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Fisheries for small pelagic species: an empirical approach to management targets

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Summary

Long-term management targets based on MSY, Fmax or F0.1 are inappropriate for small pelagic fish because of the possibility of stock collapse owing to a stock-recruit relationship at low biomasses. Better reference points such as Fmed and Fhigh that take account of stock and recruit data cannot be used in developing fishery situations because they are too demanding of data. A simple model was fitted to medium-term (about 10 year) periods in exploited small pelagic fisheries, relating change in stock biomass to exploitation rate. Data from 28 stocks and 11 species were used. The fitted model was used to estimate likelihood of stock decrease at different exploitation rates. The pelagic stocks included in the model appeared to be in equilibrium for an exploitation rate F/Z=0.4, which may be used as a guideline for the appropriate exploitation of pelagic stocks.

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  1. Marine Resources Assessment Group, 8 Prince's Gardens, South Kensington, SW7 1NA, London, United Kingdom

    Kenneth Patterson

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Patterson, K. Fisheries for small pelagic species: an empirical approach to management targets. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 2, 321–338 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00043521

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