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Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission

Ninth Session

WECAFC - Lesser Antilles Fisheries Committee

Sixth Session

Castries, Saint Lucia, 27-30 September 1999

STATE OF FISHERY RESOURCES IN THE WECAFC REGION

1. This report aims to provide an overview of the status of selected key fish resources and fisheries in the WECAFC area to assist WECAFC in considering possible future roles and responsibilities. It would be impossible to review all the resources in the western Central Atlantic in this report and instead it provides examples of the more important types of resources occurring in the region, as indicated by their annual landings, considers current knowledge on their status, and discusses approaches to their management. In considering management, this report will also highlight resources which require international cooperation in research, monitoring or management in order to ensure optimal and sustainable utilisation.

2. All landings figures are given in metric tonnes unless otherwise specified.

Figure 1

3. The area under the jurisdiction of the Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission extends from Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, USA (35^oN), to just south of Cape Recife in Brazil (10^oS). It includes an area of approximately 15 million km² of which approximately 1.9 million km² is shelf area (Stevenson 1981). The major subdivisions in the area are the southeast coast of the USA, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the northeast coast of South America (Figure 1). The major island sub-divisions in the WECAFC area are the Bahamas and adjacent banks and islands, which account for over half of the islands and banks shelf area, the Greater Antilles (Cuba; Puerto Rico; the Virgin Islands and Hispaniola), and the Lesser Antilles (Stevenson 1981).

4. The Western Central Atlantic area is characterised by anti-cyclonic (i.e. clockwise) flow of currents. The South Equatorial Current flows westwards just north of the equator and divides into the Guiana current flowing northwards into the Caribbean and the southward flowing Brazil Current (Stevenson 1981). The northward flowing equatorial Atlantic water flows through the eastern Caribbean, mainly between Barbados and Tobago, where it forms the "core" of the westward flowing Caribbean Current which occurs approximately 200km north of South America (Appeldoorn et al. 1987). There is also the North Equatorial Current which flows north to northwest through the Antilles, entering the region at approximately 14 to 15⁰N (Appeldoorn et al. 1987). The water entering the Caribbean then flows through the Yucatan Channel, as the Caribbean Current, and leaves the Gulf of Mexico through the Florida Straits where it forms the Gulf Stream, flowing northwards along the east coast of the USA (Stevenson 1981). However, the area is also marked by substantial variability, with counter currents, meanders and eddies (Stevenson 1981) and Appeldoorn and his colleagues (1987) described the flow through the Antilles as being "complex and variable". The marine resources of the region also come under the influence of runoff from the major rivers: the Mississippi, Orinoco and Amazon Rivers.

5. The fish resources of the WECAFC area are extremely diverse. Cervigón et al. (1993) stated that about 680 species of bony fish of interest to fisheries and about 49 species of sharks occur in the waters of the northern (Atlantic) coast of South America from the border between French Guiana and Brazil to Colombia. When the invertebrates exploited by fisheries and the species occurring in the Gulf of Mexico and the Antilles islands are included, the number of species is even higher.

6. Landings from the region totalled over 1.8 million tonnes in 1997, up on the previous two years but lower than the recent peak of nearly 2.2 million tonnes in 1994 (Figure 2).

Figure 2

7. The capacity for effective management of the fisheries making these landings differs markedly between the different coastal states of the Western Central Atlantic. However, even amongst the most advanced fisheries management agencies in the region, there are problems in coping with the high species diversity, and from the region as whole there is little information on the status of the important resources and even less on the hundreds of less important species. As an indication, in its 1998 Report to Congress, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the United States of America recorded that of the 61 stocks falling under the jurisdiction of the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council (GMFMC), the status of 49 (80%) was unknown, while of the 179 stocks falling under the jurisdiction of the Caribbean Fisheries Management Council (CFMC), the status of 175 (98%) was unknown. It is highly probable that the other Member Countries in the WECAFC area are no better off in terms of reliable knowledge on the status of their stocks and the impacts of fishing on them.

