No abstract

With five age groups of each, the dominant black pomfret was one year, while frigate tuna was two years. The total mortality coefficient (Z) and the fishing mortality (F) of the black pomfret were at high levels, the exploitation ratio (E) was over 0.5, and the number of captured juvenile fishes showed that the stock of black pomfret in this area was overexploited and improper fishing gear was utilized.Compared with previous studies, the maximum and mean fork length, body weight and age of the two fishes declined gradually, the populations were younger in age and smaller in size. The growth coefficient k increased and age at the inflexion point of weight t r was younger than before. The smaller change of the fork length at first maturity of the two fishes has indicated a more vulnerable fishery ecosystem in this area. Therefore, in addition to the traditional fishery management approach, such as taking the minimum length into consideration, ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAF) should be taken to improve the practical fishing management, including conserving the small pelagic fishery population in order to achieve the sustainable fishing of the stocks. Keywords: Parastromateus niger, Auxis thazard thazard, age, growth, population dynamics, management, Taiwan Strait, China.Cambios en la edad y el crecimiento y dinámica poblacional de la palometa negra (Parastromateus niger) y del atún fragata (Auxis thazard thazard), en el estrecho de Taiwán RESUMEN. La edad y crecimiento de la palometa negra, Parastromateus niger y del atún fragata o melva, Auxis thazard thazard se estudiaron a partir de especímenes capturados mensualmente en el estrecho de Taiwan, entre abril 2005 y marzo 2006. Se determinaron cinco grupos de edad, siendo dominante en la palometa negra los ejemplares de un año, mientras que en el atún fragata los de dos años. El coeficiente de mortalidad total (Z) y la mortalidad por pesca (F) de la palometa negra se encontraron en niveles altos. La tasa de explotación E resultó sobre 0,5 y el número de peces juveniles capturados demuestra que la población está sobreexplotada en la región y los equipos de pesca utilizados resultan inadecuados. En comparación con estudios previos, la longitud horquilla máxima y media, el peso corporal y la edad en ambas especies ha disminuido en forma gradual, presentando las poblaciones peces de menor edad y tamaño. El coeficiente de crecimiento k aumentó y la edad en el punto de inflexión en peso t r se obtuvo en ejemplares más jóvenes que en años previos. El pequeño cambio de la longitud horquilla determinado en la primer madurez en las dos especies indica que en esta zona, el ecosistema pesquero se encuentra más vulnerable. Por eso, además del enfoque tradicional en la gestión de la pesca, como la adopción de una longitud mínima, se requiere adoptar el enfoque ecosistémico a la ordenación de la pesca (EEP) para mejorar la conservación de la población de pequeños pelágicos y lograr así el desarrollo sostenible de los recursos pesqueros. Parastromateus niger and Aux...

No abstract

The waters around Taiwan are impacted by the Kuroshio and coastal currents, resulting in a high productivity and a high diversity of marine life. As a consequence, there are a multitude of fisheries around Taiwan, conducted by a fleet that has grown enormously in the last four decades. Here, we investigate the effect of the resulting fishing pressure on 16 commercial fish stocks including demersal and pelagic species in the coastal and offshore waters of Taiwan using the Monte Carlo Catch-Maximum Sustainable Yield (CMSY) and Bayesian Schaefer Model (BSM) methods. Both of these methods required principally catch time series, with the BSM methods also requiring catchper-unit-of-effort data. The results show that of the 16 assessed stocks, 10 stocks have collapsed, 2 are severely overfished, 2 are overfished, 1 is slightly overfished, and only 1 stock remains in a healthy status; these troubling results are attributed to excessive fishing pressure. However, climate-driven environmental variability may be another factor affecting the fishery resources around Taiwan, as evidenced by chub mackerel Scomber japonicus, the one stock deemed healthy, which is here attributed to favorable environmental condition. Using the fisheries reference points provided here, rebuilding plans could be provided for the other 15 species; however, such plans are not likely to be successful without reducing the size of the Taiwanese fishing fleet.