Total Allowable Catch Research Articles

Increasing the harvest for mussels Mytilus edulis without harming oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus

Oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus (L.) arriving on their wintering grounds at the end of summer require there to be 6-8 times more mussel Mytilus edulis (L.) biomass available on their feeding grounds than they will consume over the winter if the birds’ normal high survival rate until spring is to be maintained: that is, their ‘Ecological Requirement (ER)’ is considerably larger than their ‘Physiological Requirement (PR)’. The ratio ER/PR was termed the ‘Ecological Multiplier (EM) and has been applied to a number of shellfisheries to calculate the Total Allowable Catch (TAC). The high value of the EM, however, has meant that mussel fisheries have suffered from much reduced harvests and thus economic difficulties. This paper proposes two methods by which the TAC could be increased without any predicted impact on the birds. In the ‘roll-over’ approach, the surplus biomass remaining at the end of one month is harvested during the next. In the ‘delayed start’ approach, the EM is not set at the beginning of autumn but at the beginning of the winter, which is when birds begin to starve. The two approaches can be applied together and would enable many more mussels to be harvested than is currently allowed without reducing oystercatcher survival. In the test case presented here, the TAC over the winter could be increased from 5% to between 35% and 45% of the standing crop of mussels present in September when the birds arrive.

Flat oyster fishery management during a time with fluctuating population size

Wild populations of the native European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) are nowadays rare. Worldwide, flat oyster populations have declined due to overexploitation, diseases and pollution. Yet, in the Limfjorden, Denmark, a small but persistent population of wild flat oyster have endured for more than 165 years, which has sustained a unique fishery on wild oyster beds. Over time, fluctuations in the wild population size has had implications for the fishery, alternating between a large population with high yields, and too small to withstand a fishery. The flat oyster fishery has been alleged to cause these unpredictable fluctuations in the population. However, the combined effect of natural variation (e.g. water temperature) and the fishery has not been investigated. Here we indicate that summer water temperature is an important factor causing fluctuations in the flat oyster population, thought to be due to its influence on recruitment success. Whereas the fishery often constitutes a minor part of the net oyster mortality. We found a positive correlation between summer water temperature and increased oyster landings ≥5 years later. Our results demonstrate the importance of adaptive management for the oyster fishery in the Limfjorden, which has ensured the survival of the flat oyster population, even when the oyster population has been low. These results highlight that management based on annual stock assessments, closed areas with brood stock, and dynamic annual total allowable catch, can ensure the persistence of an endangered oyster species and support a sustainable fishery.

Using Cellular Automata for Grid-Based Fishery Management

This report introduced new concept and technics for a grid-based fishery management system. The fishing ground was first divided into small grid of equal area, each with predefined longitudes and latitudes (both 0.033 degrees or approximately 2 × 2 nautical miles in this study). All grids were laid and formatted into a Microsoft-Excel spreadsheet system, as defined by the coastline. Individual sheets were also constructed to represent different ecological characters, serving as supporting data of the main grid-map. Including individual fishing record, water depth, wind & current vector, benthic character, etc. Cellular automata (CA) mathematics was applied for simulation studies. They were programmed on the built-in Visual BASIC langrage in EXCEL. In a three-year research project, the author was able to accomplish the following major results: 1) An EXCEL-based spreadsheet system for storage of fishing effort in each grid. Provided that data of fishing yield is also available for each grid, research model for fishery management can be constructed, leading toward solutions for total allowable catch (TAC) as well as maximum economic yield (MEY). 2) A multi-layered, 2-dimentional spread-sheet system demonstrating the distribution of relative intensity for individual grids. The system can be decked up with different ecological data for more advanced studies. 3) Estimation of the nearest distance between two special grids as well as fishing harbors. This would help in more efficient navigation management and allocation of fishing rights for the fishing vessels.

