A Study On Fishery Resources And Sustainable Fishery Development In The Beibu Bay

The Beibu Bay has been an important fishing ground for fishermen in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, owned to its advantage nature environmental conditions, abundant fishery resources, and diversity of fish species. However in recent decades, the fishery resources in the Beibu Bay have been in a status of declining due to over-exploitation by the fishery. Base on the fishery research in recent years and a bottom trawl survey conducted in fall and winter during 2001~2002 in the area between 16o57.57-20o59.27N ,106o45.88-109o23.33E, and in the water depth is 19-93m in the Beibu Bay, the paper investigates into the variation of fishery resources. The paper presents the status of fishery resources in the Beibu Bay from aspects of species compositions, stock density, and standing stock. Investigation was also conducted into status of the major commercial species, including their distribution and abundances, compositions of the populations, fishery situation, and assessment of the stocks.The study shows that both the pelagic and demersal stocks have been in the state of over-expoition. Some large size and long life-span species have been depleted to a very low level, on the other hand, certain species shows stock increase because of interspecies interaction or natural fluctuation. The catches and stock density of cephalopods showed an increasing trend and apparent fluctuation. The crustacean resources also have been over exploited, but the shrimp fishery still maintains in the coast waters because of the short life-span of crustaceans, their rapid multiplication, and opportunity offered by the depletion of commercial fishes. As a whole, the fishery resources in the Beibu Bay have been over exploited in Beibu Bay and the present stock density in the coastal waters is only 1/3 of the optimal level. It is also apparent that species substitution due to over-fishing.To achieve sustainable fishery development in the Beibu Bay, some major problems in the fishery have been identified, and suggestions for better management were put forward including adjustment of fishing gears and methods strengthen management of closed fishing zones and seasons, and limitations on catchable sizes and cod-end mesh. In order to reasonable arrange the fishery base on the potential productivity of fishery resources in the Beibu Bay, especially in the common fishing zone of China and Vietnam, the paper provides estimates of optimal yield and carrying capacity of fishing vessels, and puts forward some proposals on the management countermeasures on the fishery of the common fishing zone.