Marine invertebrate conservation: Evaluation of fisheries over-exploitation concerns

Abstract

The nature of overfishing of marine invertebrates is complex, ranging from the perception of overfishing because of competition by user groups for a common property resource to extensive overfishing to near extinction because of poaching by either licensed or unlicensed fishers. As a group, marine invertebrates seem particularly resistant to overfishing, primarily because their relative immobility and scattered concentrations means refuge populations often exist. However, this distribution pattern also means a fishery is scattered over an often large geographical area with relatively small, frequent landings at any location. A minimum legal size regulation, enforceable anywhere before consumption, is the primary regulation applied by managers for many species to ensure against overfishing. Overfishing concerns arise primarily for those species where price is sufficiently high to encourage illegal fishing or where harvest by fishers is not easily monitored or controlled because of the nature of the fishing activity or because only part of the animal (e.g., the flesh) is harvested. Instances of overfishing by cause are discussed, and examples are presented to demonstrate how managers are dealing with or have dealt with different situations. © 1993 by the American Society of Zoologists.