Reference points for the length-based indicator Lmax5% for use in the assessment of data-limited stocks

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 2125-2139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Miethe ◽  
Yves Reecht ◽  
Helen Dobby
Keyword(s):  
Life Histories ◽  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Simulation Tools ◽  
Spawning Potential Ratio ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Commercial Sources ◽  
Length Frequency Data

Abstract In the absence of abundance indices from scientific surveys or commercial sources, reliable length frequency data from sampled commercial catches can be used to provide an indirect assessment of fishing mortality. Length-based indicators are simple metrics which describe length frequency distributions. The length-based indicator Lmax5%, the mean length of the largest 5% of individuals in the catch, combined with appropriately selected reference points, can be used to evaluate the presence of very large individuals in the catch and hence determine exploitation level. Using analytical per-recruit models, we derive reference points consistent with a spawning potential ratio of 40%. The reference points depend on the life history parameters for natural mortality, maturity, and growth (M, Lmat, L∞, k, CVL∞). Using available simulation tools, we investigate the sensitivity of the reference points to errors in these parameters and explore the usefulness of particular reference points for management purposes for stocks with different life histories. The proposed reference points are robust to uncertainty in length at first capture, Lc, and take into account the maturation schedule of a species. For those stocks with high M/k ratios (>1), Lmax5%, combined with the appropriate reference point, can be used to provide a data-limited stock assessment.

Inferring the Summer Distribution of Migratory Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) from Latitudinal Variation in Mean Lengths-at-Age and Length Frequency Distributions

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 708-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry D. Smith ◽  
Gordon A. McFarlane ◽  
Mark W. Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Fish Population ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Merluccius Productus ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Summer Distribution ◽  
The Right ◽  
Mean Variance ◽  
Length Frequency Data

Average summer distribution of abundance and biomass for the migratory population of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) is described by age, length, and latitude, based on a model proposing that (1) changes in mean length-at-age with latitude and (2) the nonnormal (skewed to the right) appearance of length-at-age distributions near southwest Vancouver Island could be caused by length-dependent migration velocities and changing migration velocity with latitude. Our model uses mean length-at-age data collected annually near four latitudes from California to Vancouver Island, length frequency data collected annually near southern Vancouver Island from 1978 until 1988, and hydroacoustic data collected triennialiy from 1977 until 1986. We conclude that (1) hake slow their northward migration from the spawning grounds off southern California as they approach the productive feeding grounds off southwestern Vancouver Island, (2) older (larger) hake migrate further north than younger (smaller) hake, and (3) older hake are more abundant in Canadian waters than younger hake. Although all three conclusions have previously been partly substantiated, we show that seemingly undramatic patterns in the mean, variance, and distribution of lengths-at-age can be remarkably revealing about the distribution of a migrating fish population.

Length-weight relationship, growth and mortality ofAnadara granosain Penang Island, Malaysia: an approach using length-frequency data sets

2014 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Reza Mirzaei ◽  
Zulfigar Yasin ◽  
Aileen Tan Shau Hwai
Keyword(s):  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Total Mortality ◽  
Growth Function ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Frequency Data ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Weight Relationship ◽  
Logarithmic Relationship ◽  
Length Frequency Data

Length-weight relationship, growth parameters and mortality rates ofAnadara granosain the intertidal zone of Balik Pulau, Penang Island, West Coast of Malaysia were investigated based on monthly length-frequency data (December 2011 to November 2012). A total of 548 individuals ranging from 11.25 to 33.13 mm size were subjected to analysis. Logarithmic relationship between the length and weight was LogW = 2.328LogL − 2.537 (R2 = 0.922) for combined sexes. From this equation it was clear that the exponent ‘b’ value forA. granosashowed a negative allometric growth (b < 3). A von Bertalanffy growth function with an asymptotic length (L∞) of 35.40 mm and a growth constant (K) of 1.1 year−1was established from length frequency distributions. Thet0(−0.140) was estimated by substituting theL∞andKin the Pauly's equation. The sizes attained byA. granosawere 10.13, 14.36, 17.89, 20.82, 23.56 and 25.29 mm at the end of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months, respectively. The estimated growth performance index (Ø) was 3.13 while the estimated lifespan of the cockles was about 2.72 years at the study area. The estimated value of total mortality based on length-converted catch curve wasZ = 3.02 year−1. The natural mortality (M) and fishing mortality (F) rates were 1.84 and 0.48 year−1, respectively. The exploitation level (E) ofA. granosawas 0.20, which indicated slight fishing pressure on the stock.

