Managing Artisanal Fisheries in Estuarine Systems Through the Use of Fishing Zones in the South Eastern Gulf of California

Abstract

Artisanal fisheries in the estuarine systems of Mexico are poorly regulated due to fishery complexity and the lack of information on the biology of exploited species, their habitat and fishing methods. Due to these unknowns and to utilize existing catch data (i.e., landing date, catch and landing site, catch per species, and price), this chapter proposes the use of zones as management units to understand fishing processes by region, and to identify possible spatiotemporal changes of the marine communities along the coast of Sinaloa (SE Gulf of California). A total of 97 species, primarily teleost fishes ( n = 80), composed the artisanal catch within 6 defined zones; the shrimp fishery was also important in all the zones. The importance of other fisheries differed according to zone, but in general, swimming crabs were most economically important in the North and demersal fishes were most important in the South. Three categories of target species were classified: high economic value and high abundance seasonal species; low abundance and high value resident species; and high abundance and low value resident species. Zonation will allow the identification of catch trends, which can be used for management; however, there still remains essential informa- tion that is needed for better management.