TY - JOUR
T1 - Interactions of small-scale fisheries in Mexico’s Northwest Pacific
AU - Mendoza-Portillo, Francisco Javier
AU - Ramírez-Rodríguez, Mauricio
AU - Vargas-López, Víctor
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Escuela de Ciencias del Mar. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - In Mexico, as in other parts of the world, there is limited knowledge regarding the operation of small-scale fisheries. Also, there is an urgent need for the diversity of fisheries and their interactions, and the diversity of species to be analyzed on a regional level. In this study, the dynamics of the small-scale fleet operating in San Ignacio in the northwestern Pacific of the state of Baja California Sur were analyzed, recognizing the fishery’s multi-species and multi-gear character and its effect on the spatial and temporal distribution of the fishing effort. The operative units (OU) approach was applied; OUs are defined as the set of associated vessels that exploit one or more target species using similar fishing gears. The information about species, gears, sites and fishing seasons was obtained from interviews with 74 fishers. The OUs identified included: diving-pen shell scallop; diving-squalid callista; diving-Pismo clam; collection-black ark; trap-barred sand bass; trap-crab; trap-lobster; cast net-shrimp; bottom net-fish; surface net-fish; bottom net-shark. The variation in the activity of each OU is related to the availability of the resources, prices of the products and official restrictions. From a management perspective, this method helps to clarify which OUs adhere to specific rules associated with their métier and others, which are less well defined since their OU characteristics are associated with their fishery level. The definition and characterization of the OU, based on the local knowledge of the fishermen, assist the design of management schemes that consider the spatial and temporal complexity of the small-scale fisheries.
AB - In Mexico, as in other parts of the world, there is limited knowledge regarding the operation of small-scale fisheries. Also, there is an urgent need for the diversity of fisheries and their interactions, and the diversity of species to be analyzed on a regional level. In this study, the dynamics of the small-scale fleet operating in San Ignacio in the northwestern Pacific of the state of Baja California Sur were analyzed, recognizing the fishery’s multi-species and multi-gear character and its effect on the spatial and temporal distribution of the fishing effort. The operative units (OU) approach was applied; OUs are defined as the set of associated vessels that exploit one or more target species using similar fishing gears. The information about species, gears, sites and fishing seasons was obtained from interviews with 74 fishers. The OUs identified included: diving-pen shell scallop; diving-squalid callista; diving-Pismo clam; collection-black ark; trap-barred sand bass; trap-crab; trap-lobster; cast net-shrimp; bottom net-fish; surface net-fish; bottom net-shark. The variation in the activity of each OU is related to the availability of the resources, prices of the products and official restrictions. From a management perspective, this method helps to clarify which OUs adhere to specific rules associated with their métier and others, which are less well defined since their OU characteristics are associated with their fishery level. The definition and characterization of the OU, based on the local knowledge of the fishermen, assist the design of management schemes that consider the spatial and temporal complexity of the small-scale fisheries.
KW - Artisanal fleets
KW - Fleet dynamic
KW - Local knowledge
KW - Mexico
KW - Northwestern Pacific
KW - Operative units
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85081609580&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3856/vol48-issue1-fulltext-2176
DO - 10.3856/vol48-issue1-fulltext-2176
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85081609580
SN - 0718-560X
VL - 48
SP - 94
EP - 105
JO - Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research
JF - Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research
IS - 1
ER -