An analysis of the maximum economic yield of Kilka fisheries in the southern Caspian Sea

This study combined socio-economic data with long time series data for Kilka species' annual catch and effort from 2003 to 2017, in the Iranian waters of the Caspian Sea. This analysis was conducted to estimate maximum sustainable yield, maximum economic yield, and their respective effort levels to manage and exploit the Kilka spices in a sustainable manner. According to our estimation, MSY was 22850 t, with a total income of $5587715 at an effort value (fmsy) of 9498 vessel night. The figure for MEY were 21988 t, with a total income of $5376847 with a substantially lower fishing effort value (fmey) of 7653 vessel night. Comparing the landing of Kilka, in 2017 (22602 tonnes) with the results of the surplus production model analysis, it is suggested that in order to conserve stocks of common Kilka, it is necessary to decrease the level of catch and fishing efforts based on the results of the present study.