Implications of a climate-induced recruitment shift in the stock assessment of Patagonian grenadier (Macruronus magellanicus) in Chile

Patagonian grenadier (Macruronus magellanicus) is the most abundant demersal fisheries resource off Chilean Patagonia, and also is a key fisheries species off the south of Argentina and off the Falkland Islands. A Stock Synthesis assessment shows that this stock has declined in abundance off Chile, which has been attributed to a major change in recruitment strength, and subsequent production, after 1999. An assessment is conducted in which the change in recruitment is modelled as a shift in the stock-recruitment relationship. Management Strategy Evaluation is then used to examine the consequences of a mis-match between the assumptions related to recruitment in the assessment used to set the annual total allowable catch (TAC), and those in the operating model that represents the actual situation being managed. A management strategy that does not consider a shift in recruitment resulted in average TAC values of approximately 125,000 t, substantially larger than the sustainable yield of 45,000 t when there is a recruitment shift. A management strategy based on ignoring the shift in recruitment would thus lead to unsustainable catches, with major impacts on the ecosystem as well as the industry and coastal communities reliant on the fishery, if there was an actual shift in recruitment. Management of the fishery has not accounted for a recruitment shift, and annual landings have been consistently lower than the estimated annual TACs. The 2014 landings are similar to the long term TAC estimated by the assessment models under the Shift operating model. The history of the Patagonian grenadier fishery demonstrates the benefits of taking a precautionary approach that accounts for changes in fish productivity (whether climate-driven or otherwise). However, there can be considerable delays before a shift is observed in recruitment estimates or assessment model mis-specification is detected. The need for alternative approaches for providing more timely recruitment information is discussed.

Impacts on CPUE from vessel fleet composition changes in an Australian lobster (Jasus edwardsii) fishery

ABSTRACTThe Australian Victorian Western Zone rock lobster fishery is assessed using standardised catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE). Nominal CPUE declined over 1978–2009, but this underrepresents the estimated decline in abundance, and since 2009 standardised CPUE rose notably less than nominal CPUE. This study identified vessel as a key factor that explains the discrepancy between nominal and standardised CPUE. The composition of the fleet changed since 2009, under the pressure of constraining total allowable catch quotas, with vessels exiting the fishery having substantially lower estimated catchability, which increased the average catchability of the remaining fleet. New diagnostic indices were constructed to quantify discrepancies between trends in nominal and standardised CPUE that assisted in identifying periods during which both catchability and fleet composition changed.

Estimating biological reference points for Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus) fishery in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea

It is important to find a reliable method to estimate maximum sustainable yield (MSY) or total allowable catch (TAC) for fishery management, especially when the data availability is limited which is a case in China. A recently developed method (CMSY) is a data-poor method, which requires only catch data, resilience and exploitation history at the first and final years of the catch data. CMSY was used in this study to estimate the biological reference points for Largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus, Temminck and Schlegel) in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, based on the fishery data from China Fishery Statistical Year Books during 1986 to 2012. Additionally, Bayesian state-space Schaefer surplus production model (BSM) and the classical surplus production models (Schaefer and Fox) performed by software CEDA and ASPIC, were also projected in this study to compare with the performance of CMSY. The estimated MSYs from all models are about 19.7×104–27.0×104 t, while CMSY and BSM yielded more reasonable population parameter estimates (the intrinsic population growth rate and the carrying capacity). The biological reference points of B/BMSY smaller than 1.0, while F/FMSY higher than 1.0 revealed an over-exploitation of the fishery, indicating that more conservative management strategies are required for Largehead hairtail fishery.

Economic Outcomes for Harvesters under the West Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program: Have Goals and Objectives Been Met?

The West Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program was designed to achieve multiple economic goals and objectives, including increasing net benefits, profitability, flexibility, and utilization of harvest allocations. In this article, we leverage seven years of comprehensive cost and earnings data to evaluate progress towards these goals with a focus on harvesters. Our assessment shows that five years post-implementation, net benefits to the nation have doubled, and indicators of productivity and profitability have increased. The fleet that targets Pacific whiting has seen the largest gains, due in part to increases in total allowable catch and the elimination of the race-to-fish. However, increased revenues have not been realized to the degree that was expected for harvesters targeting non-whiting groundfish, partly due to lower than predicted consolidation and relatively low quota utilization. Economic outcomes indicate that tradeoffs exist between certain objectives of the program, specifically between achieving full utilization and flexibility for harvesters. Results are discussed in the context of the design and evaluation of catch share programs for diverse, multispecies fisheries.

