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Title: Environmental variability and fishing effects on the Pacific sardine fisheries in the Gulf of California
Small pelagic fish support some of the largest fisheries globally, yet there is an ongoing debate about the magnitude of the impacts of environmental processes and fishing activities on target species. We use a nonparametric, nonlinear approach to quantify these effects on the Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) in the Gulf of California. We show that the effect of fishing pressure and environmental variability are comparable. Furthermore, when predicting total catches, the best models account for both drivers. By using empirical dynamic programming with average environmental conditions, we calculated optimal policies to ensure long-term sustainable fisheries. The first policy, the equilibrium maximum sustainable yield, suggests that the fishery could sustain an annual catch of ∼2.16 × 10 5 tonnes. The second policy with dynamic optimal effort, reveals that the effort from 2 to 4 years ago impacts the current maximum sustainable effort. Consecutive years of high effort require a reduction to let the stock recover. Our work highlights a new framework that embraces the complex processes that drive fisheries population dynamics yet produces simple and robust advice to ensure long-term sustainable fisheries.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1660584 1655203
PAR ID:
10229873
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Volume:
78
Issue:
5
ISSN:
0706-652X
Page Range / eLocation ID:
623 to 630
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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