Assessing the Sardine Multispecies Fishery of the Gulf of California

Abstract

In the fishery of small pelagics at the Gulf of California, the South American pilchard Sardinops sagax (Jenyns, 1842) is the main target. In the years when the abundance of this species is poor and its catches are low, the fishery is diverted into other species such as the Pacific thread herring (Opisthonema libertate (Günter)), and the Pacific anchoveta (Cetengraulis mysticetus (Günter)). Since the 90s, the anchoveta (Engraulis mordax) appeared in the catch records and later on, other species of lesser importance appeared such as the mackerel (Scomberomorus sierra (Jordan & Starks)), the red eye-round herring (Etrumeus teres (DeKay)) and the shortjaw leatherjacket (Oligoplites refulgens Gilbert & Starks). When this fishery was analyzed by species, it was found that, although it is a very profitable activity, there is not a management strategy, leading it to the risk of overexploitation, as the maximum yield level of the target species (the South American pilchard), corresponds to levels of fishing mortality in which the other species of the group are depleted. It was found that there is a substitution of the dominant species over time, because at the beginning of this century the South American pilchard was the target species whilst in 2014 it was the Pacific thread herring. Therefore, this work is focused to the analysis of each species of the fishery, intending to derive recommendations for its management within a sustainable framework.45