Assessment of Oman's artisanal fisheries through a community-based approach

Fisheries management requires accurate information about fish stocks. To sustainably manage a fishery there must first be knowledge of the species abundance and biomass, growth and reproduction, and mortality (how many can be harvested without putting the fishery in danger of collapse). However, traditional stock assessments are expensive and resource intensive. Consequently, approximately 90% of the world?s fisheries are currently considered to be lacking in data. These data-poor fisheries lack the required information to inform management decisions and can easily become overfished, threatening the livelihoods and food security of people who depend on them. Oman?s fisheries are economically important and an integral part of the traditional way of life. From 1985-2013, an average of about 86.5% of Oman?s total landing came from the traditional sector of artisanal fishermen. Recent studies show that many of Oman?s artisanal fisheries are lacking in data, and that artisanal fishermen are not appropriately educated and trained. To address these problems, this project will focus on implementing a new technique in artisanal coastal fishing communities. The method provides a simple, low-cost way to assess fish stocks, by collecting and using local data on the size and maturity of fish, which can often be collected by the fishers themselves. The technique relies on relatively simple size ratios to assess how much spawning potential (replacement rate) there is, and how much is enough to sustain the fishery. Additionally, when fishers are part of the data collection effort, they see firsthand that their livelihoods are potentially at risk. With the new knowledge provided by the collected data, artisanal fishing communities often move themselves quickly towards developing management strategies to restore fish populations.

Fisheries management requires accurate information about fish stocks. To sustainably manage a fishery there must first be knowledge of the species abundance and biomass, growth and reproduction, and mortality (how many can be harvested without putting the fishery in danger of collapse). However, traditional stock assessments are expensive and resource intensive. Consequently, approximately 90% of the world?s fisheries are currently considered to be lacking in data. These data-poor fisheries lack the required information to inform management decisions and can easily become overfished, threatening the livelihoods and food security of people who depend on them. Oman?s fisheries are economically important and an integral part of the traditional way of life. From 1985-2013, an average of about 86.5% of Oman?s total landing came from the traditional sector of artisanal fishermen. Recent studies show that many of Oman?s artisanal fisheries are lacking in data, and that artisanal fishermen are not appropriately educated and trained. To address these problems, this project will focus on implementing a new technique in artisanal coastal fishing communities. The method provides a simple, low-cost way to assess fish stocks, by collecting and using local data on the size and maturity of fish, which can often be collected by the fishers themselves. The technique relies on relatively simple size ratios to assess how much spawning potential (replacement rate) there is, and how much is enough to sustain the fishery. Additionally, when fishers are part of the data collection effort, they see firsthand that their livelihoods are potentially at risk. With the new knowledge provided by the collected data, artisanal fishing communities often move themselves quickly towards developing management strategies to restore fish populations.