Stock Reduction Analysis of Bigeye Croaker <i>Micropogonias megalops</i> in the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico

Abstract

A stock reduction analysis (SRA) of bigeye croaker Micropogonias megalops was performed based on commercial catch data. SRA solutions were restricted to a 2011 bigeye croaker stock biomass estimate of 14,412 t. The viable solution indicated a reduction in stock of 73.6% from 1983 to 2020 with an initial biomass of 22,186 t. In addition, a possible effect of hyperstability of the stock was evaluated by applying different versions of the Cobb–Douglas catch function. The most probable function based on a multi-model selection procedure was the one wherein the catch does not depend on biomass and is directly proportional to the applied fishing effort of small boats (~7 m) and vessels (~24 m). This situation suggests that in a free access regime, fishing can deplete the resource until it collapses, without observing a significant reduction in its catches until the event is very close.

Keywords

• bigeye croaker
• Cobb–Douglas
• stock reduction analysis
• upper Gulf of California