Striped Mullet - Ocean Wise Seafood
Striped MulletMugil cephalusImage Duane RaverFloridaU.S. South Atlantic (east coast) and Gulf of Mexico (west coast)Beach seine, Cast netApril 19, 2016Rachel Simon, Independent Research AnalystDisclaimer: Seafood Watch strives to have all Seafood Reports reviewed for accuracy and completeness byexternal scientists with expertise in ecology, fisheries science and aquaculture. Scientific review, however, doesnot constitute an endorsement of the Seafood Watch program or its recommendations on the part of thereviewing scientists. Seafood Watch is solely responsible for the conclusions reached in this report.
2Table of ContentsAbout Seafood Watch . 2Guiding Principles . 4Summary . 5Introduction . 7Analysis . 12Criterion 1: Impact on the Species Under Assessment . 12Criterion 2: Impacts on other retained and bycatch stocks . 15Criterion 3: Management Effectiveness . 18Criterion 4: Impacts on the Habitat and Ecosystem . 23Acknowledgements. 27References . 28
3About Seafood Watch Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program evaluates the ecological sustainability ofwild-caught and farmed seafood commonly found in the United States marketplace. SeafoodWatch defines sustainable seafood as originating from sources, whether wild-caught orfarmed, which can maintain or increase production in the long-term without jeopardizing thestructure or function of affected ecosystems. Seafood Watch makes its science-basedrecommendations available to the public in the form of regional pocket guides that can bedownloaded from www.seafoodwatch.org. The program’s goals are to raise awareness ofimportant ocean conservation issues and empower seafood consumers and businesses to makechoices for healthy oceans.Each sustainability recommendation on the regional pocket guides is supported by a SeafoodReport. Each report synthesizes and analyzes the most current ecological, fisheries andecosystem science on a species, then evaluates this information against the program’sconservation ethic to arrive at a recommendation of “Best Choices,” “Good Alternatives” or“Avoid.” The detailed evaluation methodology is available upon request. In producing theSeafood Reports, Seafood Watch seeks out research published in academic, peer-reviewedjournals whenever possible. Other sources of information include government technicalpublications, fishery management plans and supporting documents, and other scientific reviewsof ecological sustainability. Seafood Watch Research Analysts also communicate regularlywith ecologists, fisheries and aquaculture scientists, and members of industry and conservationorganizations when evaluating fisheries and aquaculture practices. Capture fisheries andaquaculture practices are highly dynamic; as the scientific information on each species changes,Seafood Watch’s sustainability recommendations and the underlying Seafood Reports will beupdated to reflect these changes.Parties interested in capture fisheries, aquaculture practices and the sustainability of oceanecosystems are welcome to use Seafood Reports in any way they find useful. For moreinformation about Seafood Watch and Seafood Reports, please contact the Seafood Watch program at Monterey Bay Aquarium by calling 1-877-229-9990.
4Guiding PrinciplesSeafood Watch defines sustainable seafood as originating from sources, whether fished 1 orfarmed that can maintain or increase production in the long-term without jeopardizing thestructure or function of affected ecosystems.Based on this principle, Seafood Watch had developed four sustainability criteria for evaluatingwild-catch fisheries for consumers and businesses. These criteria are: How does fishing affect the species under assessment?How does the fishing affect other, target and non-target species?How effective is the fishery’s management?How does the fishing affect habitats and the stability of the ecosystem?Each criterion includes: Factors to evaluate and scoreGuidelines for integrating these factors to produce a numerical score and ratingOnce a rating has been assigned to each criterion, we develop an overall recommendation.Criteria ratings and the overall recommendation are color coded to correspond to thecategories on the Seafood Watch pocket guide and the Safina Center’s online guide:Best Choice/Green: Are well managed and caught in ways that cause little harm to habitats orother wildlife.Good Alternative/Yellow: Buy, but be aware there are concerns with how they’re caught.Avoid/Red: Take a pass on these for now. These items are overfished or caught in ways thatharm other marine life or the environment.1“Fish” is used throughout this document to refer to finfish, shellfish and other invertebrates.
