Questionnaire Report for Green tiger shrimp

(MERA version 4.1.6)

Abdul Ben-Hasan ()

2019-05-11


1 About this document

This is a prototype of an automatic report that documents how the user specified the operating model and their various justifications.


2 Introduction

  1. Describe the history and current status of the fishery, including fleets, sectors, vessel types and practices/gear by vessel type, landing ports, economics/markets, whether targeted/bycatch, other stocks caught in the fishery. (from the paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15004737) “Shrimp support the most important fishery in Kuwait as it accounts for more than 35% of the total landings volume and value annually. Commercial shrimping in the Arabian Gulf started over 50 years ago when, in 1959, seven industrial trawlers, 23 m in length, were transferred from the Gulf of Mexico to Kuwait (Kristjonsson, 1968). Initially, industrial boats dominated the new fishery employing the otter trawl, but wooden dhow boats were quick to adopt this gear and join the bonanza. Historically, dhows had employed a scoop net, the qoofa, to capture shrimp in waters less than 2 m deep (van Zalinge, 1981). In the 1960s, the focus of the industry was exploitation only, with little or no concern for regulation and conservation. During this seminal period of the fishery, catch rates in the Arabian Gulf were among the highest in the world (Kristjonsson, 1968), and this led to over exploitation. Landings dropped sharply after 1976 (van Zalinge et al., 1984), and encouraged Gulf countries, including Kuwait, to consider management policies. Since then, a number of studies have been completed on biology and management of Kuwait’s shrimps (see reviews by van Zalinge et al., 1984; Abdul-Ghaffar and Al-Ghunaim, 1994; Mohammed et al., 1998; Ye et al., 1999a). Although 14 species of shrimps have been identified in Kuwait’s catches, only three are important commercially. In descending order of importance, they are the green tiger prawn (Penaeus semisulcatus), the kiddi shrimp (Metapenaeus affinis), and the jinga shrimp (Parapenaeopsis stylifera). Their percent contribution to shrimp landings varies from year to year, but generally P. semisulcatus, M. affinis, and P. stylifera account for about 60%, 30%, and 10% of the landings, respectively. During years of exceptionally good landings, P. semisulcatus accounts for 98% of the landings (Siddeek et al., 1994).”…"Most bycatch fish landings result from the shrimp fishery. KISR
  1. reported shrimp trawl bycatch composition as follows: (1) prime commercial species landed by the industrial and artisanal fleet was estimated to be 200 t/year; (2) sharks and rays of various species landed in small quantities, but the estimated quantities were approximately 4000 t/year (1984 estimates); (3) catfish volume (Family Ariidae, four species; majority P. tenuispinis and Netuma bilineata) estimated at 1400 t/year and landed in small quantities; (4) mixed fish of all small species of lower commercial value and also juveniles of commercial species. The estimated catches of this category was 10,000 t/year and only small quantities were landed. The main bycatch species included Leiognathus spp., P. stridens, Cynoglossus arel, Saurida spp., Johnius spp., Nemipterus spp., and Platycephalus indicus. The composition of the bycatch species vary seasonally for some major species such as P. stridens, Parupeneus spp., Caranx species, and catfish species."
  1. Describe the stock’s ecosystem functions, dependencies, and habitat types. (from the paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15004737) “Juvenile distributions of P. semisulcatus occur during spring in shallow waters of sandy or reefal bottoms, with attached vegetation such as Sargassum, whereas juveniles of M. affinis occupy shallow muddy bottoms during summer (Bishop, 1988, 1989, 1994). Kuwait Bay and its adjacent areas as well as coastal areas south of Kuwait Bay have been found to be the major nursery areas for P. semisulcatus (Mohamed et al., 1981; Jones and Al-Attar, 1982; Al-Attar, 1984a).”
  2. Provide all relevant reference materials, such as assessments, research, and other analysis. Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15004737 Paper: https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article/57/4/1103/647276 Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016578360600364X Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165783699001058 Paper: in “Supporting docs” folder.


