The purpose of these guidelines is to aid stakeholders and fisheries managers in the development of national and regional plans of action for the management of fishing capacities, in order to align fishing capacity with the sustainable use of fish stocks.--Publisher's description.

Coral reef resource systems extend throughout the tropics and are exploited primarily by subsistence fishers, supplying food for millions of people. The magnitude of harvests per unit area taken from coralline shelves approximates those taken by trawlers from temperate shelves. In view of this, the current estimated potential global annual harvest from tropical reef fisheries of 6 million metric tonnes (t) is probably conservative. The relative composition of reef fishery catches changes in response to increasing effort, largely due to the different vulnerability of predatory and herbivorous species to fishing gears. In extreme cases, this change can result in dramatically reduced value of the total catch. Marine protected areas, either transitory or permanent, appear to offer the best prospects for management of reef fisheries, particularly if they are allied to community-based systems | Munro, J.L. (1996) Reef fisheries

Mustafa, M.G., Brooks, A.C. (2008) Asian Fisheries Science 21:189-203 (open access) | A fish catch monitoring program was introduced in Ashura beel, Goakhola beel and Dikshi beel in 1997 through the Community Based Fisheries Management (CBFM) project. The project focused on developing community management approaches which would encourage participation of the fishers, beneficiaries and community in sustainable management of the fishery resources. The present study conducted in all three open beels indicated that the 2002 annual fish production increased by 359 and 222% compared to the base line survey in 1997 in Goakhola and Dikshi beels, respectively, but only 53% in Ashura beel. The catch per person per day increased by 50 and 123% in Goakhola and Dikshi, respectively, but decreased by 40.5% in Ashura beel as compared to the base line catch in 1997. Species diversity was higher in Ashura and Dikshi beels in 2002 than in 1997; however, Goakhola beel was more diverse in 1997. Estimated MSY for Ashura, Goakhola and Dikshi was 48.0, 23.0 and 78.0 tons, and corresponding fishing effort 16452, 7812 and 19984 gear days·year¯¹, respectively. Analysis of effort data indicated that maximum fishing pressure has been reached or exceeded for all three floodplain beels and any further increase in catch effort should be restricted

Pauly, D. (1994) p. 121-132. In: Voigtlander, C.W. (ed.). The State of the world's fisheries resources. Proceedings of the World Fisheries Congress, Plenary Sessions. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi (open access) | A discussion is presented on the topic of fish stock assessment methodologies and fisheries management, considering various research programmes conducted which concern fishery-derived data such as Virtual Population Analysis or catch-and-effort, or recruitment. Meaning, sense and value in fisheries science is examined

Mustafa, M.G., De Graff, G. (2008) Asian Fisheries Science 21:147-158 (open access) | The von Bertalanffy growth model parameters (L8 and K) and mortality coefficients (Z, M and F) were estimated for 12 fish species caught by fishers in five Community-Based Fisheries Management project sites in Bangladesh. The exploitation ratio (E=F/Z) and gear selectivity (L50) were also estimated for each species. The growth and exploitation parameters obtained were compared with available estimates to evaluate the consistency of the results with current knowledge about the species in the region. The estimates for L8 (7.0 â?? 24.0 cm) and K (1.077±0.328 year-1) obtained were consistent with those available in literature. Relatively high K (and low L8) values, typical of short-lived tropical fishes, were obtained for nine species. Estimates for Z (1.86 â?? 6.55) and M (1.22 - 3.06) imply low annual rates of survival and high turnover rates. The estimates for M obtained were consistent with those available in the literature for the 12 species. The exploitation rate was estimated to be between 34 and 53% and the length at first capture was estimated to be approximately 32-56% of L8. The study indicated that the length-at-first-capture/L8 seems to be a simple parameter which could be used to make a rapid assessment of the status of the stocks

Lincoln Smith, M.P., Bell, J.D., Mapstone, B.D. (1997) Proceedings of the 8th International Coral Reef Symposium, Panama, June 24-29, 1996, Volume 2 (open access) | This project aims to determine if the number and size of commercially important invertebrates (e.g. trochus, sea cucumbers and giant clams) increases as the result of the declaration of the Arnavon Islands Marine Conservation Area (MCA) relative to fished areas

Pomeroy, R.S. (1995) Ocean & Coastal Management 27 (3): 143-162 | Fisheries experts now recognize that resource conflicts can be diminished and resources better managed when fishers and other resource stakeholders are more involved in management, and access rights are distributed more effectively and equitably. There is an increasing commitment by governments in Southeast Asia to policies and programs of decentralization and community-based management and co-management. The planning and implementation of these management systems will require the development of new legal, administrative and institutional arrangements at both national and community levels to complement contemporary political, economic, social and cultural structures

Two kinds of approaches have been used for assessing conservation and fisheries-related effects of marine protected areas (MPAs): (i) statistical modelling based on field data and (ii) mathematical modelling quantifying the consequences of MPAs on the dynamics of populations, communities, and fisheries. Statistical models provide a diagnostic on the impact of MPAs on the ecosystem and resources; they are also needed for devising and assessing sampling designs for monitoring programs. Dynamic models enable exploration of the consequences of MPA designs and other management policies. We briefly review how each of these approaches has been implemented up to now in the literature and identify potential indicators of MPA effects that can be obtained from each approach to provide scientific advice for managers. Methodological gaps that impede the assessment of MPA effects and the construction of appropriate indicators are then discussed, and recent developments in this respect are presented. We finally propose ways to reconcile the two approaches based on their complementarity to derive suitable indicators to support decision making. In this respect, we suggest in addition that MPA managers should be associated from the beginning to the design and construction of indicators.

There are many similarities, and some differences, between community-based coastal resource management (CBCRM) and co-management. When CBCRM is considered an integral part of co-management, there is a new category of co-management which can be called community-based co-management. Community-based co-management is people-centered, community-oriented, resources-based and partnership-based. The implementation of community-based co-management has four components: resources management, community and economic development, capability building, and institutional support | Pomeroy, R.S. (1998) NAGA 21 (1): 71-75

The status and trends of the Mediterranean and Black Sea main fisheries resources is reviewed. In the Black Sea the small pelagic resources have more importance than the demersal ones and their history is characterized by the rise and fall of the small pelagics, mainly anchovy, between 1980 and 1990. In the Mediterranean demersals dominate catches although small pelagics are also very important. During the last ten years, demersal resources catches have decreased by 20 per cent while small pelagics as a whole do not show any particular trend, although the increase of round sardinella should be noted. According to recent assessments the most important demersal species: hake, red mullets and some valuable crustaceans appear to be overexploited. Bluefin tuna fishing and farming are nowadays the most conflicting activities in Mediterranean fisheries