5SummaryStriped mullet (Mugil cephalus) is a catadromous, schooling fish inhabiting the coastal areasaround the southern Atlantic Ocean (east coast) and the Gulf of Mexico (west coast). Thisspecies is targeted from October to February for its valuable eggs (sold as roe in seafoodmarkets), but the meat is also used as bait in commercial and recreational fisheries and isconsumed in some regions of the southern U.S. The largest commercial fisheries for stripedmullet operate out of southwest Florida (managed by the Florida Fish and WildlifeConservation) and east of the Mississippi River, off the coast of Louisiana (not covered in thisreport). A majority of the roe is exported, primarily to Asia. Florida stock assessments onstriped mullet are performed every 3–5 years and have suggested the stock is in healthycondition, with low fishing mortality rates. Cast and seine nets (Florida) are used almostexclusively to catch schools of mullet; bycatch and habitat effects with this type of gear arethought to be minimal. This small, bottom-feeding species is considered important in theoverall Gulf marine ecosystem because it is preyed upon by a range of other fauna. Stripedmullet is highly fecund, relatively short-lived, with a low age at maturity, making it resilient toheavy fishing pressure. But due to its importance in the ecosystem as well as the stateeconomies, managers have taken steps to prevent fishing mortality from becoming deleteriousto stocks. This combination of factors results in an overall rating of “Best Choice.”Table of Conservation Concerns and Overall RecommendationsStockStriped mulletStriped mulletFisheryFlorida:BeachseineFlorida:Cast netImpactson theStockImpacts onotherSpeciesManagementRating ommendation(Score)Rank (Score)Lowest scoringspecies (Score)Green (5)Yellow(2.51)Green (4)Green(3.46)BEST CHOICE (3.63)Green (5)Yellow(2.64)Green (4)Green(3.87)BEST CHOICE (3.78)Rank (Score)Scoring GuideScores range from zero to five where zero indicates very poor performance and five indicates the fishingoperations have no significant impact.Final Score geometric mean of the four Scores (Criterion 1, Criterion 2, Criterion 3, Criterion 4). Best Choice/Green Final Score 3.2, and no Red Criteria, and no Critical scores
6 Good Alternative/Yellow Final score 2.2-3.2, and neither Harvest Strategy (Factor 3.1) norBycatch Management Strategy (Factor 3.2) are Very High Concern1F2, and no more than one RedCriterion, and no Critical scores Avoid/Red Final Score 2.2, or either Harvest Strategy (Factor 3.1) or Bycatch ManagementStrategy (Factor 3.2) is Very High Concern or two or more Red Criteria, or one or more Criticalscores.2Because effective management is an essential component of sustainable fisheries, Seafood Watch issues an Avoidrecommendation for any fishery scored as a Very High Concern for either factor under Management (Criterion 3).