A brief history of lumpfishing, assessment, and management across the North Atlantic

Abstract This report documents the fishery, assessment, and management of lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) across its distribution range. Targeting lumpfish for their roe on a large scale began in the 1950s in Iceland and Norway and then in Canada in the 1970s and Greenland in the 1990s. When the fishery began, there were few regulations, but limits on vessel size, mesh size, number of nets, and length of the fishing season were gradually implemented over time. Worldwide landings have varied from ca. 2000 to 8000 tonnes of roe between 1977 and 2016. Iceland and Canada accounted for >80% of the landings until 2000. After 2013, Greenland and Iceland accounted for >94%. All countries except Iceland show a decreasing trend in the number of boats participating in the fishery, which is related to several factors: the monetary value of the roe, changes in the abundance of lumpfish, and increasing age of artisanal fishers. Each country has a different combination of data available for assessment from basic landings and fishing effort data to more detailed fishery independent survey indices of abundance. The management of total catch also differs, with an effort-controlled fishery in Iceland and Canada, a total allowable catch (TAC) per boat in Norway, and TAC per area in Greenland. Population abundance is above management targets in Iceland and Norway, but the status is less clear in Greenland and around Denmark/Sweden and appears to be depleted around Canada. Certification by the Marine Stewardship Council was instrumental in the adoption of a management plan in Greenland; however, benefits to the fishers remain unclear. Aspects surrounding the biology of lumpfish, which is poorly understood and requires investigation, include growth rate, natural mortality, and population differentiation. In addition, there is concern about the potential impacts that the recent escalation in production of lumpfish for use as cleaner fish in the aquaculture industry could have on the wild population.

Analysing the fisheries policy reform in the Faroe Islands: On the path to sustainability?

The home fishery in the Faroe Islands has since 1996 been managed predominantly with fishing days. The system has proven ineffective and has led to overfishing, fleet overcapacity, and low profitability in the home fishery. A process of reform began in 2007 when fishing licenses were terminated, effective from January 1, 2018. A fisheries policy reform was adopted by the Faroese Parliament in December 2017, just weeks before licenses expired. This paper describes the substantial fisheries policy reform and analyses its likely effectiveness and impact on the Faroese fishing industry. New measures include total allowable catch and individual transferable quotas for parts of the home fleet; allocation of fishing rights through auctions and development quotas; harvest fees; and the complete elimination of foreign ownership and capital. The fishing days system will remain in place for the coastal fleet. We identify a number of barriers for success, most notably that measures to ensure sustainability in the home fishery only apply to parts of the fleet, which may render them ineffective and hinder the much needed recovery of the important cod and haddock stocks in Faroese waters. Full implementation of the fisheries reform may be hindered by a lack of political consensus on a number of matters, and ultimately, full implementation depends on the outcome of the next general election in the Faroe Islands (2019), as the current opposition has made it clear it prefers the fishing days system.

FISH CATCH QUOTA ASSESSMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE MARINE FISHERIES RESOURCES IN EAST JAVA

Fish resources Information urgently needed by development planners in fisheries sectors,especially for fisheries development. The fisheries resources utilization in East Java tends to be overexploited.This caused uncertainty of fishing activities for the traditional fishermen in the East Java waters. Some studies ofpopulation dynamics and fish stock assessment described fisheries resources exploitation in some areas of EastJava was on fully exploited to overexploited condition. The aim of this research were; [1] to know sustainablepotential and total allowable catch of fisheries resources in the area of Pasuruan regency, Probolinggo Regency,and Banyuwangi regency; [2] tho know the utilization status of fisheries resources in the area of Pasuruanregency, Probolinggo Regency, and Banyuwangi regency; and [3] to determine the empowerment strategy forfishermen community in order to utilize fisheries resources in the area of Pasuruan regency, ProbolinggoRegency, and Banyuwangi regency. The analyses were done through the calculation of sustainability potential,and total allowable catch, and determine the controlling strategy of fisheries resources utilization. The studydescribed that the comparison analysis of fishing trip data, fish catch and total allowable catch in the sustainablecondition was in the overexploited condition. Moreover, based on the analysis of fisheries resources utilizationstatus in the research area, the controlling strategy was created based on the recommendation of all stakeholders.This strategy including the management of the fishing area, management of fishing time, and determine ifalternative activities in the scope of both fisheries and non-fisheries sectors. These strategies can be used as abasic data in determining an empowerment strategy for fishermen in the fisheries resources utilization. Thesestrategies including accompaniment approach and information services through community and ecosystem-basedof fisheries resources management.

