ABSTRACT Sea cucumber fisheries support the livelihoods of many coastal communities worldwide, providing a critical source of income and economic opportunities, particularly in developing tropical regions. Commercial sea cucumber species are usually processed from the fished live animal, through several intermediate stages, to a final dried product for retail sale. Fishery catch can therefore be reported in several different processing states, which requires conversion to a standard mass unit for fishery catch reporting and stock assessments. Sea cucumbers are one of the economically most important fisheries in Torres Strait, Zenadth Kes (Australia) supporting Indigenous fisher livelihoods and ongoing trade. Curryfish sea cucumbers— Stichopus herrmanni (Bambam aber) and S. vastus (Warwarr aber) are subject to increased fishing pressure in Torres Strait, due to expanding export markets and improved processing methods. They are among a few sea cucumber species that begin to disintegrate soon after being removed from the water and require immediate specialised processing. In collaboration with an Indigenous Torres Strait Islander fisher, we document the locally developed processing methods for Curryfish. Individual animal mass data for different processing states were used to calculate new species‐specific conversion ratios for Curryfish. The conversion ratios are key inputs to accurately track species catch against Total Allowable Catch to support sustainable fisheries management in Torres Strait. These new conversion ratios may be of benefit to other sea cucumber fisheries worldwide that target Curryfish. Moreover, Indigenous‐led processing expertise resulted in notable increases in dried yield compared to other studies, with potential to more broadly improve economic returns across the Indo‐Pacific.
ABSTRACT Most fisheries in the world do not focus on the capture of only one or two species but harvest multiple species. Multispecies fisheries are challenging to understand and manage, with single species management options often insufficient and/or inappropriate. This paper analyses how two certification schemes, the Marine Stewardship Council and Marin Trust, address multispecies fisheries. These are both global in scope, based on the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and reference the FAO Guidelines for the Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries among several other global norms relating to fisheries. Both of these schemes were created in the Global North, with a focus on single species fisheries. There are complex interactions between the requirements of international law/agreements/guidance coupled with market‐based claims around sustainable/responsible sourcing which create a series of challenges that remain to be fully resolved, and these are amplified in species‐rich tropical ecosystems. There have been some significant gains in fisheries assessment approaches, ecosystem modelling and ways of thinking about sustainable fisheries from an ecosystem perspective since the FAO's Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management was adopted in 2001. There is a need for a comprehensive update of advice to help better align a growing number of global norms and, with that, some changes to the ways that fishery certification schemes handle complex multispecies fisheries. There would be benefits for updating the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, Sustainable Development Goal 14.4.1 and the FAO Ecolabelling Guidelines (FAO 2009) to ensure that these fisheries are explicitly included in the push for sustainable use. We provide five recommendations that could be considered by both intergovernmental bodies and the scheme owners which could assist better integration of multispecies fisheries into the wider push for sustainable use.
ABSTRACT Sustainable management of shark fisheries is challenging because sharks are highly vulnerable to fishing mortality. By analysing data from three independent scientific surveys between the early 1970s and late 2000s across three fishing regions in southern Australia, we show that conservative fisheries management following severe depletion facilitated full stock recovery of the gummy shark ( Mustelus antarcticus ), a species of moderate biological productivity. Conversely, the school shark ( Galeorhinus galeus ), a species of particularly low productivity, showed little sign of recovery, despite low levels of immigration from New Zealand, and recruitment likely collapsed during the first decade of the present century in response to the Millennium Drought. Only very recently have independent, innovative close‐kin mark‐recapture techniques demonstrated a rise in the school shark stock. The results indicate that management controls can successfully rebuild some shark stocks, but outcomes vary among species. Effective shark fisheries management requires species‐specific regulation and continued fishery‐independent monitoring covering all sizes to detect depletion, recovery and emerging pressures such as climate change.
ABSTRACT The Bangladesh Sundarbans, the world's largest contiguous mangrove forest, supports one of the country's most productive coastal fisheries while providing essential ecosystem services and livelihoods for coastal communities. However, increasing environmental and anthropogenic pressures threaten the long‐term sustainability of its fisheries. This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to evaluate the status of the Sundarbans fisheries, identify major natural and human‐induced threats, and synthesize evidence for sustainable management. Of the 76 publications identified, 34 met the predefined inclusion criteria and were retained for qualitative synthesis. The review identified a highly diverse fishery comprising 322 fish species belonging to 217 genera and 96 families. The inshore fishery contributes 80.57% of Bangladesh's marine capture fisheries and supports the livelihoods of approximately 200,000 fishers. Monthly catches ranged from 3.45 to 6.62 kg and exceeded the estimated maximum sustainable yield (MSY; 4.61 kg) during several months, while declining catch per unit effort (CPUE) indicated increasing exploitation pressure. The principal threats to fisheries sustainability include climate change, habitat degradation, destructive fishing practices, shrimp post‐larvae harvesting, unsustainable shrimp aquaculture, pollution, siltation, salinity intrusion, and sea‐level rise. Collectively, the reviewed evidence indicates that fisheries decline is driven by the cumulative interaction of multiple climatic and anthropogenic stressors rather than by individual threats acting in isolation. This review provides the first integrated synthesis of fisheries resources, environmental stressors, and management interventions for the Bangladesh Sundarbans, highlighting the need for ecosystem‐based fisheries management and long‐term ecological monitoring to sustain biodiversity, fisheries productivity, and coastal livelihoods under future environmental change.
ABSTRACT The effects of invasive apex predators on inland recreational fisheries remain poorly quantified. We used standardised angling competition records from Iznájar Reservoir, southern Spain (2008–2025), to test whether establishment of European catfish ( Silurus glanis ) was associated with deterioration of a traditional cyprinid fishery. Weighted annual mean catch per unit effort (CPUE) declined by ≈76% (from 4.618 to 1.121 kg·angler −1 ·h −1 ) and upper‐tail CPUE (P90) from 8.132 to 2.217 kg·angler −1 ·h −1 , whereas the annual probability of zero‐catch anglers increased from 2.72% to 39.47%. Asymptotic exponential models fitted all CPUE series better than linear trends, and segmented analyses identified 2012 as the best‐supported breakpoint. Declines were robust to rank‐based methods and to excluding the anomalous year 2018. Long‐term physicochemical and reservoir water‐level data revealed no environmental mechanism matching the timing or magnitude of the decline. Although causality cannot be demonstrated, the pattern is consistent with S. glanis as the leading identifiable explanation.
