An Ecological Approach to Fisheries Assessment

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Abstract
Deductions based on recent ecological information suggest that while current fishery assessment methodology has captured the main features of fishery production, it may not well anticipate the effects of early natural mortality or of major changes in fishing. We propose here a new methodology based on ecological theory related to a characteristic biomass size spectrum. Theoretical considerations coupled with empirical data on population production appear to take into account high natural mortalities at small sizes and the effects of spatial distribution on production parameters throughout the life history. The resulting models offer a somewhat modified view of the relation of fishery yield to effort and the prospect of population assessments with more modest data requirements.