Supporting the assessment of alternative fishing gears for replacing gillnets that cause bycatch of vaquita (Phocoena sinus) in the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico

Principal Investigators: Aguilar-Ramirez, Rodriguez Valencia

The national Fisheries Institute of Mexico (INAPESCA) research programme would run between September 2011 and April 2012, with the objectives given below.

(1)     to monitor the biomass yield of 15 fish aggregating devices (FaDs) installed at known coastal fishing grounds in upper gulf during winter 2009. the installation of FaDs aims to concentrate the fishing effort around a network of FaDs and reduce the spatial dispersion of fishing effort. The FaD network could be submitted to incentives based management schemes for defining access rights among users and diversify their exploitation (sport diving, sale of environmental services, commercial fishing, sport fishing, etc.).

(2)     To assess the catch efficiency and selectivity of shrimp, crab, fish and octopus traps around FADs.

(3)     To assess the catch efficiency and selectivity of shrimp hook hand-held lines and long lines around FaDs.

(4)     To assess the catch efficiency and selectivity of cast nets for fish and elasmobranches around FADs.

(5)     to determine the maximal economic yield for each alternative gear tested (shrimp, crab, fish and octopus traps, hook hand-held lines, hook long lines, cast nets for fish and elasmobranchs).