Fisheries ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-12DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107471
Michael van Zyll de Jong
{"title":"Recruitment, growth, and exploitation as determinants of brook trout size structure in natural lakes","authors":"Michael van Zyll de Jong","doi":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107471","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107471","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recreational fisheries are globally significant both culturally and economically, yet unmanaged harvest can erode population structure and sustainability. This study evaluates the long-term effectiveness of a trait-informed harvest regulation combining reduced daily bag limits with weight-based harvest caps on brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) populations in eight unstocked, oligotrophic lakes in Newfoundland, Canada. Over 15 years (1994–2008), standardized index netting and winter creel surveys were used to assess changes in fish size structure and angler behaviour. Mixed-effects models revealed significant increases in maximum length (L<sub>max</sub>), mean length at capture (L<sub>c</sub>), and proportional size distribution (PSD) following regulation implementation, with no significant changes in catch rate, effort, or release rate. We applied a variance partitioning framework to identify mechanisms driving PSD improvements, attributing 31 % of PSD variation to growth, 18 % to recruitment, and 7 % to exploitation. These findings demonstrate that biologically grounded regulations can enhance fishery quality while maintaining angler engagement. The study offers one of the first empirical demonstrations of PSD driver partitioning in a wild brook trout fishery. It provides evidence to support adaptive, trait-informed management in recreational salmonid systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50443,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Research","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 107471"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144613842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fisheries ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107468
Linhui Wang , Liming Song , Hengshou Sui , Bin Li
{"title":"Interpretable fish abundance index prediction in tuna longline fisheries: A LightGBM-SHAP case study in the tropical Atlantic Ocean","authors":"Linhui Wang , Liming Song , Hengshou Sui , Bin Li","doi":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107468","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107468","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurately predicting fish abundance index is crucial for sustainable fisheries management. This study focuses on three highly migratory fish species: bigeye tuna (<em>Thunnus obesus</em>), yellowfin tuna (<em>Thunnus albacares</em>), and swordfish (<em>Xiphias gladius</em>) in the tropical Atlantic Ocean (TAO). Utilizing tuna longline logbook data from 2016 to 2019 and various environmental datasets, we employed four feature selection methods: no processing, correlation analysis with multicollinearity diagnosis, traditional Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and stratified PCA. Seven predictive models for abundance indices were rigorously compared to identify optimal modeling frameworks and feature engineering methodologies. An interpretable LightGBM-SHAP model was subsequently developed to predict CPUE while quantifying the relative contributions of key environmental drivers. The framework’s spatial applicability was verified using the KDE tool, Moran’s I index, and two correlation analyses. Results demonstrated that utilization of raw environmental variables without dimensionality reduction yielded superior predictive performance (R<sup>2</sup>>0.84 across all species), underscoring the necessity of context-appropriate feature selection. Spatial validation confirmed strong concordance between SHAP-derived predictions and observed CPUE distributions. Critical species-specific environmental determinants were identified: (1) the most influential factors were month, longitude, and latitude for bigeye tuna; (2) latitude, month, and D250 were the dominant factors for yellowfin tuna; (3) latitude, month, and D450 were key factors for swordfish. This study provides a comprehensive framework for predicting fish abundance index and interpreting the underlying environmental factors, thereby enhancing the interpretability of machine learning models in fisheries forecasting. The findings offer valuable insights for fisheries managers to identify potential fishing zones, adjust management strategies, and promote the sustainable utilization of fisheries resources in the TAO.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50443,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Research","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 107468"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144597423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fisheries ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107457
Alexander J. Gatch , Dimitry Gorsky , Kyle T. Morton , R. Josephine Johnson , Collin J. Farrell , Timothy B. Johnson , Emma J. Bloomfield , Brent Metcalfe , Jessica Goretzke , Michael Connerton , Sarah M. Larocque , Jonathan D. Midwood , Brian O’Malley , Brian Weidel , Steven J. Cooke , Stacy Furgal
