From bottom to up: Effects of fishery improvement projects on the stock trends of multi-specific small-scale fisheries from Mexico

• Published in: Marine policy 2024-10, Vol.168, p.106292, Article 106292
• Main Authors: García-Rodríguez, Emiliano, Saldaña-Ruiz, Luz Erandi, Sosa-Nishizaki, Oscar, Fajardo-Yamamoto, Arturo, Cisneros-Soberanis, Frida, Flores-Guzmán, Alesa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Citizen science; Data-poor areas; Fishery improvement projects; Small-scale fisheries; Stock status
• ISSN: 0308-597X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106292

Small-scale fisheries are socioeconomically crucial in developing countries as a source of income, food, and employment. However, most fisheries lack the basic information (e.g., catch and effort) needed to evaluate their status and are poorly managed. Fishery Improvement Projects (FIP) have emerged as a community-driven option to enhance management since they require the status of harvested stocks. We assessed the stock trends of ten species involved in FIPs in Mexico, using data-poor methods based on catches. Due to inconsistencies in landing reports, data reconstructions must be made for most of the stocks evaluated. Data generated by communities involved in FIPs was used to refine these reconstructions and to inform assessment models. Results showed that most stocks are experiencing overfishing, which may be related to landing increases for the last ten years. Abundance indexes from FIP data were included in the models to improve stock estimations. These results are a starting point for understanding the status of the fisheries and identifying data needed to implement a more robust analysis. Improvement projects represent an opportunity to fill these gaps and inform assessment models for data-poor fisheries when official data is unavailable and will help foster the sustainability of small-scale fisheries.