Fisheries and Aquaculture Volume 9

"Much of the biological and other research efforts on crustaceans have been driven by their importance to humans as a food source. Production comes from a diverse array of methods and scales of extraction, from small recreational or subsistence fisheries to industrial scale operations. Most crustacean catch comes from shrimp fisheries with over two million tonnes taken in 2014, mainly by trawl. The genera Acetes, Fenneropenaeus, and Pandalus account for around three quarters of this catch. Crab, krill and lobster are the other main crustacean products (around 600,000 t crab, 380,000 t krill and 300,000 t lobster in 2014). Trends in crustacean fisheries are broadly similar to those of other seafood although crustaceans often target different market segments and receive higher prices than fish. Crustacean fisheries management faces many challenges with management of bycatch from trawl gears especially significant. Fortunately, crustaceans tend to be easily handled with low discard mortality and this has enabled widespread use of regulations based on size, maturity or sex (e.g., male-only fisheries). Total allowable catch (TAC) limits are widely used and highly effective for ensuring sustainable harvests when set responsibly using good information. TAC systems are often combined with catch share or individual transferable quota systems which had a mixed history in crustaceans, sometimes reducing overall community benefit. This parallels the challenge facing fisheries globally of ensuring that harvests are not only sustainable but also deliver benefits to the wider community beyond the commercial fishers; management of some crustacean fisheries are at the forefront of these developments"--