Peter Houk; Brett Taylor

Population assessments for target coral reef fisheries species of Guam

2023

Coral Consulting

"While much research has been conducted on Guams coastal fisheries over the years, there has been less work dedicated to conducting fish population assessment that can be used to generate species-based management policies. The present project aims to provide higher-resolution population assessments using a larger suite of fisheries-dependent and fisheries-independent data from many sources. Using data from many diverse sources will allow for a series of independent examinations for coral reef fisheries species and help identify their potential need for management based upon numerous indicators of exploitation. These outcomes support sustainable fisheries management options for Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources (G-DAWR) and fisheries stakeholders to consider in their ongoing coral reef fisheries management planning (FMP) process in 2023. The present phase I report describes each of the datasets that were identified for their potential utility. Here, we propose to first identify species that make up 80 percent of the catch biomass over the past three decades, and then conduct holistic species-based investigations to identify management strategies that are best suited for each. We consider this akin to a population assessment or a population vulnerability assessment, within which several approaches may be used to evaluate a particular species given the available data. We would then conduct species assessments using both visual, catch, and interview data as appropriate. The proposed project framework includes: 1) Define and collect/build/clean all available fisheries dependent and independent datasets for coral reef fishes around Guam with notable sources. 2) Examine trends in each priority species using all datasets where sample sizes are sufficient, following a decision tree that takes advantage of the unique structure in each dataset (Phase II, Spring 2023). 3) Build a summary for each species/dataset to come up with management suggestions that best fit the observed population dynamics for each species. 4) Provide the species assessment outcomes to stakeholders working through the Guam FMP process, including outcomes in the FishPath or other tools that may be selected for use."

Guam, Micronesia, coral reef, reef fish, population assessment, life-history, fisheries management, long-term monitoring, ridge-to-reef

NMFS

PIRO

FY2023 CRCP Project ID 31311; Project Title: Pacific Islands Territorial Coral Reef Fisheries Management Strategies/Plans; Principal Investigator: Jonathan Brown.