Estimation on catches by Guangxi fishing vessels in Beibu Gulf

Guangxi fishing vessels are one of the main forces in the Beibu Gulf. In order to understand the fishing production and structure of Guangxi fishing vessels in the Beibu Gulf, and to reveal the status of fishing production and fishery resources there, we divided the production areas of Guangxi fishing vessels in the Beibu Gulf into monitoring areas and non-monitoring areas, and evaluated their production in these two areas from 2019 to 2023. The assessment of fishing yield in the monitoring area is based on the fishing vessel records from Beidou Starcom, calculating the effective fishing effort of fishing vessels, and estimating it in combination with the fishing catch rate of fishing vessels. In contrast, the assessment of fishing yield in non-monitored areas is estimated using traditional fishery survey and catches assessment models. The evaluation results show that the fishing catches of Guangxi fishing vessels in the Beibu Gulf in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 were 247 591, 246 854, 270 488, 283 177 and 226 037 t, respectively, with an average annual catches of 254 829 t. Specifically, the catches within the monitoring area was 67.26%, while that within the non-monitoring area accounted for 32.74%. The statistical data reveal that trawl nets, including shrimp trawl nets, are the main fishing type of Guangxi fishing vessels in the Beibu Gulf, accounting for 78.63% of the total catches. Next were gill nets, accounting for 11.77%. Masked nets ranked the third, accounting for 5.13%, while the catches of other fishing gears were less than 1%. In conclusion, the following measures are recommended to improve the sustainable development capacity of fishery resources in the Beibu Gulf: reducing the number of vessels and nets, decreasing fishing intensity, optimizing fishing operations structure, strictly enforcing fisheries laws, and fostering China-Vietnam cooperation in fisheries to jointly conserve the Beibu Gulf's fishery resources.