PELAKSANAAN MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE PENGELOLAAN SUMBERDAYA IKAN BERKELANJUTAN DI INDONESIA

At the eighteenth annual meeting of the CCSBT agreed on the use of Management Procedure (MP) as a guide to total allowable catches globally against Southern Bluefin Tuna. It aims to ensure that the biomass of fish stocks can reach the target redevelopment of up to 20%. CCSBT set the allowable catch based on the results of the MP. MP aims to maintain the stability of the fishing industry reduces the possibility of the number of catches in the future to decrease. Three-year period total allowable catches globally is; 2014 is 12 449 tons, year 2015-2017 is 14 647 tons and 17 647 tons Year 2018-2020 be included ndonesia. Implementation Management Procedure by Indonesia is a resource management strategy that allows the fish formally to ensure that the fish resources can be utilized in a sustainable manner.

Inter-species quota flexibility – Exploring a new management tool in European Common Fisheries Policy

Inter-species quota flexibility (IQF) is a new management tool made available to fishery managers in the reformed European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) launched in 2013. IQF regulates a limited transfer between stock-specific total allowable catches (TAC), the main measure of stock conservation in CFP set in accordance with precautionary or, where possible, analytically estimated levels of maximum sustainable yield (MSY). IQF is intended to mitigate the various potential conflicts in the management of multi-species fisheries resulting from stricter catch limitations, which, in turn, are due to the newly-introduced landing obligation for all catches of TAC-regulated stocks. In this paper, the management implications of inter-species flexibility are evaluated by modelling various scenarios of individual and multiple multi-species fisheries exploiting virtual stocks of different sizes and productivity. The results reveal that IQF is rather ineffectual if sustainable stock-specific management goals are similar in terms of exploitation rate. However, if these goals are modified in response to potential ecological conservation needs or market considerations – which would reflect reality more closely – IQF may offer a frequently applicable and effective tool. Simulations carried out in this study demonstrate that IQF may support the use of quotas by increasing fishing opportunities of by-catch species, which are then subtracted from the target stock allowances. However, multiple and jointly managed multi-species fisheries frequently appear limited due to reduced fishing opportunities of target stocks, which may prevent the progressive application of IQF. As such, IQF is helpful for certain specific fisheries management, rather than as a tool for broader management approaches jointly applied to different fishing strategies. It is concluded that the application of IQF may undermine the politically-agreed and fixed quota-sharing rule among European member states (i.e. the “relative stability”) and also lacks a reference to FMSY; i.e., it remains to be clarified whether the application of IQF would result in tolerable levels of short term overfishing of by-catch stocks with regard to MSY.

A methodology to measure the social impact of the EU quota setting procedure

A methodology is described to measure the short to medium term social impacts of the European Union (EU) quota setting procedure. The method utilises data that is collected nationally within the EU and so allows timely estimation of possible social impacts as a result of changes in total allowable catches that could affect national fishing fleets and fishing dependent communities. Social impacts can extend to a very broad set of characteristics such as employment, wages, health and safety, gender participation, education, traditions, ‘well-being’, etc. Here, the use of the term ‘social’ is in a narrow sense in that the indicator that is relied on is employment (including downstream effects) due to the characteristics of the indicator and its availability in terms of data collection. The methodology is described in terms of its application in Ireland and measures are suggested to enable its application at an EU level.

The 2009–2016 Belize sea cucumber fishery: Resource use patterns, management strategies and socioeconomic impacts

