<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Turbot is one of the most valuable fish species in the Black Sea commercial fishery. The serious, dramatic depletion of the turbot stock and catches that began in the 1980s was caused by overfishing and poor ecological conditions. The state of the turbot stock began to improve in the northwestern part of the Black Sea in 2016. Landings were at their 30-year maximum in this part of the sea. Catches per unit effort (CPUEs) have been at a stable, high level there for the last few years. Average turbot weight and length have also been increasing. The Stock Synthesis (SS3) framework was used in the stock assessment. According to SS3 analysis, fishing mortality (<italic>F</italic>) reached the minimum level of 0.29 in 2018. The cumulative SPR (Spawner Potential Rate) index was 0.27, which approximately equaled SPR<sub>MSY</sub> = 0.25. Thus, currently the turbot stock is mostly moderately exploited at a level close to the management target in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. However, the entire Black Sea population has not fully recovered yet.</p>
</abstract>

Turbot is one of the most valuable fish species in the Black Sea commercial fishery. The serious, dramatic depletion of the turbot stock and catches that began in the 1980s was caused by overfishing and poor ecological conditions. The state of the turbot stock began to improve in the northwestern part of the Black Sea in 2016. Landings were at their 30-year maximum in this part of the sea. Catches per unit effort (CPUEs) have been at a stable, high level there for the last few years. Average turbot weight and length have also been increasing. The Stock Synthesis (SS3) framework was used in the stock assessment. According to SS3 analysis, fishing mortality (F) reached the minimum level of 0.29 in 2018. The cumulative SPR (Spawner Potential Rate) index was 0.27, which approximately equaled SPRMSY = 0.25. Thus, currently the turbot stock is mostly moderately exploited at a level close to the management target in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. However, the entire Black Sea population has not fully recovered yet.

The current state of the turbot, <italic>Scophthalmus maximus</italic> (Linnaeus, 1758), population in the northwestern part of the Black Sea

Fisheries & Aquatic Life

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The current state of the turbot,  (Linnaeus, 1758), population in the northwestern part of the Black Sea

Turbot is one of the most valuable fish species in the Black Sea commercial fishery. The serious, dramatic depletion of the turbot stock and catches that began...

The current state of the turbot, Scophthalmus maximus (Linnaeus, 1758), population in the northwestern part of the Black Sea

Published Online: Dec 30, 2021

Page range: 164 - 175

Received: Jan 02, 2021

Accepted: Sep 01, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aopf-2021-0018

Keywords
stock assessment, Black Sea, turbot, Stock Synthesis, overfishing

© 2021 Bohdan Hulak et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The current state of the turbot, Scophthalmus maximus (Linnaeus, 1758), population in the northwestern part of the Black Sea

Published Online: Dec 30, 2021

Page range: 164 - 175

Received: Jan 02, 2021

Accepted: Sep 01, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aopf-2021-0018

Keywordsstock assessment, Black Sea, turbot, Stock Synthesis, overfishing

© 2021 Bohdan Hulak et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
stock assessment, Black Sea, turbot, Stock Synthesis, overfishing