scholarly journals Growth, Mortality and Exploitation Levels of Sphyraena sphyraena (Pisces: Sphyraenidae) and Apsilus fuscus (Pisces: Lutjanidae) in Ghanaian Waters

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-23
Author(s):  
Joseph Aggrey-Fynn ◽  
Divine Worlanyo Hotor
Keyword(s):  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Total Mortality ◽  
Growth Function ◽  
Frequency Data ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Von Bertalanffy Growth Function ◽  
Inshore Waters ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Length Frequency Data

Sphyraena sphyraena (Linnaeus, 1758) and Apsilus fuscus (Valenciennes, 1830) are commercially important fish species in Ghana. The stocks are exploited mainly by the artisanal and semi-industrial fisheries. Growth and mortality rates, and exploitation levels of the two stocks in inshore waters of Ghana were assessed as a contribution to fill the knowledge gap on the species. Samples were obtained from three landing sites along the coast of Ghana from February to July, 2017. Length-frequency data were used to estimate growth, mortality and exploitation ratios. The modal class for S. sphyraena was 37.0–39.9 cm total length (TL) and 34.0–35.9 cm TL for A. fuscus. The length and weight relationships established that growth in S. sphyraena was negative allometric, whereas that of A. fuscus was isometric. The estimated growth parameters from the length frequency data fitted with the von Bertalanffy growth function were asymptotic length (L∞) of 69.9 cm TL for S. sphyraena and 53.5 cm TL for A. fuscus. The growth constant (K) was calculated as 1.64 yr-1 for S. sphyraena and 0.50 yr-1 for A. fuscus. The mean length-at-first capture (Lc) was found to be lower than the mean length at sexual maturity (Lm) for both species. The sex ratio showed a dominance of females over males in S. sphyraena, and 1:1 for A. fuscus. The total mortality rate (Z) for S. sphyraena was more than for A. fuscus. The estimated natural mortality (M) was 1.88 yr-1 for S. sphyraena and 0.74 yr-1 for A. fuscus whilst fishing mortality (F) rate was 3.04 yr-1 for S. sphyraena and 0.93 yr-1 for A. fuscus. The exploitation ratio showed that both fish stocks were exploited over the optimum levels. The estimated population parameters of the species obtained from the study, therefore, might be useful for the sustainable management of the stocks.

scholarly journals The importance of length and age composition data in statistical age-structured models for marine species

2014 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kotaro Ono ◽  
Roberto Licandeo ◽  
Melissa L. Muradian ◽  
Curry J. Cunningham ◽  
Sean C. Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Age Composition ◽  
Composition Data ◽  
Age Structured

Abstract Management of marine resources depends on the assessment of stock status in relation to established reference points. However, many factors contribute to uncertainty in stock assessment outcomes, including data type and availability, life history, and exploitation history. A simulation–estimation framework was used to examine the level of bias and accuracy in assessment model estimates related to the quality and quantity of length and age composition data across three life-history types (cod-, flatfish-, and sardine-like species) and three fishing scenarios. All models were implemented in Stock Synthesis, a statistical age-structured stock assessment framework. In general, the value of age composition data in informing estimates of virgin recruitment (R0), relative spawning-stock biomass (SSB100/SSB0), and terminal year fishing mortality rate (F100), decreased as the coefficient of variation of the relationship between length and age became greater. For this reason, length data were more informative than age data for the cod and sardine life histories in this study, whereas both sources of information were important for the flatfish life history. Historical composition data were more important for short-lived, fast-growing species such as sardine. Infrequent survey sampling covering a longer period was more informative than frequent surveys covering a shorter period.