8. Overall, small pelagics accounted for the largest landings by mass in the WECAFC region in 1997 (Figure 2). Fishes from seven families dominate small pelagics landings in the region. These are: Exocoetidae (flyingfish); Clupeidae (herrings and sardines); Engraulidae (anchovy and anchoveta); Carangidae (jacks, bumpers and scads); Hemiramphidae (halfbeaks); Belonidae (needlefish) and Mugilidae (mullet). The ISSCAAP group making the largest contribution to landings continues to be Group 35 Herrings, sardines, anchovies. This group is dominated by the Gulf Menhaden Brevortia patronus which occurs from the Yucatan Peninsula to Florida. Landings of the species have shown a decline since 1984, when they were at a peak. There was also an important fishery for the other menhaden species, Atlantic menhaden B. tyrannus, but this collapsed in the 1960s and landings have generally been under 50 000 tonnes this decade (Figure 3).

Figure 3

9. The round sardinella S. aurita is also an important small pelagic species and total landings of this species have increased from 59 000 t in 1990 to 145 000 t in 1997 (Figure 4). Over 98% of the 1997 landings were recorded by Venezuela. Other small pelagic species occurring in ISSCAAP Groups 34 (Jacks, mullets, sauries) and 35 include the Flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus, unidentified mullets and the Atlantic thread herring Opisthonema oglinum, all of which have generated landings under 20 000 t in recent years (Figure 4). A group in which there has been a substantial increase in landings has been the unidentified jacks and crevalles of the genus Caranx. Recorded mainly by Mexico and Venezuela, landings of this group have approximately doubled from the early 1980s to their 1997 value of over 12 000 t. The four-winged flyingfish Hirundichthys affinis supports locally important fisheries in some of the lesser Antilles islands, including Barbados, Grenada and Tobago.

Figure 4

Landings of this species peaked at nearly 6 000 t in 1988, but more typically fluctuate between 1 000 and 2 500 t, as they have done throughout the 1990s. Another species important to the small island states and also landed, amongst others, by the United States of America and Mexico is the common dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurus. Landings of this species in the region doubled from 2 014 t in 1984 to 4 297 t in 1997.

10. Based on their stock levels, neither the Gulf nor the Atlantic menhaden are considered to be overfished at present (NMFS, 1997). Amongst the small pelagics, the only other stock for which reliable quantitative estimates of status could be found is that of the round sardinella in Venezuela, which supports an important local fishery. Using VPA techniques, Mendoza et al. (1994) estimated that the stock was lightly exploited at that time. Round herring was reported by Cervigón et al. (1993) to occur throughout the WECAFC area but to be rare in the oceanic insular areas, while thread herring was reported by the same source to occur throughout the area.

11. The status of most species of small pelagics is therefore largely unknown but the general understanding of the status of small pelagics in the region is that they vary from under- to fully-exploited (FAO, 1998). Included in this are the carangids, with 15 genera and 31 species occurring in the region. These are coastal pelagic fish but in most cases with demersal juvenile stages. Among the more important genera in landings are Caranx, Decapturus and Selar, of which the last two are probably the most important small pelagic species groups in the Lesser Antilles.

12. The small pelagics are generally considered to be national resources, and should be managed under national plans. There may, however, be some countries where a common shelf exists between them, such as between Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines, and between St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, and Montserrat, where cooperative management is required.

13. An exception to this is the four-winged flyingfish, where three separate stocks have been identified as occurring in Brazil, the southern Netherlands Antilles and the eastern Caribbean.¹ The last supports fisheries from a number of states, as described above, and the states with interests in this fishery clearly need to work cooperatively for its optimal and sustainable utilisation. WECAFC could form a useful umbrella for this cooperation.

14. The ISSCAAP Group Redfishes, basses, congers also makes an important contribution to the landings of the region (Figure 2). This group covers a wide diversity of species and can be subdivided into two broad groups based on common habitat: those occupying areas with soft substrata (soft bottom groundfish) and those typically occurring over reefs (reef fish). The following species are particularly important in landings as recorded on the FAO database : Sea catfishes (Ariidae); the Groupers, seabasses etc (Serranidae) especially the groupers (Epinephelus spp.); Grunts, sweetlips (Haemulidae); Snappers, jobfishes (Lutjanidae), especially the snappers (Lutjanus spp.) and the yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus); Croakers, drums (Sciaenidae) especially the weakfishes (Cynoscion spp) and the whitemouth croaker Micropogonias furnieri; the Ponyfishes (Leiognathidae); and the Snooks (Centropomidae) especially the common snook (Centropomus undecimalis). The landings made up by members of this group totalled 147 000 t in 1997, which is approximately equal to the annual average landings of the group for the 1990s.

