scholarly journals Fishing for MSY: using “pretty good yield” ranges without impairing recruitment

2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 525-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Rindorf ◽  
Massimiliano Cardinale ◽  
Samuel Shephard ◽  
José A. A. De Oliveira ◽  
Einar Hjorleifsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Good Yield ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Fish Yield ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Northern European ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Average Catch

Pretty good yield (PGY) is a sustainable fish yield corresponding to obtaining no less than a specified large percentage of the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). We investigated 19 European fish stocks to test the hypothesis that the 95% PGY yield range is inherently precautionary with respect to impairing recruitment. An FMSY range was calculated for each stock as the range of fishing mortalities (F) that lead to an average catch of at least 95% of MSY in long-term simulations. Further, a precautionary reference point for each stock (FP.05) was defined as the F resulting in a 5% probability of the spawning-stock biomass falling below an agreed biomass limit below which recruitment is impaired (Blim) in long-term simulations. For the majority of the stocks analysed, the upper bound of the FMSY range exceeded the estimated FP.05. However, larger fish species had higher precautionary limits to fishing mortality, and species with larger asymptotic length were less likely to have FMSY ranges impairing recruitment. Our study shows that fishing at FMSY generally is precautionary with respect to impairing recruitment for highly exploited teleost species in northern European waters, whereas the upper part of the range providing 95% of MSY is not necessarily precautionary for small- and medium-sized teleosts.

scholarly journals Evaluating management strategies to implement the recovery plan for Iberian hake (Merluccius merluccius); the impact of censored catch information

2009 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Jardim ◽  
Santiago Cerviño ◽  
Manuela Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Sustainable Yield ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Merluccius Merluccius ◽  
Total Allowable Catch ◽  
Recovery Plan ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Jardim, E., Cerviño, S., and Azevedo, M. 2010. Evaluating management strategies to implement the recovery plan for Iberian hake (Merluccius merluccius); the impact of censored catch information. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 258–269. Iberian hake assessment revealed an increase in fishing mortality (F) despite enforcement of a recovery plan. Recent landings exceeded the total allowable catch and discarding rates were high. Alternative management strategies based on F control were evaluated with respect to the probability of recovering spawning-stock biomass (SSB), expected profits, and robustness to uncertainty on catch information and stock dynamics. Results showed that the use of censored catch data, i.e. excluding the Gulf of Cádiz or discards, may lead to inappropriate conclusions. Reducing fishing mortality was necessary for SSB to recover. An Fmax strategy with discard reduction showed the highest probability of rebuilding SSB and led the fishery to sustainable exploitation, with an expected %SPR of 30–40% in 2025, mean individual weight in the landings of 450 g in 2015, and yield increasing by >20%. Because of uncertainty in the estimates of maximum sustainable yield, management strategies based on FMSY were least robust, but all strategies were robust to alternative stock–recruit models.

Pronounced long-term juvenation in the spawning stock of Arcto-Norwegian cod (Gadus morhua) and possible consequences for recruitment

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 523-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geir Ottersen
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Reproductive Capacity ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Clear Link ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
The Mean

The oldest and largest individuals are disappearing from many fish stocks worldwide as a result of overexploitation. This has been suggested to impair recruitment through decreasing the reproductive capacity of the spawners and increasing the mortality rate of the offspring. By using a time series on spawners biomass by age class for Arcto-Norwegian cod (Gadus morhua) from 1913–2004, I have documented pronounced changes in the spawning stock, including a trend towards younger fish, a less diverse distribution across ages, and a declining proportion of repeat spawners. Despite the total spawning stock biomass (SSB) being at similar levels now as in 1933, the mean age in the SSB has declined from 10–12.5 years to 7–8 years during the study period, and the percentage of fish of age 10 or above in the SSB has decreased from ~97% to ~10%. Contrary to earlier theoretical and experimental studies, no clear link between age structure and recruitment was found here. Recruitment to the Arcto-Norwegian cod stock may thus be more robust towards spawner juvenation than expected, possibly because of strong recruitment compensation.

scholarly journals Risks and benefits of catching pretty good yield in multispecies mixed fisheries

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 2097-2106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. Thorpe ◽  
Simon Jennings ◽  
Paul J. Dolder
Keyword(s):  
Good Yield ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Interacting Species ◽  
Risks And Benefits ◽  
The North ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Stock Collapse

Abstract Multispecies mixed fisheries catch ecologically interacting species with the same gears at the same time. We used an ensemble of size-based multispecies models to investigate the effects of different rates of fishing mortality (F) and fleet configurations on yield, biomass, risk of collapse and community structure. Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and FMSY for 21 modelled species’ populations in the North Sea were defined at the Nash equilibrium, where any independent change in F for any species would not increase that species’ MSY. Fishing mortality ranges leading to “Pretty Good Yield” (F-PGY), by species, were defined as ranges yielding ≥0.95 × MSY. Weight and value of yield from the entire fishery increased marginally when all species were fished at the upper end of F-PGY ranges rather than at FMSY, but risk of species’ collapse and missing community targets also increased substantially. All risks fell markedly when fishing at the lower end of F-PGY ranges, but with small impacts on total fishery yield or value. While fishing anywhere within F-PGY ranges gives managers flexibility to manage trade-offs in multispecies mixed fisheries, our results suggest high long-term yields and disproportionately lower risks of stock collapse are achieved when F ≤ FMSY for all component stocks.

