ALBERT

Notes: Abstract This analysis uses an analytical frameworkgrounded in political economy perspectives of theglobalization of the agro-food sector combined with acase study approach focusing on the Marine StewardshipCouncil (MSC) to inform discussions regarding thecharacteristics of societal regulation in thepost-Fordist era. More specifically, this analysisuses the case of the emergence of the MSC toinvestigate propositions regarding the existence of,and location of, nascent forms of a transnationalState. The MSC proposes to regulate the certificationof sustainable fisheries at the global level throughan eco-labeling program. The MSC was created in 1996by the transnational environmental organization theWorld Wildlife Fund and the transnational corporationUnilever. The emergence of the MSC has generatedheated discussion in fisheries management circles thatis in general divided along North/South lines. Thisanalysis indicates that the case of the MSC providesvaluable insights into the possible characteristics ofsupranational regulatory mechanisms that might emulatethe role of the nation-State in the post-Fordist era.

Notes: Abstract During the last 20 years, the existence of rich systems of local knowledge, and their vital support to resource use and management regimes, has been demonstrated in a wide range of biological, physical and geographical domains, such as agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry and agroforestry, medicine, and marine science and fisheries. Local knowledge includes empirical and practical components that are fundamental to sustainable resource management. Among coastal-marine fishers, for example, regular catches and, often, long-term resource sustainment are ensured through the application of knowledge that encompasses empirical information on fish behaviour, marine physical environments, fish habitats and the interactions among ecosystem components, as well as complex fish taxonomies. Local knowledge is therefore an important cultural resource that guides and sustains the operation of customary management systems. The sets of rules that compose a fisheries management system derive directly from local concepts and knowledge of the resources on which the fishery is based. Beyond the practical and the empirical, it is essential to recognise the fundamental socio-cultural importance of local knowledge to any society. It is through knowledge transmission and socialisation that worldviews are constructed, social institutions perpetuated, customary practices established, and social roles defined. In this manner, local knowledge and its transmission, shape society and culture, and culture and society shape knowledge. Local knowledge is of great potential practical value. It can provide an important information base for local resources management, especially in the tropics, where conventionally-used data are usually scarce to non-existent, as well as providing a shortcut to pinpoint essential scientific research needs. To be useful for resources management, however, it must be systematically collected and scientifically verified, before being blended with complementary information derived from Western-based sciences. But local knowledge should not be looked on with only a short-term utilitarian eye. Arguments widely accepted for conserving biodiversity, for example, are also applicable to the intellectual cultural diversity encompassed in local knowledge systems: they should be conserved because their utility may only be revealed at some later date or owing to their intrinsic value as part of the world's global heritage. At least in cultures with a Western liberal tradition, more than lip-service is now being paid to alternative systems of knowledge. The denigration of alternative knowledge systems as backward, inefficient, inferior, and founded on myth and ignorance has recently begun to change. Many such practices are a logical, sophisticated and often still-evolving adaptation to risk, based on generations of empirical experience and arranged according to principles, philosophies and institutions that are radically different from those prevailing in Western scientific circles, and hence all-but incomprehensible to them. But steadfastly held prejudices remain powerful. In this presentation I describe the 'design principles' of local knowledge systems, with particular reference to coastal-marine fishing communities, and their social and practical usefulness. I then examine the economic, ideological and institutional factors that combine to perpetuate the marginalisation and neglect of local knowledge, and discuss some of the requirements for applying local knowledge in modern management.

Notes: Abstract Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella Val.) were introduced into the United States in 1963 as potential biological control agents for nuisance aquatic weeds. Since that time an oftentimes bitter controversy has raged over its effects on sportfishing, and its possible natural reproduction and naturalization in North America. This review considers the history, ecology, and present status of grass carp in the United States in light of the voluminous scientific research conducted since its importation. Particular attention is given to the role of grass carp in the fisheries management plans of Arkansas. Recent development of a sterile, triploid grass carp hybrid may lead to widespread use of grass carp to control nuisance aquatic weeds in culturally eutrophicated waters of the United States.

Notes: Synopsis Sixteen yearling winter flounder, tested individually for 3-day periods in electronic shuttleboxes, voluntarily occupied an 8–27°C range of temperature, with a modal final thermal preferendum of 18.5°C (mean 18.7°C, median 19°C, midpoint 17.5°C, s.d. 1.9°C, S k + 0.33). The locomotor activity pattern of the yearling fish in the laboratory was markedly nocturnal, with mean hourly nocturnal activity exceeding mean hourly diurnal activity by a factor of 3.4. Maximum activity occurred at 0300 EST, minimum activity at 1400 EST. While activity generally increased with temperature, a local activity minimum occurred at 18.7°C, coinciding with the 24-hour mean final thermal preferendum. Comparison of these laboratory data with previously published field data suggest that behavioral responses to temperature and light play significant roles in determining age- and size-specific differences in seasonal depth stratification and onshore-offshore distributions in this species.