STOCK ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILEAN HAKE (MERLUCCIUS GAYI) OFF CENTRAL-SOUTHERN CHILE BY STOCK REDUCTION ANALYSIS

Abstract

A stock assessment of the Chilean hake (Merluccius gayi Guichenot, 1848) exploited off Central-Southem Chile is done, through the Stock Reduction Analysis method (SRA), for the period 1940 to 1991. The objective is to estímate the máximum sustainable yield (MSY) as a function of the fishing mortality. The results showed that MSY reaches 78 thousand ton with a fishing mortality of 0.70 year’. The assessment of the Chilean hake by SRA is in agreement with those results obtained by another stock assessment models, where it is appreciated a recovery of the Chilean hake biomass during the 1980s.