Mohamed AlMusallami ^1* Mark Dimech ² Franklin Francis ^1* Waleed Hamza ^3* Aaron C Henderson ^1* Sabir Bin Muzaffar ³ Giuseppe Scarcella ⁴ Nazli Demirel ^5* Dario Pinello ^1*

• ¹ Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• ² King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
• ³ United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• ⁴ Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology, National Research Council (CNR), Messina, Italy
• ⁵ Institute of Marine Sciences and Management, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Türkiye

This study evaluates the stock status of Scomberomorus commerson in the southern Arabian Gulf, particularly in Abu Dhabi waters, using length-based models to address data limitations in fisheries assessments. The findings contribute critical insights into management practices, using four lengthbased models, namely LBI, LBB, LBSPR, and LIME, to analyze length frequency distributions from commercial catches between 2011 and 2023. Results indicate that the stock is overfished, with low proportions of mature and optimal-sized individuals and an excessive harvest of juveniles, as shown by model estimates of F/M ratios and SPR values below target levels. From 2011 to 2019, biomass declined sharply, but signs of recovery were evident by 2023 due to management actions, such as a gillnet ban introduced in 2019. The final-year estimates revealed a B/Bmsy ratio of 1.0 and F/M of 1.2, suggesting ongoing but reduced overfishing pressures. These outcomes underscore the importance of ongoing datalimited assessment methods in monitoring exploited stocks, providing evidence that restrictive measures have positively impacted biomass recovery. The convergence of outputs across methods, such as the indication of overfishing in S. commerson stocks, suggests that implementing multiple models enhances the robustness of management recommendations, including the enforcement of minimum size limits or reductions in fishing efforts or restriction of certain fishing methods. Overall, this study highlights the importance of using multiple models and choosing appropriate priors to improve the quality of stock assessments in data-limited fisheries.