Abstract
The marine fisheries resources of Pakistan have been drastically affected in the past few decades. Considering the limitations of previous studies and the data poor condition of the marine fisheries of Pakistan, this study employed the length-based Bayesian biomass (LBB) estimation method for analyzing the fisheries’ representative length-frequency data of five exploited marine fish stocks (Nemipterus japonicus, Nemipterus randalli, Parascolopsis aspinosa, Saurida tumbil, and Lepturacanthus savala). The estimates of relative fishing mortality (F/M) are higher than unity in four stocks except for S. tumbil, indicating overfishing. However, the current values relative to unexploited biomass (B/B0) are below 0.4, which indicates that the stock biomass is deficient in delivering maximum sustainable yield. Overfishing and the mass exclusion of small and older fish from stocks threaten to deplete the biomass of all species. Therefore, this study recommended that increasing the mesh size in commercial fisheries would increase both the catch and biomass of these species. The existing number of boats should be reduced to reduce fishing mortality and bring it back to the ratio of relative fishing mortality (F/M) equal or less than unity, for a sustainable level.
Highlights
Due to the growing fishing pressure and overexploitation resulting from increased demand, the long term viability of marine capture fisheries has become a global concern, in developing countries, where hunger is most prevalent and proper management tools and political will are lacking [1]
15 shrimps, 12 cephalopods, and 5 lobsters were reported from Pakistani marine waters [3,4,5]
The marine capture fisheries of Pakistan are mainly characterized by gillnet, trawl and “doonda”, often targeting demersal fish
Summary
Due to the growing fishing pressure and overexploitation resulting from increased demand, the long term viability of marine capture fisheries has become a global concern, in developing countries, where hunger is most prevalent and proper management tools and political will are lacking [1]. The resources of commercially important fish species have been steadily depleting. Effective management tools, including effort control, nets’ mesh size regulations, and total allowable catch (TAC) limits, are essential to protect fish stock from further depletion and ensure sustainable usages of this sector [1,2]. The marine capture fisheries of Pakistan are mainly characterized by gillnet, trawl and “doonda” (fiberglass lifeboats made from scrapped ships), often targeting demersal fish. Gillnets are most commonly employed to catch demersal species, such as emperors, croakers (Sciaenidae), grunts, snappers and groupers [6]
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