Maximum sustainable yield and econmic importance of Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus,1766) in Pakistani waters

This study aims to analyze the maximum sustainable yield of cobia fish,and estimates its current status in pakistani marine waters. for this purpose,catch and effort data (1996-2009) of r. canadum was analyzed with non-equilibrium surplus production models (spms) by using two fishery specialized software viz. ceda and aspic. the maximum,minimum and average annual catch of r. canadum,over 14 years of the study period,was observed as 59,435 t (1997),41,407 t (2005) and 50,951 t year-1 respectively. in ceda,the three spms,fox,schaefer and pella tomlinson,with three error assumptions,i.e. log,log normal and gamma whereas in aspic two spms were used viz. fox and logistic. for ceda,msy was estimated by applying ip (initial proportion) or b1/k (starting biomass over carrying capacity) of 0.8 or 0.9 as the initial catch was about 90% of the maximum catch. ceda and aspic results indicate that msy of this fishery resource is about 27,000 t to 30,000 t. however,catch statistics shows that r. canadum has been overexploited which must be controlled through effective fishery management to propose rational exploitation and sustainability. © 2018,university of agriculture. all rights reserved.