Quantitative Fishery Assessment of Data-Limited Sander lucioperca: Tools for Fisheries Management and Conservation

Abstract

Sander lucioperca is one of the species whose fishing has significantly expanded over the past decades worldwide. This situation has raised growing concerns about the risk of over-exploitation of the species as a commercial target. Thus, to improve the long- term sustainability of this fishery, it is necessary to implement an efficient management strategy founded on a rigorous scientific assessment of the current status of the stock. Given that information on catches and fishing effort for this species is not available in Morocco, this study aims therefore to assess the stock status of the Sander lucioperca population in Al Massira Dam Lake using length-based data-limited methods. The estimates of total mortality (Z) and natural mortality rates (M) were 0.58 year⁻¹ and 0.25 year⁻¹, respectively. The estimated fishing mortality rate (F=0.33) exceeded the fishing mortality ratio corresponding to the maximum sustainable yield (Fmax=0.22), with an exploitation rate of 0.57, which is above the reference level (0.5). This suggests that the Sander lucioperca stock in Al Massira Reservoir is overexploited. The results presented here offer new key tools for assessing the stock of this species' population, thereby aiding in its management.