M. Bianchini, S. Ragonese and D. Levi

Italian National Research Council (C.N.R.) and Società Porto Romano s.p.a., Piazza Pasquale Paoli 3, 00188 Roma, Italy

Source - Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, Volume 31: 233-243
ISSN-0250-6408

Bianchini, M., Ragonese, S., and Levi, D. 2003. Management Hypotheses to Improve Yield-per-Recruit and Economic Returns in the Red Shrimp (Aristaeomorpha foliacea) Fishery of Southern Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 31: 233-243. https://doi.org/10.2960/J.v31.a18

Abstract 

The giant red shrimp, Aristaemorpha foliacea, is a deep-water benthopelagic shrimp, distributed in the Mediterranean, Eastern Atlantic, Western and Central Pacific; in the Strait of Sicily, the annual landings exceed 1000 tons, worth over US$ 10 million. Two series of trawl experiments, carried out in 1985-87 and 1993 with different aims (trawl survey and selectivity study), produced two sets of data, which were used to reconstruct the length distribution of the landings and the life history of the stock (growth parameters, mortalities, size/age structure, etc.). Using the package ANALEN, and the estimated parameters, different short-term and long-term yield realizations are presented, both in terms of weight or value, when varying fishing mortality and/or mesh size (mesh size of reference, 40 mm stretched). Using the package VIT, the transitional evolution of the fishery, both in terms of biomass and of economic returns, is examined under three different management schemes: a sudden reduction of the fishing mortality of 15% or of 25%, and a reduction of 35% in seven years (5%/yr). In the transitional analyses, the older set shows a situation in which yields decrease and stay below the starting figure, following any reduction of the fishing mortality; examining the economic returns, after the initial decrease, the gross incomes stabilize more or less at the previous level. With the more recent set, in every studied management scheme, the yield bounces above the starting line already in the third year, with a stationary increase of 6-8%; the higher the fishing mortality reduction, the higher the final economic equilibrium, respectively approx. 5%, 10% and 15% above the initial value after four years. Applying a stochastic variability of even modest intensity to the recruitment produces ample fluctuations of yield. In conclusion, despite the uncertainty of the models, the results seem to show that the red shrimp fishery situation has worsened from 1985 to 1993, and suggest that a reduction of effort/fishing mortality is biologically sound, has almost no influence on catches and is economically advantageous (or, at the worst, neutral).

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Language - English
Publisher - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Dartmouth, N.S., Canada
Publication Date - 2003
Publication Type - Journal Article
Descriptors - Aristaeomorpha foliacea, assessment, Central Mediterranean, fishery, giant red shrimp

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