An Evaluation of the Status and Management Option for 7 Species of Reef Fish in Guam

This Technical Memorandum assesses and presents the potential outcomes of various management strategies for 7 reef species, Bolbometopon muricatum, Caranx melampygus, Cheilinus undulatus, Epinephelus merra, Lethrinus olivaceus, Lutjanus fulvus, and Scarus schlegeli.

These have been identified as priority species by Guam’s Department of Agriculture (DoAg) Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (DAWR) as part of the development of a Jurisdictional Coral Reef Fishery Management Plan (JCR FMP).

Given the data limited nature of the fisheries, a meta-analytic data-poor approach to impute life history parameters for some species, combined with a growth-type-group length-based spawning potential ratio model (GTG LBSPR) was used to assess current status.

We then simulated the potential outcomes of conventional management tactics such as length and bag limits to limit fishing mortality such as effort reductions or the establishment of catch limits.

As a general rule, establishing a bag limit of 6-8 individuals per fishing trip would reverse overfishing. 

Ahrens R, Nadon M 2023. An Evaluation of the Status and Management Option for 7 Species of Reef Fish in Guam U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NOAA-TM-NMFS-PIFSC-155, 71 p.
https://doi.org/10.25923/hks1-gr20