Historical analysis of blue marlin (Makaira nigricans Lacepède, 1802) catches by the pelagic longline fleet in the eastern Pacific Ocean

Emigdio Marín-Enríquez, Leonardo A. Abitia-Cárdenas, Xchel G. Moreno-Sánchez, Jorge S. Ramírez-Pérez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

We analysed a historical (1959-2017) database of blue marlin catches reported by the industrial pelagic longline fleet operating in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The time series of catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) for the time period 1959-2015 was modelled as a function of temporal and environmental variables by using generalised additive mixed models (GAMM). CPUE predictions were made on an independent dataset (2016-2017). Results suggested that a higher nominal CPUE occurred near the equator during boreal winter, spring and autumn, with a shift towards the north during the boreal summer. Two high CPUE events were observed, one in the early 1960s and one in the early 1990s. The final GAMM explained 61% of the total variance of the CPUE time series. Only a small percentage of total deviance was explained by the environmental variables, so we suggest that changes in fleet-targeting practices are the main cause of the large variability in the time series. The final GAMM can be used to predict blue marlin CPUE with a prediction accuracy of 3-8 fish per 1000 hooks. We observed an important decline in CPUE from the early 2000s; the factors responsible for this decline should be further investigated.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)532-541
Number of pages10
JournalMarine and Freshwater Research
Volume71
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • environmental variability
  • fisheries oceanography
  • generalised additive mixed models

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