What is it about?
We present new concepts and methods to determine sustainable harvest rates of fish and shellfish stocks that tend to go up and down in abundance due to their intrinsic population biology and/or environmental forces. Current concepts and methods were developed for stocks that move smoothly from a natural level of abundance to a lower level of abundance once they start to be fished, and are not adequate for stocks that tend to enter into up and down cycles of abundance.
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Why is it important?
Fisheries are one of the four pillars of food security worldwide, but they are unique because we cannot control stock's abundance and productivity. Thus harvest rates have to be determined by scientific methods. International and national legislation to determine those harvest rates were developed for stocks that have smooth dynamics but many of the most important stocks, such as sardines, anchovies and squids, have up and down dynamics. Our work will allow the development of fisheries management legislation based on concepts and methods that are appropriate to stocks that fluctuate in abundance once they start to be fished for human food security.
Perspectives
This article will help important initiatives such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals succeed by widening the scope of applications and correctly targeting Goals to the true nature of some of the most important fisheries around the world.
Ruben Roa-Ureta
Independent consultant
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sustainable fishing harvest rates for fluctuating fish and invertebrate stocks, PLoS ONE, September 2024, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307836.
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