Assessing the sustainability of reef and demersal fish stocks in Northwest México under a data-limited approach

In México, most assessments have focused on industrial fisheries, while many finfish stocks remain underrepresented in regional evaluations. These information gaps present a significant challenge to achieving sustainability in artisanal fisheries, in addition to the complexities introduced by high species diversity and extensive social participation. This study aimed to evaluate the exploitation status of reef and demersal stocks reported in northwest México, dividing the region between the stocks of the Californian province (CAL) and the Cortez province (COR). Data-limited models (CMSY++) were employed to estimate relative stock size (B/B _MSY ) and exploitation rate (F/F _MSY ) for 111 stocks. Three exploitation approaches were considered to classify stocks as sustainable, not over-fished or unsustainable: (i) Flexible, (ii) Intermediate, and (iii) Conservative. Based on this classification, the proportion of sustainable stocks with respect to the total assessed was calculated (indicator 14.4.1, Sustainable Development Goal 14). Through this regional assessment, a low proportion of sustainable stocks were registered according to the three exploitation approaches considered: Flexible (CAL: 30%, COR: 26%), Intermediate (CAL: 11%, COR: 11%), and Conservative (CAL: 11%, COR: 9%), placing both provinces far from meeting the sustainable fisheries target of Sustainable Development Goal 14. These low proportions differ from what is reported globally, which might be due to the underrepresentation of reef and demersal stocks in fishery evaluations.