3 Fishery Characteristics

3.1 Longevity

Answered
Very short-lived (5 < maximum age < 7)
Short-lived (7 < maximum age < 10)
Moderate life span (10 < maximum age < 20)
Moderately long-lived (20 < maximum age < 40)
Long-lived (40 < maximum age < 80)
Very long-lived (80 < maximum age < 160)
Justification
Longevity is 1-2 years (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016578360600364X)

3.2 Stock depletion

Answered
Crashed (D < 0.05)
Very depleted (0.05 < D < 0.1)
Depleted (0.1 < D < 0.15)
Moderately depleted (0.15 < D < 0.3)
Healthy (0.3 < D < 0.5)
Underexploited (0.5 < D)
Justification
Several studies indicated that stock is overexploited but not crashed since catches are stable for over 30 years around 2000 tons. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15004737)

3.3 Resilence

Answered
Not resilient (steepness < 0.3)
Low resilience (0.3 < steepness < 0.5)
Moderate resilence (0.5 < steepness < 0.7)
Resilient (0.7 < steepness < 0.9)
Very Resilient (0.9 < steepness)
Justification
No information was found on steepness for this species.

3.4 Historical effort pattern

Answered
Stable
Two-phase
Boom-bust
Gradual increases
Stable, recent increases
Stable, recent declines
Justification
Historical changes in the fishing effort is shown in Fig. 2 in paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15004737

3.5 Inter-annual variability in historical effort

Answered
Not variable (less than 20% inter-annual change (IAC))
Variable (maximum IAC between 20% to 50%)
Highly variable (maximum IAC between 50% and 100%)
Justification
No information was found on the inter-annual variability in historical effort

3.6 Historical fishing efficiency changes

Answered
Declining by 2-3% pa (halves every 25-35 years)
Declining by 1-2% pa (halves every 35-70 years)
Stable -1% to 1% pa (may halve/double every 70 years)
Increasing by 1-2% pa (doubles every 35-70 years)
Increasing by 2-3% pa (doubles every 25-35 years)
Justification
No information was found.

3.7 Future fishing efficiency changes

Answered
Declining by 2-3% pa (halves every 25-35 years)
Declining by 1-2% pa (halves every 35-70 years)
Stable -1% to 1% pa (may halve/double every 70 years)
Increasing by 1-2% pa (doubles every 35-70 years)
Increasing by 2-3% pa (doubles every 25-35 years)
Justification
No information was found

3.8 Length at maturity

Answered
Very small (0.4 < LM < 0.5)
Small (0.5 < LM < 0.6)
Moderate (0.6 < LM < 0.7)
Moderate to large (0.7 < LM < 0.8)
Large (0.8 < LM < 0.9)
Justification
Length at maturity = 1.4 cm and Linf = 3.58 cm were obtained from SeaLifeBase (https://www.sealifebase.ca/summary/Penaeus-semisulcatus.html).

3.9 Selectivity of small fish

Answered
Very small (0.1 < S < 0.2)
Small (0.2 < S < 0.4)
Half asymptotic length (0.4 < S < 0.6)
Large (0.6 < S < 0.8)
Very large (0.8 < S < 0.9)
Justification
No information was found

3.10 Selectivity of large fish

Answered
Asymptotic selectivity (SL = 1)
Declining selectivity with length (0.75 < SL < 1)
Dome-shaped selectivity (0.25 < SL < 0.75)
Strong dome-shaped selectivity (SL < 0.25)
Justification
No information was found on selectivity.

3.11 Discard rate

Answered
Low (DR < 1%)
Low - moderate (1% < DR < 10%)
Moderate (10% < DR < 30%)
Moderate - high (30% < DR < 50%)
High (50% < DR < 70%)
Justification
The discard of shrimp is expected to be very low, given the commercial value of this species. But there is a high discarded bycatch associated with the shrimp fishery.

