Population dynamics and stock assessment of Queenfish (Scomberoides commersonnianus) from the marine waters of Bangladesh

Abstract

The Queenfish, Scomberoides commersonnianus, is a large commercial fish in Bangladesh. This is the first study on the Queenfish that aims to elucidate life history parameters and stock status to suggest authority for sustainable management and to support future research on this economically significant species in the region. We used three length-based approaches to establish a standard for sustainable management of the fishery: (1) TropFishR to give the growth parameters and current exploitation status, (2) the length-based Bayesian biomass estimation (LBB) to quantify stock biomass, (3) and Froese's sustainability indicators (LBI). The length–weight relationship of Queenfish was a negative allometric pattern (b = 2.84; R² = 0.98). Growth parameters for Queenfish were L_∞ = 124.22 cm, K = 0.31 year⁻¹. Instantaneous total mortality Z = 0.71 year⁻¹, instantaneous natural mortality M = 0.36 year⁻¹, and instantaneous fishing mortality F = 0.35 year⁻¹. Based on the LBB approach, the current estimated stock biomass was overexploited (B/B_MSY = 0.65). We recommend strictly maintaining mesh size of nets to reduce harvest of immature fish shorter than 62 cm, while focusing harvest on fish 62–74 cm, to minimise recruitment and growth overfishing.