An assessment of longnose trevally (Carangoides chrysophrys) (Cuvier, 1833) fishery in the Arabian Sea, Oman

Abstract

The Present study assessed the fishery state of longnose trevally (Carangoides chrysophrys) in the North West Arabian Sea. Key population parameters were estimated, and yield and spawning stock biomass per recruit analyses were conducted. The equation presented by Alagaraja (1984) for estimating natural mortality resulted in M = 0.29 year-1 and lead to the best estimate of longevity. Hence this value was used in the yield and spawning stock biomass per recruit analyses. The total mortality (Z) was estimated as 0.39 year-1, based on a catch curve analysis. Length-at- and age-at-50% captures were 38.21cm and 4 years respectively. The yield and spawning biomass per recruit analyses indicate that the current fishing mortality rate (Fcurr) was lower than the fishing mortality corresponding to the maximum yield per recruit (Fmax) and was also higher than the target reference point (F0.1) , suggesting that overfishing, currently, does not occur. However, any increase in the fishing effort in the future may lead to overfishing.