Abstract

Until recently, efforts to assess and manage fisheries have been directed primarily at a minority of stocks with relatively rich conventional data resources. In its most recent amendment, the US fisheries law clarified that all stocks need annual catch limits, prompting interest in how to manage the majority of fish stocks, which have not yet been formally assessed. These stocks are disproportionately represented in the tropics, where few formal assessments have ever been conducted. Recent proposed approaches have focused on life history correlates in the hopes of determining stock status without local data. I propose alternative approaches. We can cast deeper by supplementing conventional data with ecological and economic datasets that are not normally considered in the assessment process. We can cast more widely by considering ranges of potential status and examining them in terms of risk management. In doing so, fundamental trade-offs among performance characteristics are identified and analyzed across a range of policy options. Examples of these approaches will be provided from several stocks from the US Caribbean. The spiny lobster fishery has potential to be formally assessed using conventional techniques if data from the local fishing community are included. The red hind and yellowtail snapper fisheries lack sufficient data for a formal conventional approach. However, inclusion of non-conventional data and examination of all data in a risk management framework allow us to evaluate the likely sustainability of recent catch levels. These analyses highlight that we can give far more useful scientific advice to managers of data-poor fisheries.

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