A Preliminary Evaluation of Cobia Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766) Stocking in Northeastern Brazil: Lessons From an Experimental Project

IF 2 3区农林科学 Q2 FISHERIES

Fisheries Management and Ecology Pub Date : 2024-11-22 DOI:10.1111/fme.12772

Alexandre Ricardo dos Santos Júnior, Erika Belarmino, Antonino de Freitas Bezerra, Jorge Eduardo Lins Oliveira, Marcelo Francisco Nóbrega

{"title":"A Preliminary Evaluation of Cobia Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus, 1766) Stocking in Northeastern Brazil: Lessons From an Experimental Project","authors":"Alexandre Ricardo dos Santos Júnior, Erika Belarmino, Antonino de Freitas Bezerra, Jorge Eduardo Lins Oliveira, Marcelo Francisco Nóbrega","doi":"10.1111/fme.12772","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n <p>The cobia (<i>Rachycentron canadum</i>) is important to fisheries in Northeastern Brazil. To restore stocks in Rio Grande do Norte, cobia were stocked and the fishery was monitored over 4 years. We evaluated effects of stocking on cobia size composition in this data-limited fishery to understand stocking limitations and explore possibilities for future projects. Total length of cobia was significantly shorter after stocking than before stocking, with mostly small fish caught mainly by nets, an unusual pattern for cobia. Total length also varied significantly among bottom types. Most of the cobia harvested were below the size at first maturity, which suggests that stocking increased the catch, but most fish harvested were immature, thereby potentially hindering stock recovery. For future projects, we recommend against the use of plastic tags for tagging hatchery cobia and propose releases that emulate natural spawning dynamics, alongside releasing fish at older ages. Further, we recommend robust post-stocking fishery monitoring, and management strategies, such as a release of net-caught cobia in the initial 2 years and incorporating validated fisher knowledge into decision-making.</p>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":50444,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Management and Ecology","volume":"32 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Fisheries Management and Ecology","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fme.12772","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"FISHERIES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

The cobia (Rachycentron canadum) is important to fisheries in Northeastern Brazil. To restore stocks in Rio Grande do Norte, cobia were stocked and the fishery was monitored over 4 years. We evaluated effects of stocking on cobia size composition in this data-limited fishery to understand stocking limitations and explore possibilities for future projects. Total length of cobia was significantly shorter after stocking than before stocking, with mostly small fish caught mainly by nets, an unusual pattern for cobia. Total length also varied significantly among bottom types. Most of the cobia harvested were below the size at first maturity, which suggests that stocking increased the catch, but most fish harvested were immature, thereby potentially hindering stock recovery. For future projects, we recommend against the use of plastic tags for tagging hatchery cobia and propose releases that emulate natural spawning dynamics, alongside releasing fish at older ages. Further, we recommend robust post-stocking fishery monitoring, and management strategies, such as a release of net-caught cobia in the initial 2 years and incorporating validated fisher knowledge into decision-making.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Fisheries Management and Ecology 农林科学-渔业

CiteScore

3.80

自引率

5.00%

发文量

审稿时长

12-24 weeks

期刊介绍： Fisheries Management and Ecology is a journal with an international perspective. It presents papers that cover all aspects of the management, ecology and conservation of inland, estuarine and coastal fisheries. The Journal aims to: foster an understanding of the maintenance, development and management of the conditions under which fish populations and communities thrive, and how they and their habitat can be conserved and enhanced; promote a thorough understanding of the dual nature of fisheries as valuable resources exploited for food, recreational and commercial purposes and as pivotal indicators of aquatic habitat quality and conservation status; help fisheries managers focus upon policy, management, operational, conservation and ecological issues; assist fisheries ecologists become more aware of the needs of managers for information, techniques, tools and concepts; integrate ecological studies with all aspects of management; ensure that the conservation of fisheries and their environments is a recurring theme in fisheries and aquatic management.