15. In addition to the figures discussed below, an important source of mortality amongst these species is almost certainly their being taken as bycatch in shrimp fishing operations. While some of this bycatch will be landed and recorded, some will be discarded and hence unknown. Of the recorded landings, unidentified sea catfishes accounted for the highest landings in 1997, and these landings have shown a dramatic increase from under 5 000 t in 1988 to over 22 000t in 1997. The landings of these species are recorded on the FAO database as originating from mainland countries. Unidentified weakfishes accounted for nearly 15 000 t in 1997, with some indication of an increasing trend, at least until 1996 (Figure 5). Spotted weakfish Cyniscion nebulosus contributed additional landings of over 3 500 t in recent years. The whitemouth croaker and common snook were also important contributors to landings of fish from soft-bottom habitats. Landings of both these species have shown slight increases over time, with the whitemouth croaker generating landings of just over 6 000 t in 1997, compared to an average for the 1990s of 6 189 t, and the common snook producing landings of 5 500t in 1997 compared to an average of 4 990 t in the 1990s (Figure 5).

Figure 5

16. Amongst the dominant reef fishes in landings, landings of unidentified groupers increased dramatically in the late 1970s and early 1980s, from under 10 000t, to the levels above 20 000t which they still maintained in the 1990s, with an average since 1990 of 23 500t (Figure 6). Landings of red grouper Epinephelus mori fell from nearly 20 000 t in the 1970s to 198 t in 1997, and those of Nassau grouper E.striatus (not shown) from 491 t in 1985 to 84 t in 1997. Landings of the unidentified snappers and jobfishes have shown a long-term increase, in addition to two peaks in the 1990s, while the northern red snapper Lutjanus campechanus landings have remained relatively constant, as have those of lane snapper L. synagris.

17. Amongst the groundfish species, NMFS (1998) recorded four Gulf of Mexico stocks, the red snapper Lutjanus campechanus, Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus, Jewfish Epinephelus itajara and red drum Sciaenops ocellatus as being overfished, and another two Gulf of Mexico stocks, vermilion snapper Rhomboplites aurorubens and gag grouper Mycteroperca microlepis as approaching an overfished condition. The status of the greater amberjack Seriola dumerili in the Gulf of Mexico was estimated to be not overfished, while the remaining reef fishes falling under the jurisdiction of the GMFMC was unknown. Within the area under the jurisdiction of the CFMC, the local stocks of Nassau Grouper and Jewfish are considered to be overfished, but the status of the remaining bottom-dwelling stocks was reported to be unknown (NMFS, 1998).

Figure 6

18. Some recent work has been undertaken, and is on-going, on the groundfish stocks of the Brazil-Guianas shelf, under the auspices of the CARICOM Fisheries Resource Assessment and Management Programme (CFRAMP) and the FAO WECAFC ad hoc Working Group on the Shrimp and Groundfish Fishery of the Brazil-Guianas Shelf. The data are sparse and the results only preliminary, but using per-recruit reference points, there are indications that the stocks which have been examined, predominantly soft-bottom dwellers, are overfished. The stocks which have undergone preliminary analyses include some local stocks of whitemouth croaker Micropogonias furnieri, Jamaica weakfish Cynoscion jamaicensis, smalleye croaker Nebris microps, and king weakfish Macrodon ancylodon. These analyses are being refined.

19. Apart from these scientifically-based estimates, there is a general acceptance of the fact that the inshore reef and groundfish resources are commonly fully exploited and some are over-exploited (FAO, 1993; 1998).

20. The soft-bottom groundfish are those which are found in areas of flat, relatively soft substrate and which are commonly taken either in trawl fisheries, frequently as bycatch in shrimp-directed operations, or closer inshore in small-scale fisheries again including shrimp-directed fisheries. This group consists mainly of the croakers and drums, both belonging to the Sciaenidae, as do the weakfishes. The stock structure of the soft-bottom groundfish is generally unknown but the species are frequently widely distributed. As examples, Cervignon et al. (1993) gives the distribution of the spotted weakfish, Jamaica weakfish, smalleye croaker and king weakfish as being throughout the Atlantic waters off the north coast of South America to a depth of about 60 m.