3.12 Post-release mortality rate

Answered
Low (PRM < 5%)
Low - moderate (5% < PRM < 25%)
Moderate (25% < PRM < 50%)
Moderate - high (50% < PRM < 75%)
High (75% < PRM < 95%)
Almost all die (95% < PRM < 100%)
Justification
No justification was provided

3.13 Recruitment variability

Answered
Very low (less than 10% inter-annual changes (IAC))
Low (max IAC of between 20% and 60%)
Moderate (max IAC of between 60% and 120%)
High (max IAC of between 120% and 180%)
Very high (max IAC greater than 180%)
Justification
No information was found on recruitment variability.

3.14 Size of an existing MPA

Answered
None
Small (A < 5%)
Small-moderate (5% < A < 10%)
Moderate (10% < A < 20%)
Large (20% < A < 30%)
Very large (30% < A < 40%)
Huge (40% < A < 50%)
Justification
The size of spatial closures is not known. But there are a number of spatial closures: 3 miles from shore is a permanently closed area and 3 miles from shores of all Kuwait islands.

3.15 Spatial mixing (movement) in/out of existing MPA

Answered
Very low (P < 1%)
Low (1% < P < 5%)
Moderate (5% < P < 10%)
High (10% < P < 20%)
Fully mixed
Justification
This species does undergo an ontogenetic shift, but the scale of its migration is unknown.

3.16 Size of a future potential MPA

Answered
None
Small (A < 5%)
Small-moderate (5% < A < 10%)
Moderate (10% < A < 20%)
Large (20% < A < 30%)
Very large (30% < A < 40%)
Huge (40% < A < 50%)
Justification
No information was found

3.17 Spatial mixing (movement) in/out of future potential MPA

Answered
Very low (P < 1%)
Low (1% < P < 5%)
Moderate (5% < P < 10%)
High (10% < P < 20%)
Fully mixed
Justification
No information was found

3.18 Initial stock depletion

Answered
Very low (0.1 < D1 < 0.15)
Low (0.15 < D1 < 0.3)
Moderate (0.3 < D < 0.5)
High (0.5 < D1)
Asymptotic unfished levels (D1 = 1)
Justification
No justification was provided


4 Management Characteristics

4.1 Types of fishery management that are possible

Answered
TAC (Total Allowable Catch): a catch limit
TAE (Total Allowable Effort): an effort limit
Size limit
Time-area closures (a marine reserve)
Justification
1. Describe what, if any, current management measures are used to constrain catch/effort.
Seasonal closures to protect the stock from both recruitment and growth overfishing, size limit, limited entry (but weakly enforced; almost non-existent), and permanent spatial closures. (source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15004737) (source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016578360600364X)

2. Describe historical management measures, if any.
None.

3. Describe main strengths and weaknesses of current monitoring and enforcement capacity.
The fishery is weakly enforced and currently not monitored; (from paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15004737) “Shrimping seasons in Kuwait have essentially two opening
dates: 1 August for waters outside Kuwait’s jurisdiction, and 1
September for territorial waters. Consequently, all landings in
August are from international waters, and there is no restriction
for unlicensed boats. Unlicensed vessels contribute substantially
to the catch and effort statistics. In the 2011/12 season, the
shrimp landed by unlicensed dhow boats amounted to 580 t
(69%) of the total dhow-boat shrimp landings.”

4. Describe and reference any legal/policy requirements for management, monitoring and enforcement.
No information was found.


