Description and characterization of the artisanal elasmobranch fishery on Guatemala's Caribbean coast

PLoS One. 2020 Jan 13;15(1):e0227797. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227797. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Small-scale shark and ray fisheries are conducted throughout Central America's Caribbean coast. Yet, there is limited information regarding catch composition and diversity of these fisheries, especially in Guatemala. Surveys of catch landings were conducted in two of Guatemala's primary Caribbean coastal shark and ray fishing communities, El Quetzalito and Livingston, between January 2015 and July 2017. Biological data from 688 landed chondrichthyans were collected, with 31 species (24 sharks, six rays and one chimaera) identified. The four most frequently captured species included Carcharhinus falciformis (30.2%), Sphyrna lewini (12.7%), Hypanus guttatus (12%) and Rhizoprionodon spp. (6.7%). Landed sharks contained most size classes with a high proportion of juveniles of species with low productivity. The large-bodied species C. falciformis and S. lewini were often recorded at sizes below known maturity; 96.6% and 85.1%, of the captured individuals were immature, respectively. This study can serve as a baseline to determine future trends in the elasmobranch fisheries conducted by Guatemala's Caribbean coastal communities and support assessments on the persistence of the fisheries.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biodiversity
  • Body Size
  • Female
  • Fisheries*
  • Guatemala
  • Male
  • Sharks / physiology
  • Skates, Fish / physiology

Grants and funding

This research was conducted with funding from Fundación Mundo Azul (year 2015–2017) and MarAlliance with funding from Save our Species, the Oak Foundation and the Whitley Fund for Nature (year 2015). Fundación Mundo Azul provided support in the form of salaries for authors AHD, FPV, and support to conduct field work. MarAlliance provided support in the form of salaries for authors FPV and RTG.