7IntroductionScope of the analysis and ensuing recommendationThis report includes recommendations for striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) caught by beachseine and cast net. The fishery occurs in the waters of the U.S. South Atlantic and the Gulf ofMexico, including Florida’s east and west coast. In North Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana,where there’s little demand for mullet for human consumption due to its oiliness, mostcommercial exploitation targets roe-carrying females (for the exporting of roe) and mullet formullet bait fisheries.Overview of the species and management bodiesStriped mullet is the most abundant species in the family Mugilidae, inhabiting the coastal areasaround the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and southern Atlantic Ocean (Leard et al. 1995). It iscatadromous, meaning it spends its adult life in fresh/brackish estuarine habitats, and returnsto the coastal ocean to spawn (FMNH 2015). Striped mullet is a bottom-feeding species(detritivores feeding on the top layer of sediment) and considered important in the overall Gulfmarine ecosystem because it is preyed upon by a range of other fauna (Chagaris et al. 2014).This species is highly fecund, relatively short-lived, with a young age at maturity, making itresilient to heavy fishing pressure (GulfFINFO 2015).Striped mullet are fished recreationally in many states (Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, etc.),primarily with cast nets (pers. comm., David Chagaris, March 30, 2016), but also with gigs andbow arrows (pers. comm., Steve Brown, March 17, 2016) because they are not easily caught byhook and line. The largest commercial fisheries for this species operate out of southwest Florida(for human consumption, sold domestically), Alabama, and North Carolina, and the mostvaluable product—roe (eggs)—is exported. Mullet meat is not the best quality during thespawning season, and roe fishery handling procedures don’t produce a high quality fish foreating, which is why mullet carcasses are used for bait in other fisheries, including those forspiny lobster, stone crab, blue crab, crawfish, and assorted finfish (GulfFINFO 2015).In Alabama, the commercial fishery runs year-round, and fishers target mullet (with cast netsand gillnets) for flesh and sell it to local dealers, but from October 24th through December 31st,mullet is targeted for roe (GulfFINFO 2015) (NMFS 2015). In North Carolina, most commercialexploitation uses gillnets to target roe-carrying females (NCDMF 2014). In Mississippi, stripedmullet is primarily harvested (with cast nets, and sometimes gillnets) for its roe, and has all butdisappeared from local restaurants. In Louisiana, where there’s little demand for mullet for
8human consumption due to its oiliness (LSU 2015), mullet is fished year-round (with gillnets) forthe live mullet bait fishery, and from the third Monday in October until the third Monday of thefollowing January, Louisiana’s striped mullet fishery targets the fish for roe (GulfFINFO 2015).Traditionally, gillnets and purse seines were used to catch striped mullet. But due to concernsabout bycatch and sportfish stocks, beginning in 1995, Florida and Louisiana prohibited the useof all “entangling nets” (Mahmoudi 2000) (pers. comm., David Chagaris, March 30, 2016). Thefishing methods currently and most commonly in use include haul or beach seines and cast orstrike nets (GulfFINFO 2015). In 2014, striped mullet was the largest fishery along the westcoast of Florida by volume (11.64 million lbs; 5,280 MT) (NMFS 2015).Although striped mullet may inhabit federal waters (3 to 200 mi from shore), they are mostabundant in state waters, so management of the fisheries is the responsibility of each state. Inthe GOM, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSFMC) oversees management byindividual states and coordinates an overall Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for striped mullet(GulfFINFO 2015). The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is responsible formanaging the striped mullet fishery in state waters, inshore out to 3 nm on the South Atlanticside, and 9 nm in the Gulf of Mexico. Other Gulf states are responsible for managing mulletfisheries in their state waters; the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission helps coordinatemanagement of interjurisdictional fisheries such as mullet, gathering scientific data andorganizing management strategies across the Gulf states (GulfFINFO 2015).Production statisticsThe Gulf has supplied the majority of striped mullet in the United States since at least the1960s. In 2014, Gulf fishers brought in nearly 10.5 million pounds of mullet (Florida, east andwest coast: 5,279 MT), about 89% of the total U.S. mullet harvest. Dockside revenue in 2014totaled nearly 8.1 million (GulfFINFO 2015). Alabama and North Carolina brought in thesecond-largest amounts of striped mullet in 2014, with a total of approximately 1.8 million lbs(790.4 MT and 767.6 MT, respectively), followed by Louisiana (approximately 1.1 million lbs;490.5 MT), and Mississippi (39,000 lbs; 14.2 MT) (Fig. 1).
