Abstract
Eight common and commercially important marine fishes from coastal and offshore areas of Shandong Province, China, were assessed using the ‘Length-based Bayesian Biomass’ estimator (LBB） method. These species were Scomber japonicus (chub mackerel), Sebastiscus marmoratus (false kelpfish), Hexagrammos otakii (fat grrenling), Thryssa kammalensis (kammal thryssa), Gadus macrocephalus (Pacific cod), Setipinna taty (scaly hairfin anchovy), Sillago sihama (silver sillago) and Lophius litulon (yellow goosefish). LBB is a new powerful, yet simple approach to evaluate a fisheries’ status using length and frequency data. Shandong Province’s coastal areas, adjacent to the Yellow and Bohai Seas, are an important fishing ground of China, where the 2018 catch of three of these species, yellow goosefish, chub mackerel, and Pacific cod, yielded up to 57,200, 21,100, and 1330 tons, respectively. The ratios of current relative to unexploited biomass (B/B0) is smaller than the relative biomass that can produce MSY (BMSY/B0) in all 8 stocks, indicating overfishing. Also, the sizes at first capture were well below optimal, suggesting that larger mesh sizes would be beneficial. Our study provides evidence that LBB is an efficient and accurate method to evaluate the fishery resources in the Yellow and Bohai Seas, especially when length-frequencies are the only available data. Also, LBB provided evidence useful for the management of the costal fishery resources of Shandong Province.
Highlights
For capture fisheries, China ranked first among the world’s fishing countries in terms of quantity, and their capture production was up to 15,373,196 tons (FAO, 2019)
Pacific cod is one of the most important marine resources in northern China, where it is mainly caught in the Yellow Sea, with an annual catch that reached as high as 26,000 tons (Tang and Ye, 1990); the trend has, been gradually decreasing (Xu et al, 2017)
We have presented the length-based Bayesian biomass (LBB) method as applied to eight common commercial fishes from the coastal waters of Shandong Province
Summary
China ranked first among the world’s fishing countries in terms of quantity, and their capture production was up to 15,373,196 tons (FAO, 2019). With the increasing impact of human activities on the Marine ecosystem, the fish community has undergone considerable changes, and the resources of dominant economic species have been declining continuously. The. Stock Assessment of Eight Fish increasing impact of human activities on the marine ecosystem of Shandong’s waters, especially overfishing, has caused a noticeable decline in fishery resources, including once-abundant species (Fu et al, 2007). Scomber japonicus (chub mackerel), Gadus macrocephalus (Pacific cod), Setipinna taty (scaly hairfin anchovy), and Sillago sihama (silver sillago) have been the most important economic species in China, but their resources have presented a downward trend because of excessive fishing pressure (Huang et al, 2013; Cai et al, 2014; Xu et al, 2017; Yi and Chen, 2019). It is necessary to carry out effective resource assessments and concerns need to be devoted to the sustainable use of fishery resources
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
