BFAR-NSAP Completes 2nd Phase of Data Consolidation and Analysis, Updates Reference Points for the Visayan Sea and Southern Negros
| by Allen Quitor
| April 19, 2023
NSAP Project Leaders and data analysts from Region 5, 6, and 7 during the workshop orientation
The National Stock Assessment Program (NSAP) of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in collaboration with the BFAR-USAID Fish Right Program has successfully completed the Second Phase of the Blue Swimming Crab Stock Assessment Data Consolidation and Analysis for the Visayan Sea as well as the Catch per unit effort (CPUE) Computation for the Visayan Sea and Southern Negros last April 10-15, 2023, at MO2 Westown Hotel, Iloilo City.
The five-day activity brought together NSAP project leaders and data analysts from Regions 5, 6, and 7 to come up with the updated reference points (RPs) for the blue swimming crab data of the Visayan Sea, which is part of Fisheries Management Area (FMA) 11, and to compute the CPUEs for Southern Negros, which is part of FMA 4.
The NSAP team, together with Mr. Tyler Pavlowich of the University of Rhode Island, presented the draft for the Blue Swimming Crab (BSC) CPUE Analysis of NSAP Data from 2018 to 2020 processed using the R software. Ms. Sheryll V. Mesa, NSAP Region 6 Project Leader, then set the activity target and tasks of the participants.
Based on the results computed by the NSAP team, there was a positive improvement in the Reference Points (RPs) of the Blue Swimming Crab Stock (BSC) compared to the baseline data result in 2012 and the Phase 1 consolidation in 2020. Although CPUEs computed in some gears for 2021-2022 showed a decline due to the impact of the pandemic, the team was able to come up with an updated RP for the BSC data of the Visayan Sea using NSAP landed catch and reproductive biology data for the year 2022 from the collaborative project with PACPI. Specifics of the RP will be officially published and released by the NSAP as soon as all results are validated.
The results of the workshop will serve as a guide for future conservation and management efforts to protect the blue swimming crab population in the Visayan Sea and Southern Negros.