Vulnerability assessment of species caught by the shrimp trawl fishery in northeastern Brazil

In Brazil, there are no official fisheries statistics to quantitatively assess the status of target and bycatch species. Since food security is at stake, appropriate tools are needed to maintain fisheries sustainability. One widely used "data-poor"method, despite the critics of its subjectivity, is Productivity and Susceptibility Analysis (PSA). In this study, we use PSA to assess the impact of a northeastern Brazil shrimp fishery which is socioeconomically relevant for the local population but is known to have adverse ecological impacts. The vulnerability status (high, medium, or low) of 30 species were determined by the PSA and compared with two other semi-quantitative approaches that assess stock or extinction risk. The results obtained from the PSA and other methods were partially convergent, highlighting six bycatch and one target species for which management measures or data collection should be prioritised. This study showed that PSA, when compared with other semi-quantitative methods, can constitute a valuable preliminary assessment for assessing data-poor fisheries. The integrated use of various methods is advisable in diagnosing fishery resources. However, it is essential to understand the peculiarities of each technique to appreciate its applicability and feasibility. (c) 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.