Changes in growth of juvenile southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii): an analysis of length-frequency data from the Australian fishery

2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
George M. Leigh ◽  
William S. Hearn
Keyword(s):  
Modal Analysis ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Bluefin Tuna ◽  
Frequency Data ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Southern Bluefin Tuna ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Western Australian ◽  
Length Frequency Data

Modal analysis is applied to historical length–frequency records of the Australian southern bluefin tunafishery, in order to quantify the variation in mean length from year to year. In the South Australian fishery in the first half of March, the mean length has ranged between 54 cm and 64 cm for 1-year-old fish, 73 cm and 85 cm for 2-year-old fish, and 85 cm and 100 cm for 3-year-old fish. The mean lengths of 2-, 3- and 4-year-old fish, and the increment from age 1 to age 3, have increased substantially over the history of the fishery. This increase in growth is probably a response to a decline in the population due to heavy fishing. In many years in the Western Australian fishery, two or more groups of 1-year-old fish were found: the mean lengths of these groups typically differed by 10 cm. Growth rates also varied markedly according to the season of the year.

scholarly journals Abundance, seasonality and size of Atlantic salmon smolts entrained on power station intake screens in the Severn Estuary

1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.N. Claridge ◽  
I.C. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Standard Length ◽  
Condition Factor ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Power Station ◽  
Severn Estuary ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
The Mean ◽  
One Year

Atlantic salmon smolts were sampled from the intake screens of the Oldbury power station in the inner Severn Estuary at weekly intervals between July 1972 and June 1977. These catches, and those taken over nearly three years from the nearby Berkeley power station, demonstrated that the abundance of smolts in the estuary peaked in autumn (October) and, to a far greater extent, in spring (April and May). However, small numbers of smolts were occasionally found in all other months of the year except July. Standard length-frequency distributions of smolts remained unimodal throughout the year. Lengths ranged from 76 to 187 mm, mean 130·2 ±1·87 mm (95% CL), and wet weights ranged from 5·4 to 68·0 g, mean 26·9 ±1·17 g. The mean monthly standard length of smolts increased slightly between the autumn of one year and the spring/early summer of the next year, suggesting that, on average, the former were six months younger than the latter. The condition factor was significantly greater in autumn (1·40) than in spring (1·23). It is estimated that the total number of salmon smolts entrained annually on the screens at Oldbury during the five years ranged from 92 to 791, with a mean of 405. Total estimated numbers at Berkeley ranged from 196 to 788 per annum. The numbers at Oldbury are lower than those estimated for the downstream migrants of the Twaite shad, another anadromous species, and far lower than those of the most abundant of the marine fish species that use the Severn Estuary as a nursery area.

scholarly journals A study of the life history of Brazilian sardine, Sardinella brasiliensis: IV. Distribution and abundance of sardine larvae

1977 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasunobu Matsuura
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Larval Abundance ◽  
Frequency Data ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Depth Zone ◽  
Average Temperature ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Egg Abundance ◽  
Length Frequency Data

Data on distribution and abundance of larvae of the Brazilian sardine, Sardinella brasiliensis, are presented based on samples collected in waters off southern Brazil during 1969 to 1971. The distribution pattern and relative abundance of sardine larvae during three spawning seasons are discussed. Relative abundance, using regional census estimates, was calculated each year. In general, larval abundance in each subarea coincided with that of eggs, although the area of distribution of larvae was larger than the spawning area. Estimates of larval abundance showed that the 1970-71 spawning season was the poorest, both in larval and egg abundance, despite the enlarged size of the area surveyed. The average temperature at stations where sardine larvae occurred was 23.4º C, ranging from 14.6 to 27.4º C, and the average salinity was 35.6º /oo, ranging from 35.0 to 36.7º /oo. Distribution of the larvae in different depth zones was analysed. Larvae usually were most abundant in the 51-100 m depth zone. No tendency for a unidirectional transport of larvae was observed; apparently they move from the spawning ground in all possible directions, spreading over the continental shelf. An estimate of survival rate of larvae, based on length frequency data pooled from the three years, was calculated. Undersampling of larvae during daytime was observed. The mean night-day catch ratio, based on larvae from all length classes sampled, was 3.93.

scholarly journals Stock Assessment of 19 Perciformes in the Beibu Gulf, China, Using a Length-Based Bayesian Biomass Method

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Hou ◽  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Jinrun Wang ◽  
Yanying Chen ◽  
Jianbin Lin
Keyword(s):  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Beibu Gulf ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Optimum Length ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Fish Resources ◽  
Fishery Resources ◽  
The Mean

