Fisheries Management & Conservation Flashcards
7 cards from real CFP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Fisheries Management & Conservation flashcards as text
The 'shifting baselines syndrome' in fisheries science refers to:
Answer: Each generation of scientists accepting a degraded ecosystem state as the new normal
Shifting baseline syndrome, described by Daniel Pauly, occurs when declining species abundance or ecosystem degradation is normalized because each generation lacks historical context.
Which fish passage structure is specifically designed for low-gradient, large-bodied fish such as American shad and striped bass?
Answer: Pool-and-weir fishway
Pool-and-weir fishways use a series of overflow weirs creating resting pools, suitable for strong-swimming anadromous species like shad and striped bass.
What is the key distinction between 'overfishing' and 'overfished' under U.S. federal fisheries law?
Answer: Overfishing is a current harvest rate exceeding FMSY; overfished is a stock biomass below BMSY threshold
Overfishing describes a current fishing mortality rate exceeding the maximum sustainable rate (F > FMSY), while overfished describes the stock biomass falling below the minimum stock size threshold.
A population of largemouth bass exhibits strong year-class dominance every 3–5 years. What factor MOST likely drives this pattern in reservoirs?
Answer: Favorable spring weather conditions promoting strong year-class survival
Strong year-class dominance in largemouth bass is typically driven by favorable spring temperatures and water levels that enhance spawning success and larval survival.
Which international agreement established the first legally binding framework for the management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory species beyond national EEZs?
Answer: UN Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) of 1995
The 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement provided a legally binding framework for cooperative management of straddling and highly migratory stocks on the high seas.
In electrofishing, what does the term 'anodic stunning' describe?
Answer: Fish becoming immobilized and drifting toward the anode due to galvanotaxis
Anodic stunning (electronarcosis) causes fish to become immobilized and swim involuntarily toward the positive electrode (anode), where they can be netted.
Which term describes the practice of releasing undersized, sublegal, or unwanted fish caught incidentally during commercial fishing operations?
Answer: Discarding
Discarding refers to the return of non-target or undersized fish to the water, often dead or injured, representing a major source of fishing mortality not reflected in landings data.