Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 70 (1), 16-21 (2004)

Landings and Y/R analysis of red tilefish in the East China Sea

HIDEYUKI YAMASHITA

Japan Marine Fishery Resources Research Center, Chiyoda, Tokyo 102-0094, Japan

Daily landing data of Japanese longliners and Chinese vessels for the red tilefish Branchiostegus japonicus from the East China Sea were obtained from April 1996 to March 1999 at the Nagasaki Fish Market. The Total length (TL) of the fish sampled from each category of market size was measured. The Monthly landing amount and the TL composition of the landed fish for each month were estimated. The trend of decline in landings by Japanese longliners was caused by declines in both the stock size and number of fishing boats. The Share of landings by Chinese boats is dominant at Nagasaki Fish Market. The Majority of fish landed by Chinese boats are around 30 cm in TL. Individual fish smaller 30 cm in TL are very cheap. The results of YP/R analysis show that an increase in size at first capture improves the total income as well as stock size, and therefore methods to preserve the small fishes should be examined in the future.


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