The Beibu Gulf in China is rich in fish resources. However, only a small number of commercially developed fish stocks have been specifically assessed owing to limited data and expertise. In this study, 19 perciform fish populations in the Beibu Gulf were assessed using a length-based Bayesian biomass (LBB) estimator method, which is a new approach to evaluate a fishery’s status using length frequency (LF) data. The results showed that only 21% of the evaluated stocks were healthy and 79% were overfished. In particular, 26 and 21% of the assessed species had collapsed and were grossly overfished, respectively. Only 11 and 21% of the assessed species were slightly overfished and overfished, respectively. The ratios between the mean and optimum length (Lmean/Lopt) and between the mean length at first capture and the mean length, which maximizes catch and biomass (Lc/Lc_opt), were below one in 14 out of the 19 stocks, suggesting a truncated length structure and fishing of undersized individuals. The ratio of the 95th percentile length to asymptotic length L95th/Linf was close to one (&gt;0.9) in 10 of 19 stocks, suggesting that at least some large fish were still present. Our research confirmed that the fishery resources in the Beibu Gulf were seriously overfished and provided evidence that LBB was an efficient method to evaluate the fishery resources. Fishery managers need to take specific measures to restore fishery resources.

scholarly journals Estimating growth parameters and growth variability from length frequency data using hierarchical mixture models

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 2150-2163
Author(s):  
Luke Batts ◽  
Cóilín Minto ◽  
Hans Gerritsen ◽  
Deirdre Brophy
Keyword(s):  
Mixture Models ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Growth Parameter ◽  
Melanogrammus Aeglefinus ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Frequency Data ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Growth Variability ◽  
Length Frequency Data

Abstract Analysis of length frequency distributions from surveys is one well-known method for obtaining growth parameter estimates where direct age estimates are not available. We present a likelihood-based procedure that uses mixture models and the expectation–maximization algorithm to estimate growth parameters from length frequency data (LFEM). A basic LFEM model estimates a single set of growth parameters that produce one set of component means and standard deviations that best fits length frequency distributions over all years and surveys. The hierarchical extension incorporates bivariate random effects into the model. A hierarchical framework enables inter-annual or inter-cohort variation in some of the growth parameters to be modelled, thereby accommodating some of the natural variation that occurs in fish growth. Testing on two fish species, haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) and white-bellied anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius), we were able to obtain reasonable estimates of growth parameters, as well as successfully model growth variability. Estimated growth parameters showed some sensitivity to the starting values and occasionally failed to converge on biologically realistic values. This was dealt with through model selection and was partly addressed by the addition of the hierarchical extension.

scholarly journals Population dynamics of Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (Lacépède, 1803) in Ikere-gorge, Oyo State, Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-86
Author(s):  
S.O. Ajagbe ◽  
D.O. Odulate ◽  
R.O. Ajagbe ◽  
O.S. Ariwoola ◽  
F.I. Abdulazeez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Stock Assessment ◽  
Total Mortality ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Length Frequency ◽  
Optimum Length ◽  
Growth Coefficient ◽  
Exploitation Rate ◽  
Length Frequency Data

The growth and mortality parameters of Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus were estimated to assess the sustainability of its exploitation in Ikere-gorge, Oyo State, Nigeria. A total of 1210 of Chrys­ichthys nigrodigitatus were sampled from fishermen catches between January, 2017 and Decem­ber, 2018. C. nigrodigitatus were exploited with gillnet, cast net and traps (Malian trap net and bamboo). Total lengths were measured with fish measuring board. The FAO-ICLARM Stock Assessment Tool (FiSAT II) software was used to analyze length-frequency data of the fish. The estimated growth parameters are: asymptotic length is 60.9 cm, growth coefficient is 0.96, optimum length is 38.51 cm; length at maturity is 33.44 cm while length-at-first-capture is 12.62 cm. The estimated mortality parameters are: total mortality is 3.29 per year, natural mortality is 1.43 per year and fishing mortality is 1.86. It was observed that C. nigrodigitatus of Ikere-gorge were more vulnerable to exploitation at sizes less than their length at maturity. Likewise, the ex­ploitation rate (E = 0.57 yr-1) is greater than sustainable exploitation rate (Emax = 0.46 yr-1). This shows that exploitation of C. nigrodigitatus in Ikere-gorge is not sustainable. Therefore, there is need to reduce fishing pressure on C. nigrodigitatus to ensure its sustainability in Ikere-gorge.

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