Optimal effort controls for the multispecies groundfish complex in New England: what might have been

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S Holland ◽  
Jean-Jacques Maguire
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Alternative Control ◽  
Control Rules ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Age Structured ◽  
Groundfish Fishery

Age-structured models are used to calculate catches and revenues of the principal stocks in the northeast multispecies groundfish fishery over the 1982–1997 period assuming alternative control rules on fishing effort had been employed. Various static levels of nominal effort are compared with controls that maintain fishing mortality below overfishing thresholds for all stocks. An unambiguous result from this analysis is that substantial reductions in fishing effort would have increased the value of the fishery even if resulting increases in spawning stock biomass (SSB) had not increased recruitment. Simple controls on nominal effort designed to maximize revenues would have provided nearly equivalent revenues to those achieved by maintaining fishing mortality for each stock at its individual maximum sustainable yield (FMSY) but would have led to overfishing of some stocks. Without the ability to tune the relative catches across stocks, strict controls on effort designed to prevent overfishing on individual stocks would likely have resulted in significantly lower and more variable revenues. Achieving SSB targets for three stocks would not have been possible given the observed recruitment.

When do marine reserves increase fishery yield?

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 1445-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah R Hart
Keyword(s):  
Marine Reserves ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Placopecten Magellanicus ◽  
Sea Scallop ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Age Structured ◽  
Age Structured Model

An age-structured model is developed for analyzing the effects of marine reserves and other long-term closures on fishery yield, assuming larvae are well-mixed and that exchange of adults between the open and closed areas is negligible. A number of analytic results are derived, including a formula for the gradient of yield with respect to fishing mortality and closure fraction. Increasing the closure fraction at equilibrium spawning stock biomass (SSB), B, will increase yield if and only if s′(B) > 1/b0(0), where s′(B) is the slope of the stock–recruitment curve at B and b0(0) is SSB per recruit at zero fishing mortality. Conditions for the level of closure required to prevent stock collapse are also derived. Applications of the theory to canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) and Georges Bank sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) illustrate that long-term closures increase yield only at low SSB associated with fishing mortalities greater than FMSY and with low closure fractions. The theory presented here gives simple analytic and graphical techniques for predicting the effects of long-term closures on yield and stock persistence.

Modelling the effects of establishing a marine reserve for mobile fish species

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Apostolaki ◽  
E J Milner-Gulland ◽  
M K McAllister ◽  
G P Kirkwood
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Marine Reserve ◽  
High Mobility ◽  
Merluccius Merluccius ◽  
Seasonal Movements ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Immature Fish

We present a model of the effects of a marine reserve on spawning stock biomass (SSB) and short- and long-term yield for a size-structured species that exhibits seasonal movements. The model considers the effects of protecting nursery and (or) spawning grounds under a range of fishing mortalities and fish mobility rates. We consider two extremes of effort redistribution following reserve establishment and analyze the effects of a reserve when the fishery targets either mature or immature fish. We apply the model to the Mediterranean hake (Merluccius merluccius) and show that a marine reserve could be highly beneficial for this species. We demonstrate benefits from reserves not just for overexploited stocks of low-mobility species, but also (to a lesser extent) for underexploited stocks and high-mobility species. Greatly increased resilience to overfishing is also found in the majority of cases. We show that a reserve provides benefits additional to those obtained from simple effort control. Benefits from reserves depend to a major extent on the amount of effort redistribution following reserve establishment and on fishing selectivity; hence, these factors should be key components of any evaluation of reserve effectiveness.

scholarly journals Is a management framework based on spawning-stock biomass indicators sustainable? A viability approach

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel De Lara ◽  
Luc Doyen ◽  
Thérèse Guilbaud ◽  
Marie-Joëlle Rochet
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Bay Of Biscay ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Precautionary Approach ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
Management Indicators ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock

Abstract De Lara, M., Doyen, L., Guilbaud, Th., and Rochet, M-J. 2007. Is a management framework based on spawning-stock biomass indicators sustainable? A viability approach. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 761–767: 000–000. Fisheries management agencies have to drive resources on sustainable paths, i.e. within defined boundaries for an indefinite time. The viable-control approach is proposed as a relevant method to deal with sustainability. We analyse the ICES precautionary approach (PA) by means of the notion of viability domain, and provide a mathematical test for sustainability. It is found that the PA based on spawning-stock biomass (SSB) and fishing mortality (F) indicators is sustainable only when recruits make a significant contribution to SSB. In this case, advice based upon SSB, with an appropriate reference point, is sufficient to ensure sustainability. In all other cases, SSB is not a sufficient metric of stock productivity and must be complemented with other management indicators to ensure sustainability. The approach is illustrated with numerical applications to the northern hake and Bay of Biscay anchovy.

