can grow well into medusae within 1 month (Kawahara et al., 2006;Sun et al., 2015). When the fishing ban began to be implemented more rigorously and forcefully in early May 2017, these conditions favorable to early pelagic N. nomurai larvae may reduce as the annual fish catches decreased ( Figure 6) and fishery resources were forecast to improve during the summer fishing moratorium (Yan et al., 2019a;Yan et al., 2019b;Xu et al., 2022). Thus this might contribute to the weakening of outbreaks of N. nomurai in these years. ...
Outbreaks of scyphozoan Aurelia coerulea and Nemopilema nomurai in the coastal sea of China are managed in recent years because they have severely jeopardized local socioeconomic development and ecological health. In this study, we propose specific strategies to control these blooms based on the different physio-ecological characteristics of their polyps, which can produce medusae by strobilation. High densities of A. coerulea polyps can survive chronically on the surfaces of some artificial constructions submerged in harbors or bays, China. Through buddings, they can resist the invasion of biofouling organisms and proliferate on the surfaces of some fouling organisms (e.g., ascidians, and bryozoans). However, N. nomurai polyps have not been recorded in natural environment. The in situ experiments found that polyps on settling plates fail to survive via podocysts due to severe biofouling invasion and post-strobilated degeneration in late spring and summer. As a result, the population size following is strongly dependent on the sexual recruitment of medusae during late summer and autumn. Therefore, we suggest that the reasonable governance strategy is to manage polyp populations together with biofouling organisms for A. coerulea blooms, however, with a focus on the medusa stage (particularly young medusae) to decrease the sexual reproduction in N. nomurai blooms. Accordingly, massive occurrences of A. coerulea in Qingdao Middle Port, China were alleviated by eliminating polyps and biofouling organisms on the undersurfaces of floating docks and then brushing the surfaces with modified alloprene paints. Some applicable control measures, including resource utilization of N. nomurai medusae and more severe and earlier summer fishing moratoriums, were used to possibly help restrain outbreaks of N. nomurai in Chinese coastal waters.
The effects of climate change on marine ecosystems are causing cascading impacts on livelihood, food security, and culture through fisheries. Such impacts interact and exacerbate the effects of overfishing on marine social‐ecological systems, complicating the rebuilding of ecosystems to achieve desirable and sustainable ocean futures. Developing effective pathways for ecosystem rebuilding requires consideration of the co‐benefits and trade‐offs between ecological and social dimensions and between fishing sectors. However, the effects of intensifying climate change on such co‐benefits or trade‐offs are yet to be well understood, particularly in regions where ecosystem rebuilding is urgently needed. We applied a numerical optimization routine to define the scope for improvement toward the Pareto‐frontier for ecological robustness and economic benefits of the northern South China Sea (NSCS) and the East China Sea (ECS) ecosystems. These two ecosystems were used to represent over‐exploited low‐ and mid‐latitude systems, respectively, and the optimization aimed to improve their status through fisheries management. We find that the ECS ecosystem has the possibility of increasing the economic benefits generated by the fisheries it supports under climate change by 2050 while increasing the uncertainty of achieving biodiversity objectives. Nevertheless, climate change is projected to reduce the scope to restore ecosystem structures and the potential economic benefits in the NSCS ecosystem. This study highlights the contrasting impacts of climate change on the co‐benefits/trade‐offs in ecosystem rebuilding and the benefits obtainable by different fishing sectors even in neighboring ecosystems. We conclude that consideration at the nexus of climate–biodiversity‐fisheries is a key to developing effective ecosystem rebuilding plan.