9Figure 1. U.S. landings of striped mullet (MT) by state, 2005–2014 (data from NMFS 2015).Importance to the U.S./North American marketAccording to U.S. trade data, roe exports and both meat and roe imports have remained fairlysteady over the last decade, while meat exports have shown a generally increasing trend (Fig.2). In 2015, the majority of imports were from Vietnam (45%), China-Taipei (41%), and India(12%) (Fig. 3a, b), and exports to Haiti (38%), Colombia (17%), China-Taipei (15%), andDominican Republic (14%) (NMFS 2015). Though the weight of exported mullet meat farexceeds the weight of exported roe, the value of mullet meat is much lower. In 2014, stripedmullet from the U.S. likely made up about 40%–45% of the mullet on the U.S. market (based onNMFS 2015 domestic production and trade data) and using edible weight conversion factorsfrom NMFS (domestic landings product 0.33 of edible product, imports 0.75, exports 0.55).
10Figure 2. U.S. trade (imports and exports) of mullet meat and roe, 2005–2015 (data from NMFS2015).a)
11b)Figure 3. (a) 2015 U.S. trade imports and (b) exports of mullet meat and roe by country (datafrom NMFS 2015).Common and market namesStriped mullet may be commonly referred to as mullet, jumping mullet, flathead mullet, popeyemullet, river/sea mullet, whirligig mullet, black/black back/grey mullet, jumping jack, lisa/liza,roundhead, springer, and molly/mullé (GulfFINFO 2015).Primary product formsMullet is sold whole, collared or gutted, and filleted, either fresh or frozen, smoked or salted(Leard et al. 1995). “Yellow-red roe” are female eggs, while “white roe” are testes. Roe isgenerally not seen in the U.S. market, except relatively recently in the Gulf (Lallo 2015), but isexported to European and Asian countries where it is considered a delicacy.
12AnalysisThis section assesses the sustainability of the fishery(s) relative to the Seafood Watch Criteriafor Fisheries, available at http://www.seafoodwatch.org.Criterion 1: Impact on the Species Under AssessmentThis criterion evaluates the impact of fishing mortality on the species, given its currentabundance. When abundance is unknown, abundance is scored based on the species’ inherentvulnerability, which is calculated using a Productivity-Susceptibility Analysis. The final Criterion 1score is determined by taking the geometric mean of the abundance and fishing mortalityscores. The Criterion 1 rating is determined as follows: Score 3.2 Green or Low ConcernScore 2.2 and 3.2 Yellow or Moderate ConcernScore 2.2 Red or High ConcernGuiding principles Ensure all affected stocks are healthy and abundant. Abundance, size, sex, age and geneticstructure should be maintained at levels that do not impair the long-term productivity of thestock or fulfillment of its role in the ecosystem and food web.Fish all affected stocks at sustainable levels. Fishing mortality should be appropriate givencurrent abundance and inherent vulnerability to fishing while accounting for scientificuncertainty, management uncertainty, and non-fishery impacts such as habitat degradation.The cumulative fishing mortality experienced by affected species must be at or below thelevel that produces maximum sustainable yield for single-species fisheries on typical speciesthat are at target levels.Fishing mortality may need to be lower than the level that produces maximum sustainableyield in certain cases such as multispecies fisheries, highly vulnerable species, or fisherieswith high uncertainty.For species that are depleted below target levels, fishing mortality must be at or below alevel that allows the species to recover to its target abundance.
