Changes in tropical fish assemblages associated with small-scale fisheries: a case study in the Pacific off central Mexico

• Published in: Reviews in fish biology and fisheries 2002-01, Vol.12 (4), p.393-401
• Main Authors: Espino-barr, Elaine, Ruiz-luna, Arturo, Garcia-boa, Arturo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Boats; Fisheries; Fisheries management; Marine; Marine fish; Pisces; Size of enterprise; Small-scale fisheries; Species composition; Studies; Trends; Tropical fish
• ISSN: 0960-3166; 1573-5184
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1025355102004

Information from artisanal marine fisheries inColima, Mexico is analyzed to find evidence ofchange in the composition of fish assemblagesresulting from fishing pressure. Catchcomposition from up to 20 boats per day, during2 to 6 days a month, were recorded from 1983 to1998. Stability of the species composition wasanalyzed using rank correlation methods, andmeasures of diversity (specific richness,Shannon-Wiener index, evenness) were estimatedfrom data. The resulting time-series wereanalyzed to detect trends. No significantdifferences were found in the number of speciescaught by month nor were significant trends indiversity detected. The composition of the fishassemblages is dynamic. The presence ofpersistent and resilient species that definedthe values obtained of diversity and evennesswas detected, but did not determine thestructure of the community, which is apparentlydefined by other factors. The changes incomposition of the catch probably are aconsequence of environmental fluctuations andrandom events, and not a direct consequence offishing pressures on the fish community.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]