FAO Fisheries Circular No. 1012

FAO Fisheries Circular No. 1012

FIRM/C1012 (En)


MANUAL FOR THE MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT OF QUEEN CONCH

by
Paul Medley
Consultant
Alne, North Yorkshire
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
   
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 2005
 

Table of Contents


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ISSN 0429-9329

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Medley, P.
Manual for the monitoring and management of queen conch.
FAO Fisheries Circular. No. 1012. Rome, FAO. 2005. 58p.

ABSTRACT

The Caribbean queen conch Strombus gigas is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). A listing on Appendix II requires that any specimen of the species included in Appendix II can only be exported if a permit has been issued to allow the export. Further, CITES states that export permits should only be issued when the responsible authority has deemed that the export will not be detrimental to the survival of that species. This manual presents guidelines on the requirements for responsible management of the fisheries exploiting queen conch, with particular emphasis on the requirements to comply with the relevant CITES regulations.

The manual describes the basic fisheries management cycle which includes: development and interpretation of policy; the need for management controls to regulate fishing activities; data collection and analysis; decision-making; enforcement of and compliance with the management controls; and regular feedback and review of the management system. It provides general guidance on each of those steps for the queen conch fisheries of the Caribbean. It also provides two case studies of management systems currently being applied: the Turks and Caicos Islands and Jamaica.

Sections 2 to 6 (Part 1) cover the main issues and examples in a relatively non-technical manner and Sections 7 to 16 (Part 2) cover similar issues in a more technical manner.

© FAO 2005


CONTENTS

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

INTRODUCTION

PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL

1. THE CONVENTION FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES) AND THE FAO CODE OF CONDUCT FOR RESPONSIBLE FISHERIES (CCRF)
2. FISHERY BIOLOGY
3. THE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT CYCLE

3.1 Policy
3.2 Controls
3.3 Data collection
3.4 Data analysis
3.5 Decision-making
3.6 Enforcement and compliance
3.7 Feedback and review

4. EXAMPLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

4.1 Turks and Caicos Islands
4.2 Policy
4.3 Controls
4.4 Data collection
4.5 Data analysis
4.6 Decision-making
4.7 Enforcement and compliance
4.8 Feedback and review

5. JAMAICA

5.1 Background
5.2 Policy
5.3 Controls
5.4 Data collection
5.5 Data analysis
5.6 Decision-making
5.7 Feedback and review

6. MANAGEMENT CHECKLIST

PART 2: TECHNICAL

7. SUMMARY
8. SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS

8.1 Management objectives
8.2 Initial data collection
8.3 Long-term data collection and monitoring
8.4 Assessments linking data to indicators
8.5 Initiating management advice
8.6 Management control
8.7 Monitoring
8.8 Long-term research

9. GENERAL APPROACH

9.1 Stock identification and management units
9.2 From policy to data collection
9.3 Logical framework
9.4 Standard indicators and reference points
9.5 Empirical or non-parametric indicators
9.6 Probabilistic indicators

10. DATA COLLECTION

10.1 Introduction
10.2 Catch and effort
10.3 Catch size frequency sampling
10.4 Fishery independent surveys
10.5 Tagging
10.6 Other information

11. ASSESSMENTS LINKING DATA TO INDICATORS

11.1 Introduction
11.2 Biomass dynamics assessment
11.3 Per-recruit assessment
11.4 Other assessments

12. LONG-TERM POPULATION MONITORING

12.1 Population assessments
12.2 Standardized minimum meat weight

13. CONTROLS AND MONITORING

13.1 Introduction
13.2 Fleet capacity and effort
13.3 Catch quotas
13.4 Minimum size and maturity
13.5 Closed area
13.6 Closed season
13.7 Taxation

14. OTHER ISSUES
15. ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT

15.1 Management cycle
15.2 Verification and transparency

16. POTENTIAL REGIONAL MANAGEMENT REGIME
17. REFERENCES

APPENDIXES

APPENDIX I - Fishery checklist
APPENDIX II - Interpreting mean meat weight
APPENDIX III - Participatory fisheries stock assessment (ParFish)