فصلنامه اقیانوس شناسی
پیاپی 28 (زمستان 1395)

Exclusive Economic Zones are under the jurisdiction of the coastal states, but with certain conditions set forth in the Convention of the Law of the Sea, have rights and freedoms of exploiting their living resources. Fishing Vessels under the jurisdiction of the Flag State are to catch marine living resources in the Exclusive Economic Zone of third country. Meanwhile, the Flag State is obligated to prevent illegal fishing activities of the vessels flying their flag. Coastal states also rely on the mechanisms of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for determining the obligations of Flag States. One of these mechanisms is requesting for an Advisory Opinion from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. African Coastal States Fisheries Commission in an emergency meeting of ministers of its member states issued a resolution and requested International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for an Advisory Opinion about the obligations of the flag State in cases where illegal fishing activities are conducted by vessels flying their flag within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the coastal states that are members of the commission. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea has issued its Advisory Opinion on 2 March 2015 that was about the obligations of flag state towards illegal fishing by vessels flying the flag of the member states in the exclusive economic zone based on provisions of the Convention of the law of the Sea and Convention on the Determination of the Minimal Conditions for Access and Exploitation of Mineral Resources Within the Maritime Areas under the Jurisdiction of the Member States. This Opinion was impacted by the achievements of Disputes Chamber of the ITLOS`s Advisory Opinion and Jurisprudence of International Court of Justice which has been the subject of this article.

The present study aimed to study the histomorphological structure of spleen (as a hematopoietic organ) and liver (as an organ involved in detoxification) in Longtail carpetsharks (Chiloscyllium arabicum) from the Persian Gulf. In this regard, 30 C. arabicum were caught at the Hendijan port, located at the northwest of the Persian Gulf in 2016. The fish were sacrificed and then the liver and spleen tissues were moved to bouin’s fixative solution for 48h. Tissue samples were then processed using the routine histological methods and 5-6 μm tissue sections were prepared. Then, tissue sections were stained using hematoxylineosin staining method and studied under the light microscope with dinolite lens. Based on the results, the liver was consisted of several lobules in which hepatic cords radially arranged around the central vein. Sinusoids were observed among the hepatic cords. Hepatocytes with euchromatin nucleus were filled with the lipid vesicles. The spleen was consisted of reticular stroma and parenchyma. The spleen parenchyma was divided into two parts including red and white pulps. The central arteriole surrounded by lymphoid tissue located inside the white pulps. The red pulps consisted of different kinds of lymphoid cells and red blood cells that arranged as cords, called splenic cords. In conclusion, many structural similarities were found in the liver and spleen between C. arabicum and other fish species.

In this study, the performance of the third generation wave model, WAVEWATCH III, had been evaluated for operational wave forecasting in the Persian Gulf. Three different embedded source term packages in WAVEWATCH III for wave energy dissipation and energy transfer from wind to wave were evaluated using GFS operational forecasted wind. Simulated wave heights and periods had been compared with the measured ones in Lavan and Farur stations. Obtained results indicated that the WAM4-BJA source term package has better performance for wave height and period forecasting in cases with significant wave height greater than 1.5 m. It was seen that this source term packages underestimated the wave height in fall and winter, while it sometimes slightly overestimated wave height in spring and summer seasons. In total, the scatter index for wave forecasting in both stations was about 26% (for cases with wave height greater than 1.5 m).

In order to determine the optimal concentrations of nutrients of nitrate and phosphate, growth of macroalgae Ulva rigida in the fertilizers sodium nitrate (10-40 mg/l) and superphosphate (5-20 mg/l) individually in four treatments with control (each in triplicate) were evaluated for 28 days. Biometry weight (g) of algae, salinity, pH were measured once weekly. Temperature was measured in the morning and afternoon every day. Algae growth at the end of the day 28 in the nitrate treatment (20 mg/l) and phosphate (10 mg/l) had significantly difference with other treatments (P

The project goal was studying subtidal macrozoobenthos community in the eastern part of the Makran Sea. Therefore, materials were collected by 0.25 m2 Van Veen grab, prior to summer monsoon (March 2013) from Pozm towards Gwadar. The samples were identified using available identification keys. Statistical analysis was done by PAST ver.2 and Primer ver.5 software. The phyla Arthropoda, Annelida, Cnidaria, Echiura and Mollusca were observed. Fifty two taxa belonging to 47 families were recorded. Twenty seven taxa were identified up to the genus level. Subphylum Crustacea with 48%, phylum mollusca with 28% and phylum polychaeta with 22% constitute dominant fauna.

