Aylin Ulman

Conched Out: Total reconstructed fisheries catches for the Turks and Caicos Islands uncover unsustainable resource usage

The Turks and Caicos Islands’ total marine fisheries catches were estimated for 1950-2012 using a catch reconstruction approach, estimating all removals, including reported catch destined for export, and unreported domestic artisanal and subsistence catches. Total reconstructed catch for the period is approximately 2.8 times that reported by Turks and Caicos to the FAO, and 86% higher than the export-adjusted national reported baseline. The pattern of total catches (strong decline to 1970, followed by gradual increase) differs distinctly from that shown by data reported to FAO. Reported landings show a steady increase from less than 1,000 t∙year-1 in the 1950s to around 6,000 t∙year-1 in the 2000s. In contrast, the total reconstructed catches suggest declines in total catches from around 20,000 t in 1950 to a low of about 5,000 t in 1970, before gradual increases to about 12 500 t·year-1 in the late 2000s. Major discrepancies between reported and reconstructed data are under-reported artisanal catches in the early decades (accounting for 86% of total catches), and the absence of subsistence catches (14% of total catches) in reported data. Queen conch (Strombus gigas) and Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) dominate reconstructed catches. No discards were estimated as fishing has been highly selective, carried out by hand collection (conch), trap or hook (lobster), or hook and line (finfish). New data published here from local seafood consumption surveys demonstrates that the total local consumption of conch equates to almost the entire total allowable catch, before exported amounts are even factored. Policy-makers in the Turks and Caicos need to act if the sustainability of the fisheries stock and fishing industry is to be ensured.

Urgent Change in Management Measures Required to Save Turkish Fisheries from Collapse

Since the 1960s, the Black Sea ecosystem has experienced dramatic changes. Most noticeable is the almost complete absence of larger pelagic fish due to overfishing in the 1960s and 1970s. After the removal of these larger pelagic fish and the associated predation pressure, there was a rapid growth in populations of smaller pelagic fish, especially anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolis) and sprat (Sprattus sprattus), which comprised 75% of Turkish Black Sea reported catches in the 2000s [1].

The marine fisheries in Bulgaria's Exclusive Economic Zone, 1950-2013

The aim of this study is to reconstruct the total historic catch of Bulgarian marine fisheries in their Exclusive Economic Zone for the time period 1950-2013, including unreported landings, discards, recreational and subsistence catches from the ecosystem. The landings data officially reported by Bulgaria to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for the Mediterranean and Black Seas (FAO Area 37) were revised in line with all available information. The reconstructed total catch for 1950-2013 was 1.7 times the (adjusted) baseline data reported by Bulgaria to FAO and 1.5 times the unadjusted data as reported by FAO. This study revealed major deficiencies which exist in the officially reported Bulgarian catch data, foremost being the large amount of unreported industrial catches, especially for the last two decades. Furthermore, the exclusion of some fisheries sectors, notably the absence of data on the subsistence and recreational fisheries in reported data are also noteworthy.

Reconstruction of Syria’s fisheries catches from 1950–2010:signs of overexploitation

Background. The global community infers trends in fi sheries through the catch data assembled by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) from its member countries. Thus, inferences depend on the quality of the member country data, and hence their national data collection systems. Syria’s national catch data are assembled from market assessments (market sales) from a subset of fi sh markets, therefore exclude non-commercial landings and direct sales that by-pass markets. Furthermore, discards are also not accounted for. Our goal was to provide comprehensive estimates of Syrian marine catches for 1950–2010 by fi shing sectors plus major discards, using a catch reconstruction approach. Materials and methods. Catches were estimated from 1950–2010, by industrial (large-scale commercial), artisanal (small-scale commercial), recreational (small-scale non-commercial), and subsistence (small-scale non-commercial) sectors, plus major discards. We reviewed published literature, grey literature, and unpublished data from local experts to obtain a fi rst comprehensive estimate of total Syrian catches (landings + discards). Results. The reconstructed catch for 1950–2010 (including reported data) is nearly 170 000 t, which is 78% more than Syria reports to the FAO. By 2010, reconstructed catch was over 2 times the reported data. The reconstruction added 74 000 t of unreported catches, consisting of 38 600 t of artisanal-, 16 000 t of industrial-, 4000 t of recreational-, and 3000 t of subsistence catches, plus around 12 000 t of discards. Syrian fi sheries are dominated by the artisanal sector (67% of total catch, including discards), while industrial, recreational and subsistence catches account for 29%, 3%, and 2%, respectively. Discards accounted for 7% of total catch. Conclusion. Our reconstructed catch estimates for Syria provide a comprehensive account of total removals by Syria for 1950–2010. This study also supports other observations that the state of the fi sheries is declining due to overexploitation, as suggested by the observed increase in fi shing effort, declining CPUE and the amount of juvenile fi sh in catches. More effective management measures are needed to ensure Syrians can benefi t more from their local fi sheries.