Characterization of the goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara fishery of southern Belize for conservation planning
2009; Inter-Research; Volume: 7; Linguagem: Inglês
10.3354/esr00187
ISSN1863-5407
AutoresRT Graham, KL Rhodes, D. Castellanos,
Tópico(s)Cephalopods and Marine Biology
ResumoESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook (Twitter) RSS Mailing List Receive regular lists of newly published ESR articles via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 7:195-204 (2009) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00187 Characterization of the goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara fishery of southern Belize for conservation planning Rachel T. Graham1,*, Kevin L. Rhodes2, Dan Castellanos3 1Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), PO Box 37, Punta Gorda, Belize 2The University of Guam, UOG Station, Mangilao 96923, Guam 3BlueBelize, 139 Front Street, Punta Gorda, Belize *Email: rgraham@wcs.org ABSTRACT: The goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822) is an integral part of traditional coastal fisheries in Belize; however, recent anecdotal reports suggest declining catches, mean size and abundance, particularly of large adults. Quantifying goliath grouper abundance in the waters of Belize is an important first step in developing management plans that can protect stocks of the species as well as local fishing communities. To characterize the status of the goliath grouper in southern Belize, we used a 2 yr market survey, fishery-dependent collections and passive tagging. Market surveys revealed that the vast majority (98% or 1412) of 1441 goliath groupers examined at a fish market comprised juveniles. Eight of the 64 interviewed fishers were responsible for most of the catches (67.2%). Size distributions of goliath grouper collected from coastal to outer reef areas using setlines, longlines and drumlines confirmed the overall paucity of adults in local populations. Specifically, a 90-fold difference in catch rates was observed between adults (n = 1425) and juveniles (n = 16). Of 209, 45 (21.5%) tagged individuals were recaptured during assessments, observed in marketed catch or reported, with 39.3% taken from the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. Fishing mortality was estimated at 0.27, while the specific growth rate was 0.29% d–1. These results, together with documented loss of known spawning aggregations, suggest that goliath grouper in southern Belize are overfished. To allow population recovery, strict management and enforcement measures are required. Such a plan would have minimal impact on fishing communities, since no fishers are solely reliant on the species. KEY WORDS: Goliath grouper fishery · Marine protected area · Tag-recapture Full text in pdf format Cite this article as: Graham RT, Rhodes KL, Castellanos D (2009) Characterization of the goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara fishery of southern Belize for conservation planning. Endang Species Res 7:195-204. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00187 Export citation Share: Facebook - - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 7, No. 3. Online publication date: July 01, 2009 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2009 Inter-Research. Previous article Next article
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