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VO L U M E

PRODUCTION

D9

OF

What Is It?

What

BENCHMARK

No

No increase in volume harvest (from

The volume of production per species is an estimated

2005 levels) until total sustainable

measure of the volume of resource being taken out

of existing fisheries populations. Through additional

volume harvest is determined.

calculations, total volume of harvest can be converted

TA R G E T

to an approximation of the number of individuals

Total volume of harvest (local and

depleted from wild populations through fishing. For

most MAR countries species-level production data

export) should not exceed estimated

are available only for spiny lobster and queen conch,

maximum sustainable yield established

with all fish species being aggregated.

per species. Volume of production

should remain stable or increase

Why Do We Measure It?

over time (on average, given natural

Knowing the volumes of marine resources being

population

population fluctuations).

extracted is critical for estimating each species'

RED FL AG

capacitytosupportviablefishingactivity.Theproportion

of the population that is being depleted through fishing

Consistent declines in the total harvest

Consistent

is estimated by comparing the number of individuals

volume over a 3 to 5 year period.

volume

harvested against their estimated abundance. Fishing

is then controlled through regulations to ensure that

lobster, queen conch, fin fish (all species combined) and

harvest volumes do not exceed the theoretical rate at

stromboid mollusks] taken for commercial, industrial,

which the population replenishes itself.

recreational and subsistence purposes. Data should

How Do We Measure It?

include all recorded quantities caught and landed,

including products for both human consumption and

Data for annual production of key indicator commercial

animal feed but excluding discards. FAO reports that

species for the Western Central Atlantic Region are

their totals frequently underestimate the real catch of

extracted from the FAO FishStat dataset (see Appendix

the individual species due to numerous factors. For

3 for details)30. This database provides nominal catch

example, much of the fisheries production in rural

data for a variety of marine species or taxa [e.g., spiny

areas of the MAR may be sold in local markets and not

recorded in any national databases (also

not reported to FAO). The FAO data can

be cross-referenced with various national

fisheries reports.

The volume of the marine resource is

expressed as live weight in metric tonnes

(mt). This value can then be converted

to an estimated number of individuals

harvested, which can be compared to

population abundance data and maximum

sustainable yield estimates.

Usefulness

Usefulness

Estimating the production of each major

fishery resource is one way to determine

fishing mortality. It is also a key factor in

the resource sustainability equation -- one

that can be controlled directly through

regulatory means.

Lisa Carnes

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