Capture Efficiency of Artificial Lures in Baited Lines for Mayan Octopus, Octopus maya, Fishery in Campeche, Mexico

Abstract

The Mayan octopus, Octopus maya, fishery from the Campeche Bank is the largest octopus fishery in the Americas and one of the largest worldwide. This fishery uses a large quantity of crabs, Brachyura, as bait, and these crustacean populations are heavily impacted. To investigate alternative lures we examined the efficacy of various artificial lures ranging from plastic crabs to jigs baited with fish during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Artificial PVC “crab” lures showed the best yields. However, their performance was less effective than natural crab in all cases. A simple simulation showed that using these lures, harvests would decrease by 42–44% compared to using natural crab. We suggest the use of PVC crab combined with an organic compound that releases an attractive scent for octopus in further experiments.