Assessment of Tropical Fish Stocks Using the LBB Method in Dongzhaigang Bay, Hainan Island, China

Chengpu Jiang (), Wenqing Wang, Suzhen Yan, Yipeng Ding, Xuefang Mi, Mao Wang () and Daniel Pauly
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Chengpu Jiang: Key Laboratory of the Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Ministry of Education, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
Wenqing Wang: Key Laboratory of the Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Ministry of Education, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
Suzhen Yan: Key Laboratory of the Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Ministry of Education, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
Yipeng Ding: Key Laboratory of the Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Ministry of Education, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
Xuefang Mi: Key Laboratory of the Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Ministry of Education, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
Mao Wang: Key Laboratory of the Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Ministry of Education, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
Daniel Pauly: Sea Around Us, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-11

Abstract: This study used catch/effort (CPUE) and length-frequency (L/F) data to evaluate the status of 26 fish species in the mangroves of the Dongzhaigang National Reserve, Hainan Province, China, sampled in 2009 (16 species), 2014 (18 species) and 2020 (15 species) using CPUE and the length-based Bayesian biomass (LBB) method. The CPUE, both in number and weight, was lower in 2009 than in 2014 and lower again in 2020, with the 2009 low attributed to pollution due to shrimp, pig and duck farming within the reserve. Of the 26 fish species assessed, four experienced a large reduction of length from 2009 to 2020, and nine exhibited a decline in the ratio of current biomass to biomass at carrying capacity (B/B 0 ), which is expressed as the ‘biomass left’. This ratio was, for most species, below 0.5 in 2009, which suggests that overfishing occurred in 2009 and that it has since become worse. Thus, while the CPUE data provided ambiguous results, the L/F data analyzed by the LBB method demonstrated unambiguously that ‘miniaturization’ through overfishing is occurring among the exploited 26 fish species from the mangroves of the Dongzhaigang National Reserve. For the fisheries in the mangals of Dongzhaigang Bay to remain viable, fishing effort should be reduced by local governments working with the affected communities, just as they reduced pollution a decade ago.

Keywords: fishery assessment; temporal changes; length-frequency distribution; catches per set; mangrove ecosystem (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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