Assessment of fishery management parameters for major prey fish species in the lower reaches of the Songhua River

Abstract

The stability of the ecosystem directly affects the water quality and safety, fishery production, and people’s quality of life along the route. In this study, extensive biological information on five dominant species of prey fish, including Hemiculter leucisculus (Basilewsky, 1855), Acheilognathus macropterus (Bleeker), Rhodeus sericeus (Pallas,1776), Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846), and Squalidus argentatus (Sauvage & Dabry de Thiersant, 1874), was collected in the lower reaches of the Songhua River, and the population parameters and variation rules of these fish were evaluated. The results showed that at present, the fish resources in the lower reaches of the Songhua River were in an overexploited state. Although the growth rate of prey fish was accelerating, their growth potential was decreasing. In addition to the homogeneous structure of the fish community, it was increasingly evident that a high proportion of small-sized fish were present in the fish community. In addition, the growth length coefficients of the five prey fish species were all greater than 0.2, indicating that the prey fish were growing at a faster rate, and the range of the growth performance indicators were 3.49 ~ 4.37. Our data also demonstrated that the exploitation rates of Hemiculter leucisculus and Squalidus argentatus were both greater than 0.5, and the exploitation rates of all species were higher than Emax except for Pseudorasbora parva. Finally, based on the above results, the mesh size of all nets should be controlled above 45 mm to ensure the size of the main prey fish populations in the lower reaches of the Songhua River. In summary, these results provided variation rules and growth of prey fish resources in the lower reaches of the Songhua River. At the same time, the distribution of major commercial or endangered baiting grounds in the lower reaches of the Songhua River was determined, which was beneficial to the balance and integrity of the ecosystem.

A comparative study on the age, growth, and mortality of Gobio huanghensis (Luo, Le & Chen, 1977) in the Gansu and Ningxia sections of the upper Yellow River, China

“…According to Gisbert [ 43 ], allometric growth refers to the uneven development of different functional organs in fish as a result of their adaptation to the external environment. Lu et al [ 44 ] suggest that the current increase in fishing intensity and the use of smaller mesh size in fishing nets have led to a shift in target species toward small and medium-sized fish, which are then processed into fishmeal for profit. For G. huanghensis , the Ningxia section exhibited greater growth in total length relative to body weight while the Gansu section exhibited superior growth in body weight relative to total length.…”

Estimates of the Age, Growth, and Mortality of Triplophysa scleroptera (Herzenstein, 1888) in the Upper Reaches of the Yellow River, China

“…In the present study, we used three methods to derive a relatively certain range for the real value of instantaneous rate of natural mortality (M) [23][24][25]. The current exploitation rate (E) of T. scleroptera has been over 0.5 (E = 0.783), higher than Gymnocypris firmispinatus, a small-size Schizothoracinae fish, in the Anning River [54], and several prey fish of Hemiculter leucisculus, Acheilognathus macropterus, Rhodeus sericeus, and Pseudorasbora parva in the lower reaches of the Songhua River [55], suggesting that the population in the upper reaches of the Yellow River has been overexploited under the current fishing intensity. Nowadays, with the current increase in commercial fishing intensity and the reduction in mesh size, the small and middle-sized fish has gradually become the target of fishing and made into fishmeal for profit [55].…”

Age, growth, reproduction and mortality of Xenocypris argentea (Günther,1868) in the lower reaches of the Tangwang River, China

“…The Songhua River is the longest tributary of the Amur River in Northeast China, and abundant fishery resources are available ( Xie, 2007 ; Wang et al, 2018 ; Lu et al, 2023 ). It is home to large economic fish species such as Hypophthalmichthys molitrix , Culter alburnus , Elopichthys bambusa , and Coregonus ussuriensis , as well as small and medium-sized fish species such as Perca fluviatilis , Pseudobagrus ussuriensis , Hemiculter leucisculus , Pseudorasbora parva , and Squalidus argentatus ( Xie, 2007 ; Lu et al, 2023 ).…”

“…The Songhua River is the longest tributary of the Amur River in Northeast China, and abundant fishery resources are available ( Xie, 2007 ; Wang et al, 2018 ; Lu et al, 2023 ). It is home to large economic fish species such as Hypophthalmichthys molitrix , Culter alburnus , Elopichthys bambusa , and Coregonus ussuriensis , as well as small and medium-sized fish species such as Perca fluviatilis , Pseudobagrus ussuriensis , Hemiculter leucisculus , Pseudorasbora parva , and Squalidus argentatus ( Xie, 2007 ; Lu et al, 2023 ). Tangwang River is a significant tributary of the lower reaches of the Songhua River, which is originates in the Lesser Khingan Mountains, spanning Yichun city and Jiamusi city, with a total length of 509 km, a drainage area of 21,245 km 2 , a total surface water resource of 5.52 billion m 3 , and an average estuary flow of 184.6 m 3 /s ( Wang et al, 2018 ; Xue et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2021a ).…”

“…Understanding fundamental biological characteristics and population dynamics relies heavily on important parameters such as age, growth, maturity, fecundity, and mortality ( Frisk, Miller & Fogarty, 2001 ; Pecuchet et al, 2017 ; Al-Husaini et al, 2021 ; Samejima & Tachihara, 2022 ). These parameters serve as crucial data for effective fishery management by helping to determine the health of a population, estimate sustainable harvest levels, and develop appropriate conservation measures ( Cao et al, 2009 ; Lu et al, 2023 ). In the Tangwang River, a pioneering and in-depth examination of the life-history characteristics of the economically important fish species X. argentea was conducted, representing the first comprehensive investigation of this species.…”