{"title":"Factors affecting short-term post-release survival probability of Lake Trout implanted with acoustic telemetry transmitters","authors":"Alexander J. Gatch , Dimitry Gorsky , Kyle T. Morton , R. Josephine Johnson , Collin J. Farrell , Timothy B. Johnson , Emma J. Bloomfield , Brent Metcalfe , Jessica Goretzke , Michael Connerton , Sarah M. Larocque , Jonathan D. Midwood , Brian O’Malley , Brian Weidel , Steven J. Cooke , Stacy Furgal","doi":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107457","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107457","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The use of acoustic telemetry is steadily expanding to help answer questions related to habitat use, movement, and behavior of fishes. Significant time and resources are invested to start acoustic telemetry studies; therefore, careful planning is needed to limit post-release mortality of tagged individuals. Deep, cold-water species present additional challenges to acoustic tagging because of changes in temperature and pressure experienced during capture. The objective of our study was to determine if capture method, surface water temperature, water depth, or fish size influenced short-term post-release survival of a deep, cold-water species, Lake Trout <em>Salvelinus namaycush</em>. In 2023, 299 Lake Trout were captured with angling or gillnets across Lake Ontario (Laurentian Great Lake – U.S. & CAN) and surgically implanted with acoustic transmitters. We estimated 30-day post-release mortality and 24-h post-release distance traveled for tagged Lake Trout. We used Cox proportional hazards models to identify factors affecting survival probability and multiple linear regression to identify factors affecting post-release distance traveled. Thirty-day post-release mortality was minimal (9.03 %, 27/299 Lake Trout); however, mortality was 6.37 times more likely for Lake Trout captured in gillnets compare to angling (<em>p</em> = 0.003). Lake Trout length had a marginally significant effect on mortality (<em>p</em> = 0.052) but capture depth and temperature did not (<em>p</em> > 0.05). Lake Trout post-release distance traveled was not significantly influenced by capture gear, depth, temperature, or Lake Trout length (<em>p</em> = 0.61). Our results indicate that tagging-induced post-release mortality is minimal for Lake Trout tagged in the spring, but survival can be increased by avoiding use of gillnets.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50443,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Research","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 107457"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144606013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fisheries ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107467
Ataher Ali , Mitu Ranjan Sarker , Mohammed Shahidul Alam
{"title":"Development of a simple R package (aLBI) for the estimation of stock status from the length frequency data","authors":"Ataher Ali , Mitu Ranjan Sarker , Mohammed Shahidul Alam","doi":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107467","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107467","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Stock assessment is a difficult task for sustainable fisheries management especially when population and fisheries data are limited. This study aims to develop an accessible and tested R package (aLBI) that applies length frequency and provides functions for estimating length-based indicators (LBIs) to measure stock health. The primary objective is to streamline the calculation and visualization of the estimated metrics for a clear understanding. The package includes two main functions, i.e., FishPar (for calculating key LBIs such as maximum length (<em>L</em><sub><em>max</em></sub>), asymptotic length (<em>L</em><sub><em>∞</em></sub>), length at sexual maturity (<em>L</em><sub><em>mat</em></sub>), optimum length (<em>L</em><sub><em>opt</em></sub>), <em>L</em><sub><em>opt</em></sub>±10 % (<em>L</em><sub><em>opt_p</em>10</sub>, <em>L</em><sub><em>opt_m</em>10</sub>), and percentages of fish at maturity (<em>P</em><sub><em>mat</em></sub>), optimum length (<em>P</em><sub><em>opt</em></sub>), and mega spawners (<em>P</em><sub><em>mega</em></sub>) with confidence intervals) and FishSS for evaluating stock biomass status. This study also evaluated the performance of the package by applying length frequency data of <em>Sperata aor</em> collected from Kaptai Lake. The findings with a calculated optimum bin size of three (cm) demonstrate its utility in producing acceptable stock assessments, with mean estimates for <em>L</em><sub><em>max</em></sub>, <em>L</em><sub><em>∞</em></sub>, <em>L</em><sub><em>mat</em></sub>, and <em>L</em><sub><em>opt</em></sub> at 78.01 cm, 82.12 cm, 43.73 cm, and 47.03 cm, respectively, as well as respective confidence intervals. Besides, percentages of sexually mature fish, optimum length, and mega spawners are 2.04 %, 2.38 %, and 0.35 %, against targets of 100 %, 100 %, and 20 % respectively. By integrating advanced statistical methods and user-friendly interfaces, aLBI enables effective monitoring of fish populations and informed decision-making. Tested on various bin size (1–5 cm) with the collected length frequency data, the package performed consistently. Future recommendations include expanding functionality to cover more species and integrating additional biological parameters for enhanced stock assessments. Continued collaboration with the fisheries science community will ensure aLBI remains a cutting-edge tool for sustainable fisheries practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50443,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Research","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 107467"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144597422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fisheries ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107469
Jacqueline M. Vogel , Abigail S. Golden , Marissa L. Baskett , Timothy Essington , Daniel S. Holland , Katherine E. Mills , Arielle Levine
{"title":"Regional trends in climate stressor perceptions across the US fishery management system","authors":"Jacqueline M. Vogel , Abigail S. Golden , Marissa L. Baskett , Timothy Essington , Daniel S. Holland , Katherine E. Mills , Arielle Levine","doi":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107469","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107469","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The United States (US) fishery management council system is uniquely positioned and legislatively required to manage the impacts of climate change to preserve sustainable and profitable fisheries. To this end, numerous national and regional mandates exist to proactively address climate impacts across the spatially distributed system of US fishery management. However, the ways that climate stressors manifest can vary widely by region and by fishery. Understanding which climate stressors are consistently perceived as occurring across the fishery management system, and which ones vary by region, can aid in informing prioritization and coordination efforts. This paper presents new survey data