13Criterion 1 SummaryAbundanceFishing MortalityCrit 1Category (Score)Category (Score)Rating (Score)Florida: Beach seineVery low (5)Low (5)Green (5)Florida: Cast netVery low (5)Low (5)Green (5)StockFisheryStriped mulletStriped mulletFactor 1.1 AbundanceGoal: Stock abundance and size structure of native species is maintained at a level that doesnot impair recruitment or productivityScoring Guidelines: 5 (Very Low Concern)—Strong evidence exists that the population is above an appropriatetarget abundance level (given the species’ ecological role), or near virgin biomass. 3.67 (Low Concern)—Population may be below target abundance level, but is at least 75% ofthe target level, OR data-limited assessments suggest population is healthy and species isnot highly vulnerable. 2.33 (Moderate Concern) —Population is not overfished but may be below 75% of the targetabundance level, OR abundance is unknown and the species is not highly vulnerable. 1 (High Concern)—Population is considered overfished/depleted, a species of concern,threatened or endangered, OR abundance is unknown and species is highly vulnerable.Key relevant information:The SS3 (Stock synthesis, version 3) model from the 2014 Florida stock assessment estimatesthat B2013:BSPR35% 1.74 for the east coast and that B2013:BSPR35% 1.74 for the west coast(Chagaris et al. 2014). For this reason, abundance is deemed “very low” concern.Detailed rationale:Since 1993, mullet stocks in Florida (east and west coasts) have been managed relative toreference points based on spawning potential ratio (SPR) (Leard et al. 1995) (Mahmoudi 2000).Overfished and overfishing definitions have been established, but the Florida Fish and WildlifeConservation Commission (FWCC) has not identified separate target and threshold (limit)reference points for the stocks. Stocks are considered overfished if SPR is below 35% of thestock’s maximum spawning potential (Chagaris et al. 2014).
14Factor 1.2 Fishing MortalityGoal: Fishing mortality is appropriate for current state of the stock.Scoring Guidelines: 5 (Low Concern) — Probable ( 50%) that fishing mortality from all sources is at or below asustainable level, given the species ecological role, OR fishery does not target species andfishing mortality is low enough to not adversely affect its population. 3 (Moderate Concern)— Fishing mortality is fluctuating around sustainable levels, OR fishingmortality relative to a sustainable level is uncertain. 1 (High
Scoring Guide Scores range from zero to five where zero indicates very poor performance and five indicates the fishing operations have no significant impact. Final Score geometric mean of the four Scores (Criterion 1, Criterion 2, Criterion 3, Criterion 4). Best Choice/Green Final Score 3.2, and no Red Criteria, and no Critical scores
john boyne 109 the boy in the striped pyjamas . john boyne 110 the boy in the striped pyjamas . john boyne 111 the boy in the striped pyjamas . john boyne 112 the boy in the striped pyjamas . created date: 20080413225218z .
a striped volume (va) has constituent volumes (va00, va01) striped aggregates (sa) - aggregates that hold strip ed volumes (sa00, sa01) thus, each d-blade could own a constituent volume (multiple too) data gets distributed/striped (e.g., 2 stripes, 256kb) across constituent volumes the striped volume looks like one manageable entity n-blade
appetite for all manner of seafood has led to unprecedented pressure on the world's ma-rine resources. Being the second-largest per capita seafood consumer in Asia and importing nearly 90 per cent of this seafood from over 150 countries and territories, Hong Kong is an important player in the sustainable seafood challenge.
Tackle plastic pollution, underwater noise and chemical pollution. OVERFISHING Grow sustainable seafood markets and improve fisheries through a climate-smart lens. Ocean Wise will address three critical challenges facing our ocean through
Five Major Oceans 1. Pacific Ocean (largest ocean, over 30% of Earth’s surface) 2. Atlantic Ocean (2nd largest) 3. Indian Ocean (3rd largest, mostly in Southern Hemisphere) 4. Arctic Ocean (north pole, smallest ocean) 5. Antarctic Ocean (south pole) The average depth of the
2. The ocean and life in the ocean shape the features of Earth. 3. The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate. 4. The ocean makes Earth habitable. 5. The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems. 6. The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected. 7. The
common solution: full-chain traceability for all seafood. The proposed rule includes traceability requirements that would only apply to 13 "at-risk" types of seafood, and Seafood fraud is a serious global problem that undermines honest businesses and fishermen that play by the rules, threatens consumer health, and puts our oceans at risk.
Language acquisition goes hand in hand with cognitive and academic development, with an inclusive curriculum as the context. Research over the past two decades into the language development of young bilingual learners has resulted in a number of theories and principles about children learning EAL in settings and schools. 00683-2007BKT-EN Supporting children learning English as an additional .
