Pic by Qingdao Marine Conservation Society 

From 2017 through 2020, each of China’s 11 coastal provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) has piloted Total Allowable Catch (TAC) management, mostly targeting invertebrate species with short life cycles and limited migration range, such as gazami crab and jelly fish. TAC system implementation is a key aspect of China’s marine fisheries management reform in the current 14th Five-Year period. On October 30, 2020, NRDC, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and Qingdao Marine Conservation Society (QMCS) jointly held an online workshop to explore relevant strategies for selecting economic finfish species with longer life cycles to include in future TAC pilots, such as hairtail, in order to improve representativeness of the programs for future promotion and replication in other areas. Participants included scientists from the Ocean University of China, Shanghai Ocean University, the University of Maine, and the Zhejiang Marine Fisheries Research Institute. At the workshop, experts shared their thoughts on the criteria for the selection of finfish species, and analyzed in detail the potential for inclusion of hairtail, small yellow croaker, and Spanish mackerel in upcoming TAC pilots. The participants also discussed information gaps in recommending pilot species to decision-makers, and identified the challenges that may be encountered in implementation, such as multi-species fisheries and cross-border coordination.