Size Structure and Biomass of the Panama Grunt (Pomadasys panamensis) from Bycatch inthe Southeastern Gulf of California

• Published in: Open journal of marine science 2012, Vol.2 (1), p.1-7
• Main Authors: Rodríguez-Preciado, José Alberto, Madrid-Vera, Juan, Meraz-Sánchez, Ricardo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brackish; Decapoda; Marine; Pomadasys
• ISSN: 2161-7384; 2161-7392
• DOI: 10.4236/ojms.2012.21001

A population analysis was made using data of the grunt Pomadasys panamensis. The information is from the catch from 260 hauls in estuarine waters, open-ocean waters, and off the coast of Sinaloa and northern Nayarit, Mexico, in the southeastern Gulf of California. The area of influence is about 120,000 km2 and includes about a third of the drag area of the largest shrimp fleet of the American Pacific. The average length in the population was 210 mm. The maximum length was 430 mm and the minimum was 50 mm. The analysis for the frequency distributions of the lengths and the multinomial solution produced representative modal groups for 160 mm, 190 mm, and 230 mm. The simulation of the biomass density gave an estimate close to 90 t, with 650,000 organisms before starting the fishing season in the region. The density was 0.19 kg ha-1. The colonization was 0.42% or 42 %. The model was validated using the Aikaikae criterion (AIC). The results provide an overview of the initial biomass densities and population structure of the species caught as bycatch, demonstrating the importance of this species abundance in the shrimp fishery, and generating a source of monetary income to the crew of the fishing fleet. The persistence of the species to fishing provides an example to study the mechanisms of survival.