21. With reference to the reef fish, Appeldoorn et al. (1987) discussed the possible stock structure of the snappers and groupers in the Lesser Antilles in some detail, and their conclusions are probably applicable to the other WECAF sub-regions. They concluded that both snappers and groupers have early planktonic life-stages that are probably of sufficient duration to allow considerable dispersion. However, they suggested that around the Lesser Antilles islands, the currents may favour local retention. They also referred to the possibly extensive migrations of adults in order to form spawning aggregations, and also to the tendency to migrate offshore with increasing size. They suggested that for all these reef stocks, discrete island stocks may exist but emphasised that the stocks are probably transboundary where the shelf is shared. Based on this analysis, it can be assumed that adjacent mainland countries and mainland and island countries sharing a common shelf are likely to have common stocks of groundfish, both reef and soft-bottom groundfish, and cooperation in monitoring, research and management should be established, if not already done so, for effective management.

22. These species present a number of problems for management and many of them are slow growing and long-lived, making them vulnerable to over-exploitation (Appeldoorn et al. 1987). Of even greater significance, however, is the high species diversity within the bottom-dwelling communities, especially in the reef habitat (Stevenson 1981), which is associated in many WECAFC countries with the poor level of identification of species in the landings. In response to these common problems, and the shared nature of the groundfish resources, much could be gained by sharing information on research and management approaches for these species. Ensuring compatibility in regulations between neighbouring states could also facilitate enforcement. Again, WECAFC could provide a good forum for facilitating cooperation in research and management between member States.

23. The landings of ISSCAAP Group 36 Tunas, bonitos, billfishes have increased slightly but steadily with time. The landings during the 1990s averaged 85 000 t (1997 landings = 74 000t), compared to averages of 78 000 t and 55 000t during the 1980s and 1970s respectively. For management purposes in the region, this group is divided into two groups, the oceanic species whose distribution extends beyond the WECAFC region and may be trans-oceanic, and the coastal large pelagics whose distribution is largely confined to the WECAFC region.

24. Amongst the oceanic species, by far the largest landings are for yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares, of which 18 000t were landed in 1997, compared to values of close to or less than a quarter of this for the other major species (Figure 7).

Figure 7

25. The coastal large pelagic landings have been dominated by four species of Scomberomorus throughout the period 1950 - 1997. These were king mackerel S. cavalla and Atlantic Spanish mackerel S. maculatus, producing landings of over 11 000 t and nearly 10 000 t respectively, serra Spanish mackerel S. brasiliensis of which nearly 5 500t was landed in 1997 and cero S. regalis of which only 614 t were landed. Landings of king, Atlantic Spanish and serra Spanish mackerel increased considerably between 1950 and 1997 (Figure 8).

Figure 8

26. There is considerable interest amongst some Member Countries of the region for expanding their fisheries for large pelagics, both oceanic and coastal large pelagics, and in recent years fisheries for these stocks have increased considerably. The stocks being targeted by these expanding fisheries fall under the mandate of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The most recent assessments by ICCAT (ICCAT, 1998) of the status of the most important stocks in the WECAFC area indicate that yellowfin tuna, which is considered to consist of a single Atlantic stock, is fully-exploited and possibly over-exploited.

27. The stock structure of skipjack tuna is not well known, but it is treated as two management units, an eastern and a western unit. ICCAT (1998) considered that "a state of over-exploitation of skipjack seems to have been reached". ICCAT (1998) considers the northern stock of Albacore, encompassing much of the WECAFC region, to be fully or over exploited. ICCAT did not provide an estimate of the status of Atlantic bonito

28. ICCAT has a Working Group on Western Atlantic Tropical Tunas (WATT) in which the coastal large pelagics could be considered but, with a generally low level of participation in ICCAT and in WATT by WECAFC member countries, little attention has been given to the most important species and stocks for WECAFC countries. Amongst the coastal species, the status of serra Spanish mackerel and cero is unknown. NMFS (1998) consider a Gulf of Mexico "group" of the king mackerel to be overfished, while the Atlantic "group" is considered to be not overfished Neither the Gulf nor the Atlantic "groups" of Atlantic Spanish mackerel are considered overfished.