scholarly journals Delay in fishery management: diminished yield, longer rebuilding, and increased probability of stock collapse1

2006 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle W. Shertzer ◽  
Michael H. Prager
Keyword(s):  
Fishery Management ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Sustainable Yield ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Stock Status ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Stock Recruitment ◽  
Stock Collapse

Abstract Shertzer, K. W., and Prager, M. H. 2007. Delay in fishery management: diminished yield, longer rebuilding, and increased probability of stock collapse. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 149–159. When a stock is depleted, catch reductions are in order, but typically they are implemented only after considerable delay. Delay occurs because fishery management is political, and stricter management, which involves short-term economic loss, is unpopular. Informed of stock decline, managers often hesitate, perhaps pondering the uncertainty of scientific advice, perhaps hoping that a good year class will render action moot. However, management delay itself can have significant costs, when it exacerbates stock decline. To examine the biological consequences of delay, we simulated a spectrum of fisheries under various degrees of delay in management. Increased delay required larger catch reductions, for more years, to recover benchmark stock status (here, spawning-stock biomass at maximum sustainable yield). Management delay caused stock collapse most often under two conditions: (1) when the stock–recruitment relationship was depensatory, or (2) when catchability, unknown to the assessment, was density-dependent and fishing took juveniles. In contrast, prompt management resulted in quicker recoveries and higher cumulative yields from simulated fisheries. Benefits to stock biomass and fishery yield can be high from implementing management promptly.

scholarly journals Development of a stock–recruit model for simulating stock dynamics for uncertain situations: the example of Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus)

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 848-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. John Simmonds ◽  
Andrew Campbell ◽  
Dankert Skagen ◽  
Beatriz A. Roel ◽  
Ciaran Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Fish Stock ◽  
Northeast Atlantic ◽  
Atlantic Mackerel ◽  
Scomber Scombrus ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Functional Forms

Abstract Simmonds, E. J., Campbell, A., Skagen, D., Roel, B. A., and Kelly, C. 2011. Development of a stock–recruit model for simulating stock dynamics for uncertain situations: the example of Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 848–859. The assumption of a relationship between recruitment and a spawning stock is the cornerstone of the precautionary approach and may constrain the use of a maximum sustainable yield (MSY) target for fisheries management, because the failure to include such a relationship suggests that providing a measure of stock protection is unnecessary. The implications of fitting different functional forms and stochastic distributions to stock-and-recruit data are investigated. The importance of these considerations is shown by taking a practical example from management: the management plan for Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), a fish stock with an average annual catch of 600 000 t. The historical range of spawning-stock biomass is narrow, and historical data from a stock assessment explain only a small proportion of the recruitment variability. We investigate how best to reflect the uncertainty in the stock–recruit relationship. Selecting a single model based on simple statistical criteria can have major consequences for advice and is problematic. Selecting a distribution of models with derived probabilities gives a more complete perception of uncertainty in dynamics. Differences in functional form, distribution of deviations, and variability of coefficients are allowed. The approach appropriately incorporates uncertainty in the stock–recruit relationship for FMSY estimation.

A length-based multispecies model for evaluating community responses to fishing

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1344-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J Hall ◽  
Jeremy S Collie ◽  
Daniel E Duplisea ◽  
Simon Jennings ◽  
Mark Bravington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Stock Biomass ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Multispecies Model ◽  
Species Declines ◽  
Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management ◽  
Biomass Spectra

Quantitative ecosystem indicators are needed to fulfill the mandate for ecosystem-based fisheries management. A variety of community metrics could potentially be used, but before reference levels for such indices can be established the sensitivity of candidate indices to fishing and other disturbances must be determined. One approach for obtaining such information is to test candidate indicators with models that mimic real ecosystems and can be manipulated experimentally. Here we construct a size-based multispecies model of a community of fish species that interact by predation. The model was parameterized for 21 fish species to obtain a predation-regulated community. Following an analysis of the sensitivity of the model to parameter uncertainty, we tested the sensitivity of community-level indicators to increasing levels of fishing mortality (F). Abundance and biomass spectra were sensitive to fishing mortality, with the slope decreasing with increasing F. Species diversity size spectra were also very sensitive to F, with diversity in the largest size classes declining rapidly. In contrast, k-dominance curves were less sensitive to fishing pressure. Importantly, however, although most community-level metrics showed clear trends in response to fishing, single-species declines in spawning stock biomass were the most sensitive indicators of fishing effects.

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