While sea cucumbers have been fished in Belizean waters for ∼20 years for trade through Guatemala and the local Asian market in Belize, harvesting for export to international markets only started with the establishment of the sea cucumber fishery regulations in 2009. The fishery included two main species, Holothuria mexicana and Isostichopus badionotus but only the former was legally managed by the Belize Fisheries Department through a closed season and catch reporting. By 2016, H. mexicana was considered overfished and in 2017, the entire fishery was closed. Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of this fishery in Belize from 2009–2016 with the goal to make recommendations for policy development. This study combined key informant interviews with secondary data collection and observation of sea cucumber fishing, landing and processing. Fishers hand-picked sea cucumbers using mask and snorkel and sold their catch to exporters or middlemen. Sea cucumber harvesting increased fishers’ income to 154 times the minimum wage in 2010 and 5 times the minimum wage in 2016, concurrent with a drastic decline of stocks. Some fishers rated sea cucumber harvesting as their primary fishing activity but knew very little about their biology or ecology. They were concerned about the decrease in catch that forced them to fish in deeper waters and about the illegal fishing by Guatemalan and Honduran fishers in Belizean waters. Sea cucumbers sold locally since 2009 were neither reflected in the market economy nor used to adjust the Total Allowable Catch by the Belize Fisheries Department. Maintaining the long-term sustainability of this fishery will rely on greater investments in enforcing fisheries regulations, in scientific research to determine the viability of sea cucumber fishing, and in the education of fishers. A closer collaboration with fishers is necessary to adequately inform future management decisions on the socioeconomic consequence of overfishing.

Fisheries policy in the Faroe Islands: Managing for failure?

The Faroe Islands have had five different fisheries management regimes for their demersal home fleet between 1948 and 2018: open access; regulated open access; a licensing system; a brief period of individual transferable quotas (ITQ); and, since 1996, an effort quota system, where the main control component comprises fishing days without total allowable catch (TAC) control. The Faroese cod and haddock stocks are severely overfished, and the fleet is largely unprofitable because of excess capacity and the stocks’ poor state. This paper describes and analyses the main characteristics of the regimes and developments in policy to determine why management has failed. The results are compared with the Faroese pelagic and distant-water fleets, which are managed jointly with other coastal states using TAC and ITQ, to identify inconsistencies in policy and implementation. The conclusion is that the Faroese authorities have 1) persistently believed that fishing can be directed away from overfished stocks but have failed to accomplish this; 2) demonstrated short-sightedness in the management of their demersal fishery; 3) shown an unwillingness to effectively reduce fishing pressure and — by implication – employment in the fisheries sector for the sake of sustainability; and 4) shown that they can manage their fleets sustainably, as demonstrated by the pelagic and distant-water fleets, but have largely been unwilling to regarding the home fleet.

Optimization of Fishing Strategies in Space and Time as a Non-convex Optimal Control Problem

The behavior of a fishing fleet and its impact onto the biomass of fish can be described by a nonlinear parabolic diffusion–reaction equation. Looking for an optimal fishing strategy leads to a non-convex optimal control problem with a bilinear control action. In this work, we present such an optimal control formulation, prove its well-posedness and derive first- and second-order optimality conditions. These results provide a basis for tailored finite element discretization as well as for Newton type optimization algorithms. First numerical test problems show typical features as so-called No-Take-Zones and maximal fishing quota (total allowable catches) as parts of an optimal fishing strategy.

The Volga: Management issues in the largest river basin in Europe

AbstractThe Volga is the longest river in Europe and 16th longest in the world. The riverine landscape of the Volga is of exceptional scientific and economic importance to Russia; the basin contains approximately 40% of the Russian population and relates to 45% of the country's industrial and agricultural produce. The Volga River drains an area of 1.4 million km2, covering various biomes from taiga to semidesert. Anthropogenic impacts in the 20th century include pollution as well as hydropower production and navigation purposes, incurring a cost for its historically important migratory fish (e.g., sturgeons) and related fisheries. River basin management in Russia, since 2006, is based on the water code that determines federal competencies in water management. Extensive water quality monitoring programmes provide feedback to regional managers. Monitoring of biological parameters is spatially limited and should be extended in order to provide sufficient data for informed management. Some initiatives have been implemented in recent decades in order to restore the ecological health of the river and manage fisheries resources (e.g., restocking programmes and the definition of total allowable catches). As recreational fishing is popular but presently unregulated in Russia, we suggest additional monitoring. Finally, the headwaters and lower river floodplain of the Volga have remained as free‐flowing and relatively undisturbed systems. Because reference conditions with low levels of anthropogenic disturbance cannot be found in Central European lowland rivers, both the headwaters and lower Volga floodplains below Volgograd are of great importance on European level.

