Title: Stock assessment of the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) in Belize.

The Caribbean spiny lobster fishery is Belize's most important fishery and one of the main sources of export revenue. Therefore, properly managing the sustainability of the fishery is pivotal for the country and the people of Belize. Virtual Population Analysis (VPA) was used to reconstruct the population based on the age composition and estimated fishing mortality. VPA was tuned using the catch per unit effort (CPUE) time series. The analysis revealed that the Belize lobster population is heavily exploited, with a reduced number of lobsters reaching a large size in the population. Fishing mortality for two-year-old lobsters fluctuated between 0.5 and 1, with an average of 0.6 during the last five years. In this fishery, two-year-old lobsters are only partially selected. Fishing mortality was much higher for three- to five-year-old lobsters (approximately 2.6). The Caribbean spiny lobster yield has increased since 2015 owing to increased recruitment and a lower exploitation rate. The yield could be increased by increasing the minimum harvestable carapace length from 76 to 100 mm. There is a need to control and/or reduce fishing efforts to ensure the sustainability of the lobster fishery.