Application of a catch-based method for stock assessment of three important fisheries in the East China Sea

Most fisheries in China do not have maximum sustainable yield (MSY) estimates due to limited and poor data. Therefore, finding a common method to estimate MSY or total allowable catch (TAC) for fishery management is necessary. MSYs of three important fisheries in the East China Sea were evaluated through a catch-based model. Estimates for intrinsic rate of increase (r) and five levels of process error were considered. Results showed hairtail Trichiurus japonicas (Temminck and Schlegel) and small yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis (Bleeker) fisheries experienced overfishing from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, and the suggested TACs were 55.8x10(4) t and 9.06x10(4) t, respectively. Decades of overfishing in wintering and spawning grounds of large yellow croaker Larimichthys crocea (Richardson) caused the fishery's collapse in the 1980s, and it has not recovered until today. The Catch-MSY model generated similar estimated MSYs with other methods and may be a useful choice for the assessment of regional stocks in China.