Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) estimates for industrial finfish fishery in marine waters of Bangladesh using trawl catch log

Abstract

A time series of annual catch per unit effort (CPUE) is derived from commercial logbook data
from 2007 to 2018 and used as a tuning series for a Schaefer biomass model. The estimated maximum
sustainable yield (MSY) reference points are optimal biomass BMSY = 206,082 t and optimal harvest rate
uMSY = 38%. The current stock size is estimated to be around 211,000 t and the annual harvest rate around
55%, slightly higher than the estimated optimal stock size and much higher than optimal harvest rate
respectively. The average annual catch in last five years was 95,924 t, higher than the estimated MSY of
79,325 t. Overall, the stock is therefore estimated to be in an overfishing state. The catch rate of high value
and large demersal species have gradually declined whereas low valued species such as small pelagic and
miscellaneous groups have been appeared as major percentage in catch composition for the last couple of
years.