4.2 TAC offset: consistent overages/underages

Answered
Large underages (40% - 70% of recommended)
Underages (70% - 90% of recommended)
Slight underages (90% - 100% of recommended)
Taken exactly (95% - 105% of recommended)
Slight overages (100% - 110% of recommended)
Overages (110% - 150% of recommended)
Large overages (150% - 200% of recommended)
Justification
No TAC implemented in this fishery


4.3 TAC implementation variability

Answered
Constant (V < 1%)
Not variable (1% < V < 5%)
Low variability (5% < V < 10%)
Variable (10% < V < 20%)
Highly variable (20% < V < 40%)
Justification
No TAC implemented


4.4 TAE offset: consistent overages/underages

Answered
Large underages (40% - 70% of recommended)
Underages (70% - 90% of recommended)
Slight underages (90% - 100% of recommended)
Taken exactly (95% - 105% of recommended)
Slight overages (100% - 110% of recommended)
Overages (110% - 150% of recommended)
Large overages (150% - 200% of recommended)
Justification
No TAE implemented


4.5 TAE implementation variability

Answered
Constant (V < 1%)
Not variable (1% < V < 5%)
Low variability (5% < V < 10%)
Variable (10% < V < 20%)
Highly variable (20% < V < 40%)
Justification
No TAE implemented


4.6 Size limit offset: consistent overages/underages

Answered
Much smaller (40% - 70% of recommended)
Smaller (70% - 90% of recommended)
Slightly smaller (90% - 100% of recommended)
Taken exactly (95% - 105% of recommended)
Slightly larger (100% - 110% of recommended)
Larger (110% - 150% of recommended)
Much larger (150% - 200% of recommended)
Justification
No information was found


4.7 Size limit implementation variability

Answered
Constant (V < 1%)
Not variable (1% < V < 5%)
Low variability (5% < V < 10%)
Variable (10% < V < 20%)
Highly variable (20% < V < 40%)
Justification
No information was found


5 Data Characteristics

5.1 Available data types

Answered
Historical annual catches (from unfished)
Recent annual catches (at least 5 recent years)
Historical relative abundance index (from unfished)
Recent relative abundance index (at least 5 recent years)
Fishing effort
Size composition (length samples)
Age composition (age samples)
Growth (growth parameters)
Absolute biomass survey
Justification
1. Provide the time series (specify years, if possible) that exist for catch, effort, and CPUE/abundance indices.
Catch, effort and cpue are shown in Figure 2 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15004737) and Table 1 in (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016578360600364X)

2. Describe how these data collected (e.g., log books, dealer reporting, observers).
Catch data are collected on an annual basis by observers, but cpue is collected by research projects conducted by Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research.

3. Describe what types of sampling programs and methodologies exist for data collection, including the time-series of available sampling data and quality.
There are no sampling programs exists as there are no survey indices for this fishery.

4. Describe all sources of uncertainty in the status, biology, life history and data sources of the fishery. Include links to documentation, reports.
Natural mortality (varying from 1.7 to 2.8), stock-recruitment relationship, dependence on indices obtained from the fishery that might be hyperstable, and environmental effects on recruitment. (paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15004737) (paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016578360600364X)


5.2 Catch reporting bias

Answered
Strong under-reporting (30% - 50%)
Under-reporting (10% - 30%)
Slight under-reporting (less than 10%)
Reported accurately (+/- 5%)
Slight over-reporting (less than 10%)
Justification
No information was found on catch reporting bias


5.3 Hyperstability in indices

Answered
Strong hyperdepletion (2 < Beta < 3)
Hyperdepletion (1.25 < Beta < 2)
Proportional (0.8 < Beta < 1.25)
Hyperstability (0.5 < Beta < 0.8)
Strong hyperstability (0.33 < Beta < 0.5)
Justification
Index used in assessment is likely hyperstable. One reason for this hyperstability might be schooling. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X15004737)


5.4 Available data types

Answered
Perfect
Good (accurate and precise)
Data moderate (some what inaccurate and imprecise)
Data poor (inaccurate and imprecise)
Justification
Based on the data shown in the referenced papers.


6 Version Notes

The package is subject to ongoing testing. If you find a bug or a problem please send a report to so that it can be fixed!





shiny-2019-05-11-06:29:48

Open Source, GPL-2 2019