Assessing the pomfret stock for setting catch limits in the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

Pampus argenteus and Pampus chinensis form the high-value demersal Pomfret fishery of Bangladesh. But, due to a monotonic decline in catches over the last five years, it is essential to explore the current stock status concerning the removal rate to ensure the sustainability of this fishery. Therefo...

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Main Authors: Mohammed Shahidul Alam, Qun Liu, Md Mostafa Monwar, Md Enamul Hoque, Suman Barua, Md Leion Hassan, Abdullah Munzer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2024-03-01
Series:Aquaculture and Fisheries
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468550X22001241
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author Mohammed Shahidul Alam
Qun Liu
Md Mostafa Monwar
Md Enamul Hoque
Suman Barua
Md Leion Hassan
Abdullah Munzer
author_facet Mohammed Shahidul Alam
Qun Liu
Md Mostafa Monwar
Md Enamul Hoque
Suman Barua
Md Leion Hassan
Abdullah Munzer
author_sort Mohammed Shahidul Alam
collection DOAJ
description Pampus argenteus and Pampus chinensis form the high-value demersal Pomfret fishery of Bangladesh. But, due to a monotonic decline in catches over the last five years, it is essential to explore the current stock status concerning the removal rate to ensure the sustainability of this fishery. Therefore, given the reliability and minimal data requirements, this study employed an extended Bayesian State-Space Surplus Production Model, JABBA (Just Another Bayesian Biomass Assessment), to assess the stock rigorously. The results revealed that the stock biomass of the Pomfret fishery in the final year of the time series is significantly lower than BMSY, the biomass required to produce MSY. Consequently, this study recommends a yearly catch limit (TAC) of 10,000 metric tons to prevent further depletion of the stock biomass. Furthermore, to avoid growth overfishing by allowing all immature fishes to reproduce at least once before being caught, this study also calculated the optimum length (Lopt) for catch for both species at which biologically maximum yield and revenue can be obtained. The estimated Lopt is 25 cm for P. argenteus and 30 cm for P. chinensis, and not to capture fishes with lengths lower than these limits, this study further calculated the minimum mesh size limits for gill and set bag nets is 7.5 cm. Though the mesh size regulation was estimated using length-based reference points derived from an empirical equation, this regulation can be used as an associate reference point when TAC is applied to assure the sustainability of this fishery.
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spelling doaj.art-76bf0ef646cf46d497c45ab4a41684fe2024-04-28T11:37:43ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Aquaculture and Fisheries2468-550X2024-03-0192324335Assessing the pomfret stock for setting catch limits in the northern Bay of Bengal, BangladeshMohammed Shahidul Alam0Qun Liu1Md Mostafa Monwar2Md Enamul Hoque3Suman Barua4Md Leion Hassan5Abdullah Munzer6College of Fisheries, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China; Department of Fisheries, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, 4331, BangladeshCollege of Fisheries, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China; Corresponding author.Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, 4331, BangladeshDepartment of Oceanography, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, 4331, BangladeshCollege of Fisheries, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China; Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Dhaka, 1215, BangladeshDepartment of Oceanography, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, 4331, BangladeshDepartment of Fisheries, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, 4331, BangladeshPampus argenteus and Pampus chinensis form the high-value demersal Pomfret fishery of Bangladesh. But, due to a monotonic decline in catches over the last five years, it is essential to explore the current stock status concerning the removal rate to ensure the sustainability of this fishery. Therefore, given the reliability and minimal data requirements, this study employed an extended Bayesian State-Space Surplus Production Model, JABBA (Just Another Bayesian Biomass Assessment), to assess the stock rigorously. The results revealed that the stock biomass of the Pomfret fishery in the final year of the time series is significantly lower than BMSY, the biomass required to produce MSY. Consequently, this study recommends a yearly catch limit (TAC) of 10,000 metric tons to prevent further depletion of the stock biomass. Furthermore, to avoid growth overfishing by allowing all immature fishes to reproduce at least once before being caught, this study also calculated the optimum length (Lopt) for catch for both species at which biologically maximum yield and revenue can be obtained. The estimated Lopt is 25 cm for P. argenteus and 30 cm for P. chinensis, and not to capture fishes with lengths lower than these limits, this study further calculated the minimum mesh size limits for gill and set bag nets is 7.5 cm. Though the mesh size regulation was estimated using length-based reference points derived from an empirical equation, this regulation can be used as an associate reference point when TAC is applied to assure the sustainability of this fishery.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468550X22001241Pomfret fisheryStock assessmentJABBATACLower length limits for catchesMesh size regulation
spellingShingle Mohammed Shahidul Alam
Qun Liu
Md Mostafa Monwar
Md Enamul Hoque
Suman Barua
Md Leion Hassan
Abdullah Munzer
Assessing the pomfret stock for setting catch limits in the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh
Aquaculture and Fisheries
Pomfret fishery
Stock assessment
JABBA
TAC
Lower length limits for catches
Mesh size regulation
title Assessing the pomfret stock for setting catch limits in the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh
title_full Assessing the pomfret stock for setting catch limits in the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh
title_fullStr Assessing the pomfret stock for setting catch limits in the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the pomfret stock for setting catch limits in the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh
title_short Assessing the pomfret stock for setting catch limits in the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh
title_sort assessing the pomfret stock for setting catch limits in the northern bay of bengal bangladesh
topic Pomfret fishery
Stock assessment
JABBA
TAC
Lower length limits for catches
Mesh size regulation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468550X22001241
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