Review of the pilot of marine fisheries TACs in China and suggestions for the further development

China has successively launched fisheries total allowable catches (TACs) pilot programs in 5 costal provinces in 2017-2018. The paper reviewed the progress of the 5 pilots based on surveys study. Some management innovations were made in the pilots: limit access to the pilot fishery by special fishing license, fishing log management, adoption of obersevers, and management involvement of fishers cooperatives. There are similar practices in different pilots regarding criteria for choice of the fish stock for pilot, limit of fishing ground use, vessels and fishing methods, supporting measures, while the following are different: single or multiple species of the target stock, limit access to the fishing ground, quotas allocation, monitoring of the catch landing. Currently there are still challengs for implementation of TACs in China with respect to multiple species fisheries, fishing monitoring system, targeted fish stock survey and monotoring, fishing limit measures, adaptive management capacity and institution structures, and legislation of liability for violation. For further development of the TACs in China, the paper suggests: consummate the legal system of TACs by revising the Fisheries Law of China, enhance fish stock survey and monitoring, develop compositive fisheries data and information system, adopt more limits for fishing operation based on license system, establish inclusive mechanism for public participation and cross-region surveillance, and adopt different models of TAC determination for single species fisheries and multiple species fisheries.