The status of marine fishery stock assessments in the Asian region and the potential for a network of practitioners

Book excerpt: The global fisheries sector in 2023 is now appreciably different compared to that of the 1970s, as are the dominant fish stocks that comprise most of the current global landings, their location and modes of their exploitation. The fisheries of South and Southeast Asia have also changed over this period and alongside their changing nature, there has been the continuous evolution of the tools and the requirements for calculating and presenting global sustainability information. This has transformed ability to assess fish stocks, use data-poor methodologies, assess multispecies fisheries and also take into account some of the complex interactions between target and non-target species and related ecosystem effects. The countries of the South and Southeast Asia region have not reported the status of stocks in a comprehensive manner to FAO and there is a need to understand how to access existing information and also build capacity to assess the fisheries of the region using appropriate tools. This review provides thematic papers on stock assessment approaches and their application to the region. The country analysis describes the data sources and assessment methods currently being applied in national fishery management areas and in smaller regions. The review contains recommendations on the needs for capacity building and how improved regional networking can provide support to the greater understanding and application of new or improved methods of stock assessment in the region.