New Genetic Methods Support Sustainable Fisheries Management

The research has resulted in changes to international organisation guidelines, and has influenced policy regarding the collection of data and its use in the management of global commercial fisheries. For example, our study on yellowfin tuna was used to inform changes to guidelines on fisheries data gathering and analysis by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), and transfer to the International Commission for Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). As an invited External Expert, Professor Shaw put to the IOTC Working Parties that their international boundaries, and so landing statistics and management models, should be changed to reflect the biogeographic rather than geopolitical boundary between the two areas and their yellowfin tuna stocks. Changes to the IOTC and ICCAT boundaries from November 2019 will have significant impact on how tuna should be managed, particularly in the Indian Ocean.

Our research has also had impact on practice and policy regarding management of regional commercial fisheries. The Welsh Government commissioned studies of fisheries genetics of whelk, seabass, brown crab and razor clam populations in Welsh waters to inform their sustainable management of these resources. The data and advice from these studies have been used in preparation for post-Brexit negotiations on reopening of the seabass fishery, and in whelk fishery management through changes to policy and regulations on minimum landing sizes.

A series of research projects for the Falkland Islands Government resulted in knowledge transfer and input to management of commercial fisheries resources vital to the Falklands economy. Based on earlier studies of toothfish that resulted in Marine Stewardship Council sustainable fishery accreditation of the South Georgia fishery, the aim has been to apply similar studies to wider areas and different species of finfish (e.g. Southern Blue Whiting, Rockcod) and cephalopods (Shortfin squid), to better define transboundary stocks across territorial waters of the Falklands, Argentina and Chile. As the Falkland Islands fisheries use a sustainable management method based on Total Allowable Catch linked to real-time catch data, it is vital that the geographical and demographic definition of fished stocks is accurate in the models used. The resultant knowledge transfer, data and advice have helped refine models for sustainable catch regulation for the Falkland Islands Government and fisheries managers, leading to increased sustainability and commercial value.

The Rodrigues octopus fishery in the Indian Ocean had been in decline over many years due to over-exploitation. A study by the Aberystwyth group established that the octopus population of Rodrigues was isolated from other populations in the SW Indian Ocean, and therefore unlikely to be replenished by larval input from external sources if the Rodrigues population crashed due to overfishing. Consequently, the local administration implemented a change in policy through a series of closures to fishing. This management approach has resulted in both sustainable management and improved local incomes from artisanal fisheries.