Stock Assessment of Blue Swimming Crab for Sustainable Management in Asid Gulf, Masbate Philippines

Fishermen in the Asid Gulf rely heavily on the income, livelihood, and food security that Blue Swimming Crab (BSC) provides. A study was conducted in January-December, 2018 to investigate the present status of the BSC fishery in the gulf. A total of 3991 BSC were collected for length-frequency data and analysis was done using an analytical length-based fish stock assessment, FISAT (version 1.2.2). Results on Von Bertalanffy growth function parameters were CW∞=170.43 mm and K=0.93year-1 (ELEFAN method). The current exploitation rate was 0.79 which was higher than the threshold at E=0.37. Also, an excess of 29% in the E current suggested reducing the 28% fishing effort of the current year to fulfill the MSY and FMSY. On this basis, it is safe to presume that BSC fishery from Asid Gulf is experiencing overexploitation, hence, the need to recommend interventions supportive of the sustainable management and conservation of BSC in Asid Gulf.