Fish and Fisheries of the Eastern Coast of Mexico, with Emphasis on Coral Reef Species

Abstract

In the Gulf of Mexico with an area of 1,600,000 km2, American and Mexican fleets exploit about 535,000 tons. From these, a harvest of nearly 500,000 tons belongs to the Gulf menhaden. In recent years, mud feeders fish like mullets, increased their presence in catch records, suggesting a bottom-up process in the trophic web. By comparing catch records from the northern and southern Gulf of México, it was assumedanunexploited biomass of the Gulf menhaden or other similar sardine-like stock,suggestingthat a significant harvest could be obtained in the southern portion. A difference in Cla of an order of magnitude higher in the northern Gulf than in the southern Gulf, explains the differences. A significant correlation between the Cla concentration and fish production was found, being stronger in the northern Gulf, where it was straight, as compared to the southern Gulf, where the correlation was lower and it was found with one year-delay. In addition, it seems that in the northern Gulf, theGulf menhaden stock has been under a chronic over exploitation of juveniles; in this case, the perspective suggests that yield may double by opening the mesh to the suitable size,restoring the harvest levels once exploited.