Stock Assessment Using Three Bayesian Models for Chinese Icefish in Taihu Lake, a Major Freshwater Fishery in the Yangtze River Basin, China.

Inland fisheries play a crucial role in global food security, particularly in low‐income regions, yet their management has often been overshadowed by a focus on marine fisheries. We investigated the resource utilization and management status of Chinese icefish (Neosalanx tangkahkeii) in Taihu Lake, the largest freshwater lake in East China with significant fishery resources, over 35 years prior to the implementation of a decade‐long fishing ban in 2020. Using three surplus production models (SPMs)—ASPIC, SPiCT, and JABBA—we evaluated historical biomass and fishing pressure dynamics of the Chinese icefish population. Persistent overfishing that reduced annual biomass consistently below MSY for over two decades confirmed unsustainable fishing mortality. The SPiCT model was the best fitting, but all models were reliable, with < 50% mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). We recommend a sustainable fishing quota below 1400 metric tons, implemented through ecosystem‐based management and technological innovation. Our study also illustrates the challenges currently faced when assessing inland fishery resources, such as data scarcity, that call for strengthened ecosystem monitoring and research and development of more applicable resource assessment models for inland freshwater fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]