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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on December 18, 2006
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2007 64(2):346-356; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsl030
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Crown Copyright © 2006. Published by Oxford Journals on behalf of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. All rights reserved

The status of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) stocks around England and Wales, derived using a separable catch-at-age model, and implications for fisheries management

Mike G. Pawson, Sven Kupschus and Graham D. Pickett

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculure Science (Cefas), Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0HT, UK

Correspondence to M. G. Pawson: tel: +44 1502 524436; fax: +44 1502 526351; e-mail: mike.pawson{at}cefas.co.uk

Pawson, M. G., Kupschus, S., and Pickett, G. D. 2007. The status of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) stocks around England and Wales, derived using a separable catch-at-age model, and implications for fisheries management. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 346–356.

The commercial fishery for sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) around the coasts of England and Wales developed rapidly in the late 1970s and 1980s and, by 1986, involved some 3000 fishers using more than 2000 boats to make landings worth £3–4 million. The estimated annual catch of sea bass by sport-anglers was similar to the level recorded from the commercial fishery. Sampling of landings showed strong evidence of growth-overfishing in many areas, and a package of technical measures was introduced in 1990 aimed at improving the exploitation pattern and yield per recruit. This paper describes how data collected through a fishery and biological sampling programme around England and Wales over the period 1985–2004 have been utilized in a separable catch numbers-at-age model to assess the dynamics of sea bass stocks in English and Welsh coastal waters. The model output shows that recruitment improved during the 1990s and that moderate levels of fishing mortality allied to an exploitation pattern that largely avoids juvenile fish have enabled the bass population and its fishery to develop sustainably. Results are discussed in relation to model development and management of the bass fishery.

Keywords: assessment, fishery development, management, sea bass

Received 1 August 2006; accepted 2 November 2006; advance access publication 18 December 2006.


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