on the perceived presence or absence of climate stressors across all eight regions of the US fishery management council system. Respondents were asked to review 12 common environmental stressors and to identify whether each is being observed in their region now (within the last five years) or is expected to occur in the future (within 30 years). Our findings reveal a cross-regional consensus that climate stressors are currently impacting fisheries, with some variation in their immediacy and type. Six out of eight regions identify current species moving within their region as the most common stressor. Directly adjacent regions tend to have more similar responses than non-adjacent regions, and statistical modeling reveals that perceptions of stressors are significantly predicted by the management region in which a respondent primarily works. These findings demonstrate the prevalence of climate stressors across all regions of the US fishery management system, and point to specific regions and topics where increased coordination could benefit the adaptive capacity of the management system under future change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50443,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Research","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 107469"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144597604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fisheries ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-10DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107462
D. Thambithurai , A.R. Jauharee , Y. Baidai , F. Forget , A. Dupaix , M.S. Adam , L. Dagorn , M. Capello
{"title":"Tuna aggregation dynamics in an array of anchored fish aggregating devices (AFADs)","authors":"D. Thambithurai , A.R. Jauharee , Y. Baidai , F. Forget , A. Dupaix , M.S. Adam , L. Dagorn , M. Capello","doi":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107462","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107462","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tropical tuna species are among the world's most commercially important fish. Numerous industrial and artisanal fisheries in developing countries target them using artificial floating structures (Fish Aggregating Devices or FADs). Although tunas' associative behaviour with such structures is well known to fishers, knowledge of how they interact with FADs remains fragmentary. Using echo-sounder buoy data attached to FADs, we assessed tuna aggregation dynamics within an array of anchored FADs (aFADs) in the Maldives—one of the world's leading tuna fishing nations—over two years (2017–2018). Predictions of tuna presence and absence from a random forest model showed good accuracy when evaluated against semi-quantitative logbook data (78 %) but performed poorly with phone survey data (∼49 %). Occupancy at aFADs exceeded 60 % in both years, peaking above 80 % each April. This suggests FAD density is low enough for continuous use by tuna, the population is large enough to sustain occupancy, or both. Aggregations’ continuous residence time (aCRT) averaged 7.96 days, while continuous absence times (aCAT) averaged 3.89 days. Both metrics followed exponential distributions, suggesting the underlying biological process is time-independent and memoryless. Spatial autocorrelation showed partial correlation in tuna absence among aFADs, despite some local effects, supporting previous findings that aFADs in the Maldives do not function as a network. These findings highlight the value of echo-sounder buoy data, offering robust aggregation metrics and insights into tuna behaviour that could inform fisheries management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50443,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Research","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 107462"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144595522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fisheries ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-10DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107458
Jessica Bonicelli , Constanza Sandoval , Naití Morales-Serrano , Francisca Osorio-Zúñiga , Carola Hernández-Santoro , Juan Carlos Saavedra-Nievas
{"title":"Spatiotemporal variation in the spawning strategy of the Peruvian anchovy Engraulis ringens in northern Chile: Is the Peruvian anchovy developing a new strategy for survival?","authors":"Jessica Bonicelli , Constanza Sandoval , Naití Morales-Serrano , Francisca Osorio-Zúñiga , Carola Hernández-Santoro , Juan Carlos Saavedra-Nievas","doi":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107458","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107458","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study analyzed the spatiotemporal differences in the spawning of <em>Engraulis ringens</em> in northern Chile. We used three monthly time series of anchovy egg abundance collected over 26 years at three coastal stations in northern Chile (Arica, Iquique, Mejillones) and assessed the relative effects of hydrographic factors (i.e., temperature, salinity) and female reproductive conditions (i.e., Gonadosomatic Index [GI]) on egg abundance before and after the delay in the reproductive peak observed after 2009. We found significantly higher egg abundances in Arica during the first period (1998–2009). In contrast, during the second period (2015–2023), there were no significant differences between sites, and the spawning season became shorter, concentrating reproductive activity between August and October. The GAM model showed significant differences between periods and sites. Only in Arica, GI have a significant non-linear effect, while temperature had a linear effect on egg abundance. During the second period, GI had a significant linear effect on egg abundance that was not observed during the first period. Additionally, a shorter spawning season, smaller females and a reduction of the spawning stock biomass during the second period suggest a decline in spawning activity. We conclude that anchovies may have concentrated their spawning activity to increase their survival rates during the second period, which could explain the relationship between egg abundance and GI during this time, as well as a more organized spawning activity modulated solely by GI. This study represents the first analysis of the spawning strategy on a local scale, highlighting the urgent need for more regional management plans, especially under a global warming scenario that is affecting the natural cycles of marine species.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50443,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Research","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 107458"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144597595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fisheries ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-10DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107466