Protein aggregation, water binding and thermal gelation of salt-ground hake muscle in the presence of wet and dried soy phosphatidylcholine liposomes

Different soy phosphatidylcholine liposomal preparations (fresh, high-pressure-treated, frozen-thawed, freeze-dried and spray-dried) were incorporated in salt-ground hake (M. merluccius) muscle and their effects on protein aggregation, water binding and thermal gelation were studied. Hydrodynamic properties of liposomes varied within the range of 123–507 nm for particle size and −40 to −49.5 mV for zeta potential. Addition of liposomes to the salt-ground muscle decreased protein solubility and increased water holding capacity, regardless of the vesicle particle size or membrane surface charge. Liposomes caused an increase in protein thermal stability, as observed by DSC, and also increased the spacing between myofibrils, leading to more water trapped within the myofibrillar protein network, as revealed by the LF-NMR-1H study. The presence of liposomes slightly modified the viscoelastic behaviour and interfered with the thermal aggregation of muscle proteins, the mechanisms for this interference being different depending on the type of liposome preparation (wet or dry form). The present work suggests the possible use of a highly appreciated fish species, which could be subjected to landing obligation under Total Allowable Catch regulations (EU), for the development of a high-added-value fish product functionalized by the addition of liposomes.

Fishing for Justice: England's Inshore Fisheries’ Social Movements and Fixed Quota Allocation

English inshore fishers have long campaigned through the New Under 10m Fishermen's Association to have a fair share of the UK's fishing opportunities and to be involved in inshore fisheries management. They argue that their allocation of ∼2% of the UK Share of Total Allowable Catch species is unjust, with the inshore fleet contributing 78% of the workforce. Their concern, beyond quota shares, is that Local Ecological Knowledge / real time information from fishing grounds does not feature as information in the determination of the Marine Management Organisation's Fixed Quota Allocation pool. This is thought to be top down, inflexible and having limited potential for adaptive co-management. At the same time, this entails increased distrust for the Common Fisheries Policy, often through conflated ideas about who is to blame for the allocation of national quota within the UK. Once the overall Total Allowable Catch levels have been agreed on, every December at an EU wide level, fishing opportunities are given out by the member state. Many fishers and the wider public are surprised it is the member state's responsibility to assign access between fleets. Indeed, it is the Fixed Quota Allocation system which has left only 2% of the UK share of TAC species with inshore fishers, a decision which would benefit from a public enquiry. Leasing enough UK, Fixed Quota allocation Units is a barrier to entry for young fishers, as lease costs are high and inshore fisheries are mixed. An ageing knowledge base, with few new recruits to continue practising it, means the intergenerational transmission of fisher LEK is more at risk. Alongside this, the associated cultural value created by fisheries communities is under threat as a result of the inequality in terms of access to fishing opportunities. The newly recognised Coastal Producer Organisation could manage the 2% of the UK share of Total Allowable Catch, alongside promised ‘uplifts’ and any increases which may occur as a result of leaving the ‘relative stability’ system of EU Total Allowable Catch share. The Coastal Producer Organisation will listen to fishers and manage quota adaptively without permanently gifting fishing rights. Catchapp can be a way for members to integrate their fisher LEK to form the basis for real time updates to changes on fishing grounds. This can support determination in a scientifically robust manner improving on the previous monthly pool allocations for the seasonal mixed inshore fishery. This is an urgent requirement to improve buy in, compliance, confidence in science and foster adaptive co-management.

Challenges in managing freshwater fishery resource through Lebak Lebung Auction approach: a case study in Pangkalan Lampam District Ogan Komering Ilir Regency

Responsible management of fishery resources has been a tradition of Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) of South Sumatera for generations. It was recorded that since 1630 the Dutch Government had made auction policy for managing water territory in OKI Regency as an effort to preserve nature and to avoid the conflict of inland water ownership. Currently, the community-based management model has been adopted by local governments into formal regulations, known as Regional Regulation on Auction of Flood Water Swamp and Rivers (Lelang Lebak Lebung dan Sungai or L3S). This paper describes the success factors and the threats for the failure of the L3S management model in OKI Regency, based on a case study in Pangkalan Lampam District. The study showed that the management mechanism through the L3S system had been well instituted and become a well-established management practice. The management model is in line with the principle of co-management and the approach has become critical success factor in L3S management. However, ecological, economic and social aspects influence the sustainability of such fishery management model. Besides, L3S management model faces limited data and information related to fish stocks, which result in difficulties in determining the total allowable catch.