Title: Assessing management target reference points and implications of Sardinella maderensis in the coastal waters of Liberia.

Small-scale fisheries, which gather small pelagic fish, are a crucial sector in Liberia for supplying food to the local population and generating revenue for subsistence. Sardinella maderensis which is caught by motorised (Fanti) canoes using gill nets and seine nets, dominates the catches of the sector. To identify management target reference points and concerns for the S. maderensis fishery, this study applied the Schaefer production models to aggregate and disaggregate catch and effort data of S. maderensis in the small-scale fisheries of Liberia. The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority of Liberia (NaFAA) research and statistics division collected catch and effort data from samples taken between 2018 and 2022. The results of the aggregated and disaggregated analyses showed that the biological target reference points MSY and effort corresponding to MSY (E_MSY) were higher than the present (2022) catch landing and effort, indicating less fishing pressure on the S. maderensis stock. However, the results showed that the stock is being fished close to management economic target reference points, MEY, and the effort corresponding to MEY (E_MEY). Economic overfishing occurs when the cost of fishing is higher than the price of fish. This study gathered that the unit cost of effort is considerably high compared to the unit price of catch for S. maderensis in Liberia due to inefficient and ineffective fishing boats, as well as the social responsibilities of the fishery. Furthermore, the study findings showed that direct input controls are the sole management strategy for the fishery. This study recommends the combination of input and output control management strategies, adaptation of better fishing technologies, and the provision of alternative livelihoods for coastal communities to fully utilise the S. maderensis fishery.