Evaluation of the current state of small pelagic fisheries in the Colombian Pacific: ensuring the sustainability of the resource and evaluating its response to climatic events

摘要

Commercial fishing of small pelagic species in Colombia, mainly "carduma"(Cetengraulis mysticetus) and "plumuda" (Opisthonema spp.),has been recorded since 1970. Both are used toproduce fish meal for aquaculture and poultry and for canned foods. Thesetwo species are filter feeders, and therefore support higher levels of thefood chain (other fish, birds and marine mammals), and artisanal fishermenuse them as bait. Between 2005 and 2010, 86.131 t have been captured( style="border-top: 1px solid #000; color: #000;">X = 14.355 t yr?1), and a strong reduction was noticed in 2009(6.969 t). Carduma is considered a total spawning species. However, from1997 to 2000 and from 2008 to date, atypical reproductive behavior of thespecies has been observed, including partition of the spawning period andthe reduction of the volume of eggs and larvae released to the environment.Both situations are linked to thermal anomalies such as El Ni?o and LaNi?a events. Therefore, the process of assigning the global quota ofextraction has been revised to take into account the reduction of totalcapture during the last years and the inconsistencies of the reproductiveprocesses. The Ministry of Agriculture reduced the quota by 10%, leavingavailable a total of 27 000 t for 2010 and reduced it again to 25 000 t for 2011. Itis important to maintain the management measures that are alreadyimplemented on this resource (bans during reproduction seasons, catch quotas,regulation of mesh sizes for the fishing nets, and limiting the number ofnew vessels) and considering other measures such as season closure forrecruitment and establishment of marine protected areas to furthercontribute to the sustainability of these fisheries.