29. Many of the smaller Member Countries of WECAFC have been deterred from joining ICCAT by the expenses associated with membership fees and attending meetings (Mahon 1996) but it is widely recognised by the WECAFC countries that they need to participate in appropriate regional bodies in dealing with the large pelagics, both oceanic and coastal. For example, at an OECS/FAO workshop in St Lucia in 1997 the workshop recommended inter alia that "a study should be undertaken of the benefits and implications of formulating a fisheries management arrangement for the OECS sub-region, or of strengthening any existing regional organisation or arrangement for the OECS region to participate in, or alternatively to cooperate with or join any relevant fisheries management organisation or arrangement, such as ICCAT...". Some non-OECS states have expressed similar interests to FAO and at present there is a request with FAO for a Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) to address regional management of the large pelagic fisheries. These good intentions need to be translated into action, by all fishing nations in ICCAT, allowing for appropriate access to the resources for these coastal states in a sustainable manner. WECAFC could provide a platform for the States of the region to play a more effective role in ICCAT.

30. Sharks have attracted considerable attention in recent years, as concerns have been raised about their over-exploitation. Within the WECAFC region, catches have escalated dramatically since 1950 and, with some variability, apparently are continuing to do so. Landings peaked at nearly 37 000 t in 1994 but have fallen back to approximately 31 000t in 1996 and 1997. Reinforcing the need for careful monitoring, is the fact that very little information is available on the species contribution to these landings (Figure 9).

31. The status of the stocks of sharks in the region is poorly understood, but there is concern due to the escalating catches and their vulnerability to over-exploitation. These stocks are likely to be widely distributed and hence to require regional cooperation for adequate management. In response to this, the WECAFC Working Party on the Assessment of Marine Resources, at its seventh meeting held in 1997, identified sharks as requiring regional and international management, including joint management of foreign fishing in the region.² In view of the probable regional and extra-regional distribution of many shark stocks, WECAFC is an obvious body to coordinate such joint management within the region.

Figure 9

32. Some of the most financially valuable fisheries in the Western Central Atlantic are crustacean fisheries, in particular that for Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus and those for a number of shrimp species, particularly penaeid shrimps (Figure 10). With landings fluctuating between 27 000 and 30 000 t since 1991, but with a higher monetary value per unit mass, the spiny lobster resource represents one of the most valuable to the region. Recorded landings of unidentified penaeid shrimps were over 51 000 t in 1997 and production from this group has varied, without meaningful trend, between about 45 000 and 58 000 t since the beginning of the 1980s. The most productive shrimp species is the northern brown shrimp Penaeus aztecus, with 1997 landings of nearly 48 000 t. Next most productive was the northern white shrimp P. setiferus with landings of nearly 33 000 t in the same year. In both species there has been a decline in landings from peaks of 79 000 t in 1990 and 53 000 t in 1986, respectively. One shrimp species where landings have increased in recent years is that for the Atlantic seabob Xiphopenaeus kroyeri. Production was only approximately 5 000 t in 1990 but had risen to 25 000t by 1997 (Figure 10).

33. The status of the Caribbean Spiny lobster was examined at two workshops held in 1997 and 1998, attended by scientists from all the major lobster producing nations in the region.³ The results from these workshops indicated a resource that is being fully or over-exploited throughout much its range, although there were insufficient data from some areas to estimate the status reliably. The workshops concluded that in most countries there is an urgent need to control and in many cases to reduce the fishing effort in the lobster fisheries. As many countries have open access to their lobster fisheries, this may require implementing restricted entry systems into the fishery, ensuring that the resulting total effort is commensurate with the productivity of the resource, and the licensed fishers are able to obtain acceptable economic returns. In some areas, the size of the lobsters being caught was below the desirable level and in these cases it was recommended that suitable minimum size restrictions should be implemented and enforced.

Figure 10

34. At the two lobster workshops referred to above, four separate groups of lobster were identified as possibly reflecting the stock structure of the population. These "stocks" are:

1. USA, north coast of Cuba, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands;

2. Belize, south west coast of Cuba, Mexico;

3. Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia, Jamaica;

4. Brazil

It was thought that there could be interactions between the lobster of Brazil and Venezuela, possibly also including a portion of the Colombian stock or, alternatively, Venezuelan lobsters could be a part of group 3 above.

