This is what we know: Assessing the stock status of the data-poor skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) fishery in the South China Sea

Abstract

Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) is a highly migratory species of significant value in global marine fisheries. The South China Sea (SCS) is the largest marginal sea in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, and many tuna and tuna-like species occur within it. Although a recent Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission report identified skipjack tuna in the western and central Pacific to be sustainably fished, the exploitation status of skipjack tuna in the SCS is still unclear, due to limited data. We apply two data-poor methods, length-based Bayesian biomass estimation (LBB) and length-based spawning potential ratio (LBSPR), to assess the status of skipjack tuna stock in the SCS. We use electronic length frequency analysis to estimate von Bertalanffy growth parameters (asymptotic length Linf and growth coefficient K) to serve as priors for LBB and LBSPR estimation. Estimates are calculated for SCS skipjack tuna Linf (68.3 cm), K (0.325 year−1), natural mortality (0.49 year−1) and mean fork length at 50% sexual maturity (36.7 cm). LBB analysis reveals the estimated relative stock size (0.29) indicates that the SCS skipjack tuna stock maybe heavily overfished. LBSPR analysis reveals the estimated spawning potential ratio for this fishery to be 3%, which is significantly below the limit reference point of 20%. Accordingly, for the SCS skipjack tuna stock we identify a need to reduce fishing mortality by controlling fishing effort and increasing catchable size.