Introduction to Otoliths and Fisheries in the Tropics

Abstract

Total worldwide catch from wild harvest fisheries increased from 30 million to 70 million tonnes from 1955 to 1970 (Pitcher & Hart 1982) and more recently was estimated to reach 95 million tonnes in 2004 (FAO 2007). Fishing has had major impacts on target species and ecosystems and harvested populations have been declining globally at least since the late 1980s and probably from much earlier (Pauly 1998, Pauly et al. 2002). Fisheries and natural resource managers are faced with many challenges as fish stocks decline, overcapitalised fishing fleets from many countries roam the world’s oceans in search of catches from diminishing stocks (Pitcher & Hart 1982) and illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing undermines sustainability of fisheries worldwide. Technical advancements have increased fishing efficiency and sustained catch-rates on temperate fish stocks globally for many decades but many technological advances have reached tropical fisheries only in recent decades.