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Revisiting the concept of Beverton–Holt life-history invariants with the aim of informing data-poor fisheries assessment

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 03:58 authored by Prince, J, Hordyk, A, Valencia, SR, Loneragan, N, Sainsbury, K
The complexity and cost of assessment techniques prohibits their application to 90% of fisheries. Simple generic approaches are needed for the world’s small-scale and data-poor fisheries. This meta-analysis of the relationship between spawning potential and the normalized size and age of 123 marine species suggests that the so-called Beverton–Holt life-history invariants (BH-LHI; Lm/L1, M/k, M × Agem) actually vary together in relation to life-history strategy, determining the relationship between size, age, and reproductive potential for each species. Although little realized, the common assumption of unique values for the BH-LHI also implies that all species share the same relationship between size, age, and reproductive potential. This implicit assumption is not supported by this meta-analysis, which suggests that there is considerable but predictable natural variation in the BH-LHI ratios and the relationships between size, age, and reproductive potential that they determine. We believe that this reconceptualization of the BH-LHI has potential to provide a theoretical framework for “borrowing” knowledge from well-studied species to apply to related, unstudied species and populations, and when applied together with the assessment technique described by Hordyk et al. (this issue b), could make simple forms of size-based assessment possible for many currently unassessable fish stocks.

History

Publication title

ICES Journal of Marine Science

Volume

72

Pagination

194-203

ISSN

1054-3139

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

Academic Press Ltd Elsevier Science Ltd

Place of publication

24-28 Oval Rd, London, England, Nw1 7Dx

Rights statement

Copyright 2014 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Fisheries - wild caught not elsewhere classified

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