Managing the short mackerel fisheries in a transboundary setting

The short mackerel (Rastrelliger brachysoma), also known as Indo-Pacific Mackerel, is among the most economically important small pelagic fishes, contributing to approximately 38% of the Southeast Asian Region’s total small pelagic fisheries production or 11% of total capture fisheries production in 2010. The decline in landing catch of the short mackerel in South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) zooms in to a crucial issue.Decreasing sardine numbers from overfishing has resulted in an increase in canned mackerel as a replacement product. This has put pressure on short mackerel stocks which is exacerbated by failures in fisheries management efforts such as open access fisheries, inadequate input/output control, and loss of habitat for recruitment.

Project 5401: Establishment and Operation of a Regional System of Fisheries Refugia in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand