Stock assessment and risk in South African fisheries

Abstract

Generally, South Africa’s domestic fisheries contend with high levels of risk. The major sectors of the domestic industry face a capital replacement crisis that renders them particularly vulnerable at this stage in their development. Considering that the main pressures arise from a dearth of suitable information on which to base business decisions, the scientific community is able to make a very real contribution. Unfortunately, the information gap is not usually bridged, because it is not generally perceived that data collected within the rigorous academic tradition in which the scientific community operates is well in excess of the accuracy and predictive power sufficient for the commercial sector. © 1987 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.