The complexity and lack of information about marine ecosystems make a challenge with achieving to data about ecological niche for aquatic species. Spatial-Temporally knowledge on distribution of key species is an important component for systematic conservation planning. However, few efforts have been made to model the habitat of marine mammals in Iran so far. The Coast of Makran Sea in the South of Iran is a high biodiversity region that has a vital marine habitat for a lot of marine species. Dolphins are of the most important species in this region. In this paper, we presented predictive habitat modelling as a potential tool to support decisions for conservation planning. A maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt) was used to develop habitat models. As a result of the model, distance from coast and sea surface and temperature were the most important variables to identify the suitable area such as Gulf of Gwadar. The index of area under the curve (AUC) was equivalent to 84/0, indicating the high accuracy and efficiency of the model was to identify distribution areas. These results can be useful for conservation planning.

This study was conducted to investigate Multivariate Statistical Methods, i.e., Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Cluster analysis (CA) and Discriminant analysis (DA), to assess temporal and spatial variations in the water quality in coastal waters of the Hormozgan province. Thirteen physico-chemical parameters (including Temperature, pH, Salinity, Dissolved oxygen, Electrical conductivity, Turbidity, TSS, Nitrate, Nitrite, Total ammonia, Phosphate, Silicate, DIN and Chlorophyll a) were selected to evaluate the quality of coastal waters. Surface water sampling layers (0-1m) were collected from at 14 stations during 12 months in 2013-2014. Results showed that Cluster analysis grouped Water quality in the fourteen stations and twelve months into three and two clusters of similar water quality features respectively. The principle component analysis identified five parameters (Temperature, Electrical conductivity, Nitrate, Total ammonia, DIN and Chlorophyll a) for temporal analysis and seven parameters (Temperature, Electrical conductivity, TSS, Nitrate, Phosphate, DIN and Chlorophyll a) for spatial analysis. Finally, according PCA analysis three possible latent pollution sources for groups 1, 2 and 3 (organic/eutrophication, Nutrient pollution and natural pollution) were identified. It seems that the coastal waters can be classified into three groups, i.e. low, moderate and high pollution.

The present study was performed to compare by-catch composition, CPUE and length frequency of fish caught in industrial shrimp trawlers in Hormozgan and Busher waters during 2013. In Hormozgan, catch composition included 13.77% shrimp, 86.24% by-catch (71.51% discards and 14.73% incidental catch). CPUE of shrimp, incidental catch and discard were estimated 55.81, 59.70 and 290.63 kg. h-1 respectively. In Bushehr, catch composition also included 6.52% shrimp, 93.48% by-catch (12.66% discards and 80.81% incidental catch). CPUE of shrimp, incidental catch and discard were also computed 3.45, 6.40 and 42.75 kg. h-1 respectively. Fifty-seven species belonging to 43 families were similar in by-catch composition in Hormozgan and Bushehr waters. Length frequency was recorded for 12 fish caught species in Bushehr and 14 species in Hormozgan. In terms of Descriptive statistics, mean length of the fish caught in Hormozgan was smaller than in Bushehr, but it was significant for Carcharhinus dussumieri, Pennahia macrophthalmus, Scomberomorus commerson, Trichiurus lepturus and Netuma thalassina (Mann– Whitney U test, P

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the gap of Educational Service Quality offered in marine universities based on SERVQUAL model. The research is a case study of the Korramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology. The study was an applied research and the used method was a field research (questionnaire). The statistical population consisted of 1970 students. In the study, base on Morgan et al table, minimum size of the statistical sample was 322 students. 350 questionnaires distributed for more certainty that 338 questionnaires had scientific analysis capability. Study was conducted via questionnaire and using standard factors and indicators. The reliability of questionnaire was in perceptions and expectations. The data of study was nonparametric statistics. The results of the Friedman test showed that the highest service quality was given to the reliability dimension and the lowest to the empathy dimension. The highest student expectation was the reliability and lowest was the physical appearance. The findings via the signed-rank test (Wilcoxon) showed outstanding gap between the students’ expectations and perceptions in all five dimensions of service quality. The greatest gap was the empathy dimension and the least one was the reliability dimension. Solutions and recommendations for officials of the studied university were: paying more attention to the physical appearance of the university, offering services on time, continual readiness of the university staff to be responsive to students, sense of security for student when interacting with university staff and officilas.

In this study, the levels of heavy metals concentration (mercury, zinc, copper, cadmium and lead) were measured in the feathers, egg contents and eggshells of Larus genei from Musa Estuary. For this purpose, twenty eggs and fifteen Larus genei were collected at the locations during 2013. To do the process, after drying and digestion of samples, the concentration of mercury in samples was measured by cold vapor. In general, except for Pb, the level of whole metals in feathers was higher than egg contents and eggshells. The metal concentrations in feathers were according to the following order Zn> Hg > Cu > Pb> Cd, in egg contents were Zn> Cu > Hg > Pb> Cd and in eggshells were Pb > Zn > Cu > Cd > Hg. Also, comparing our results with the standard of World Health Organization, we found that mercury levels in in feathers and eggs of Larus genei were flying above mentioned standards. High accumulation of mercury in the feathers and eggs has likely originated from mercury sources such as petrochemical plants.