George A. Rose
{"title":"Comment on Hayes et al. (2025): 500 years of the once largest fishery in the world: A comprehensive catch reconstruction for the Newfoundland cod fishery (1508–2023)","authors":"George A. Rose","doi":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107466","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107466","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>No abstract needed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50443,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Research","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 107466"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144595442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fisheries ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-09DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107465
José L. Varela , Michael J. Dadswell , Laura Logan-Chesney , Colin Buhariwalla , Cornel Ceapa , Michael J.W. Stokesbury
{"title":"Diet and stable isotope signatures of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) caught in Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy, and the Saint John River, Canada","authors":"José L. Varela , Michael J. Dadswell , Laura Logan-Chesney , Colin Buhariwalla , Cornel Ceapa , Michael J.W. Stokesbury","doi":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107465","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107465","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The feeding habits of Atlantic sturgeon <em>Acipenser oxyrinchus</em> (AS) juveniles and sub- adults from Minas Basin (MB), and adults taken during their spawning run in the Saint John River (SJR) were investigated by stomach content and stable isotope analysis. While the diet of AS from MB was mainly composed of <em>Corophium volutator</em> (% index of relative importance = 98.6 %), the stomachs collected from the specimens caught in the SJR were empty. In SJR AS, no correlation was found between <em>δ</em><sup>15</sup>N and C:N ratios suggesting that lipid reserves satisfy energy costs related to the spawning run. Trophic positions (TP) were estimated using isotopic data of <em>C. volutator</em> as the food web baseline for the region. Blood isotopic data indicated that SJR AS occupied a higher TP than MB AS (3.9 ± 0.3 and 3.7 ± 0.1, respectively), whereas the opposite was indicated by muscle data (4.0 ± 0.2 for SJR AS, and 4.5 ± 0.1 for MB AS). Isotopic niche areas estimated by standard ellipse areas and kernel utilization density analyses indicated that MB AS had a more diverse diet than SJR AS. There was no isotopic niche overlap between MB AS and SJR AS indicating that the two groups had distinct feeding grounds. These findings are directly relevant to the conservation and management of the AS, providing critical empirical data to support ecosystem-based models, particularly in the Bay of Fundy and Saint John River regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50443,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Research","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 107465"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144595586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fisheries ResearchPub Date : 2025-07-09DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107464
Carissa L. Gervasi , Matthew McPherson , Mandy Karnauskas
{"title":"Using participatory conceptual modeling to integrate ecosystem and socioeconomic information into the fisheries stock assessment process: A Gulf of America red snapper case study","authors":"Carissa L. Gervasi , Matthew McPherson , Mandy Karnauskas","doi":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107464","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107464","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fisheries stock assessments are the backbone of fisheries management in the United States. While a stock assessment model provides scientific estimates of stock status and overfishing limits, the broader process involves decisions about which data are collected, how the model is structured, and the social and economic effects of implementing the quota advice. Despite growing recognition that ecosystem and socioeconomic factors strongly influence fish stocks and fisheries, these drivers remain underrepresented in the assessment process. In the current period of rapid global change, environmental disturbances and anthropogenic impacts are increasing in frequency and intensity, escalating the need for stock assessments to explore and account for the complex dynamics among fish stocks, fisheries, and social systems. In our research, we illustrate how participatory conceptual modeling can improve the entire stock assessment to management process by identifying data gaps, elucidating changes in fishing activity and human behavior over time, providing context to help explain model uncertainty and improve model parameterization, and describing feedback loops and unintended consequences of management actions. A case study from the Gulf of America red snapper (<em>Lutjanus campechanus</em>) fishery is used to illustrate the benefits of this methodology. Encouraging participatory conceptual modeling alongside future stock assessments would greatly increase our understanding of the socio-ecological feedbacks that are often critical to management success, and help determine how best to manage fisheries through an ever changing environmental and human landscape.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50443,"journal":{"name":"Fisheries Research","volume":"288 ","pages":"Article 107464"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144580389","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}