35. It is essential for maintaining this very valuable resource and fishery that the stocks are all managed responsible and sustainably. This will require on-going international cooperation, at least at the level of the "stock". The 1997 and 1998 workshops were intended to foster this cooperation, but it requires commitment from the individual countries to maintain and develop this initiative. WECAFC is a logical forum for future initiatives.

36. The other valuable crustacean fisheries in the region are those for shrimp, mainly penaeid shrimp, and also the Atlantic seabob. Stocks of brown Penaeus aztecus, pink P. duorarum, white P. setiferus and royal red shrimp Hymenopenaeus robustus have been estimated by the GMFMC not to be overfished in that region, while the status of seabob Xiphopenaeus kroyeri in the GMFMC area is unknown. The CFRAMP/WECAFC workshops referred to above have made some progress in assessing the status of important shrimp stocks in the Brazil-Guianas continental shelf, along the coastline of Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana and the northern coast of Brazil. As with the groundfish, the results are preliminary but suggest that the selected national stocks of southern white shrimp P. schmitti and brown shrimp P. subtilis which were studied were not being biologically overexploited but were probably being fished at effort levels above the economic optimum. There are indications of high rates of fishing mortality on red spotted shrimp P. brasiliensis.

37. The stocks of shrimp, and many of the groundfish occurring with them, are almost certainly shared between neighbouring countries throughout the WECAFC area. The cooperative work which has been started on the Brazil-Guianas shelf has led to substantial gains in knowledge on the dynamics and productivity of the shrimp resources of the Brazil-Guianas shelf. These would not have been possible without cooperation, sharing of information and sharing of expertise amongst the countries of the sub-region. The insights being gained by this cooperation are providing valuable information for management of the fisheries. The countries of WECAFC need to consider how best to continue the cooperation in this sub-region, and also how to initiate it between other WECAFC countries utilising common shrimp resources.

38. Amongst the molluscs, the highest landings in recent years have been of American cupped oyster, which have varied from over 120 000 t (1985 and 1995) and less than 60 000 t (1991 - landings given in total weight, including shell) and ark clams of which over 35 000 t were landed in 1997 (landings given in total weight, including shell). Landings of calico scallop have been highly variable, peaking at over 125 000 t total weight in 1985, but with landings of zero tonnes recorded in 1991 - 1993 and again in 1996, with only 16 800 t recorded in 1997.

39. Two species in which substantial increases have been observed in recent years are the common octopus Octopus vulgaris and the stromboid conchs, Strombus spp. Landings of both have increased steadily since 1950 (Figure 11). Landings of common octopus were an average of over 18 000 t in the 1990s, with the highest recorded landings of over 28 000 t in 1996. The increase in landings of stromboid conchs has been less steep but nevertheless marked. The highest recorded conch landings, in 1997, were approaching 13 000 t.

40. Amongst the molluscs, no valid estimates of the stock status of the common octopus could be found. The one molluscan stock which has been the subject of considerable study is the Queen conch. Nevertheless, most recently, at a regional workshop held in March 1999, it was found that many countries did not have sufficient or suitable data to make reliable estimates of the current status of the stocks. In those cases where there were sufficient data, the estimated status varied from lightly to over-exploited.⁴ Queen conch are most common on sandy or seagrass bottoms in water of less than 30m in sheltered areas. They have a planktonic larval stage of three to four weeks, providing the opportunity for dispersal of larvae, for example amongst island shelves. Queen conch occurs throughout the Caribbean, southern Mexico, Florida keys, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas and Bermuda, but they are not found south of the Orinoco River. Studies have shown genetic differences between populations in the eastern Caribbean, Belize and the Turks and Caicos indicating possible or partial isolation but this may not indicate isolated stocks.⁵

41. The Seventh Session of the Working Party on the Assessment of Marine Fishery Resources⁶ suggested that the stocks could be locally shared but that in general national management should be adequate. However, in the light of the international trade in Queen conch, they recommended that management approaches should be harmonised throughout the region to facilitate enforcement of regulations. A workshop on queen conch held in Belize in March 1999 emphasised the need for cooperation in addressing a number of research issues important for assessment and management of the resource.⁷ The formulation of harmonised legislation throughout the region should be a priority.

