Does fisheries science serve the needs of managers of small stocks in developing countries

Abstract

Despite the prevalence and socioeconomic importance of small, low total-revenue stocks, predominantly in tropical, developing countries, most of the world's fishery science effort has been devoted to large stocks. Methods for assessing and managing large stocks, though applicable to small ones, are seldom feasible for them. Minimal attention has been paid to approaches that are specifically for small stocks. The tendency for managers of fisheries on small stocks in developing countries to believe that stock assessment is essential for successful fishery management, often leads to disproportionate allocation of resources to stock assessment rather than other critical components of management. This has been reinforced by several agencies that have made stock assessment methods and software available for use in developing countries, while paying little attention to other dimensions of fishery assessment and management. Hence, management efforts for small stocks are often stock assessment driven (SAD), rather than management objective driven (MOD), as they should be. The sequence of actions typical of these two approaches is contrasted. Managers of small stocks in developing countries need international programs that will develop and promote formal methodological approaches with broad emphasis on management objectives and process.