Figure 11

42. Overall, the discussion above reflects the high levels of uncertainty regarding the status of even the more important fisheries resources of the region. This uncertainty occurs despite a high level of commitment to sustainable utilisation of resources amongst many countries, and reflects the difficulty of dealing with a high diversity of species, compounded by what is highly probably a very complex stock structure arising from the complex patchwork of continental shelf, traversed by several major rivers, and many island platforms. However, there are signs of over-exploitation in several resources and the increasing trends in landings are cause for concern. In order to conserve the resources and maintain the social and economic benefits being derived from the region's marine resources, it is important that the states lacking sufficient information take steps to monitor and assess at least selected key and indicator stocks so that they can manage their fisheries effectively. Overall, within each country, it is recommended that the key species from a socio-economic perspective, as well as selected indicator species for each major habitat type and taxonomic group, and the fisheries which exploit them, are carefully monitored and regularly assessed, including at a sub-regional or regional level where appropriate. This will require at least adaptation and frequently improvement to existing fishery monitoring and data collection programmes and systems. While this may require additional financial commitments in many cases, any such increases need to be considered in the light of the existing social and economic importance of the fisheries, and the national and regional consequences of on-going over-exploitation.

43. In addition, as so many of the resources are shared between two or more states, this will also require close cooperation at a variety of international levels. In this regard, the recommendations of the Seventh Session of the Working Party on the Assessment of Marine Fishery Resources on resources seen as being a high priority for cooperation in management (Paragraph 24⁸) are strongly supported. Overall, these recommendations call for much greater cooperation between the Member Countries of WECAFC than currently occurs. Cooperation in management and research is most urgently required for those stocks shared by several countries, in particular, spiny lobster, large pelagics, sharks, shrimp and groundfish resources (especially of the Brazil-Guianas shelf but also in other instances), flyingfish, reef fish and queen conch.

1. The data on landings from the WECAFC area require improvement as not all countries complete returns and the level of identification is frequently poor (for example 250 000 t of landings were recorded as unidentified marine fish in 1997). How can the quality and coverage of the data be improved and what role can WECFAC play in this?

2. The large number of resources showing on-going increases in landings is cause for concern when the status of the resources is unknown, or when they are known to be fully or over-exploited already. What steps can be taken to ensure that exploitation is carried out in a sustainable manner so that benefits can continue to be obtained from the resources. Is there a role for WECAFC in ensuring sustainable utilisation?

Appeldoorn, R., G.D. Dennis and O. Monterossa Lopez. 1987. Review of shared demersal resources of Puerto Rico and Lesser Antilles Region. FAO Fish. Rep. 383. 36-106.

Cervigón, F. et al. 1993. Field Guide to the Commercial Marine and brackish-water resources of the northern coast of South America. FAO, Rome. 513pp.

FAO. 1993. Marine Fishery Resources of the Antilles. FAO Fish. Tech.Pap. 326. 325pp.

FAO. 1998. Report of the Seventh Session of the Working Party on the Assessment of Marine Fishery Resources. Belize City, Belize, 2-5 December 1997. FAO Fish. Rep. 576. 39pp.

ICCAT. 1998. Standing Committee on Research and Statistics. Report of Meeting held in Madrid, Spain, October 19 - 23, 1998. International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, Spain.

Mahon, R. 1996. Fisheries and research for tunas and tuna-like species in the Western Central Atlantic. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap. 357. 62pp.

Mendoza, J.J., P. Freon and R. Guzmá n. 1994. VPA estimates of fishing mortality and exploited biomass from Sardinella aurita catch-at-length data in eastern Venezuela. Naga, 17: 32-36.

NMFS. 1997. Report to Congress. Status of Fisheries of the United States. National Marine Fisheries Service, September 1997.

NMFS. 1998. Report to Congress. Status of Fisheries of the United States. National Marine Fisheries Service, September 1998.

Stevenson, D.K. 1981. A review of the marine resources of the WECAFC region. FAO Tech.Pap. 211. 134pp.