continental shelf off the G uianas dur­ fis hes avail abl e to li ve bait fis hing cent waters. M ar. F ish. Rev . 36(9): 8-3 1. 1974b. Ex pl oratory tuna longline fis h­ ing eight cruises of the M V Calamar and to trolling, are of insuffi ci ent ing in the and adjacent walers. (Kl eijn 1974). Fishing during daylight magnitude to offer large- com­ Mar. . Rev. 36(9): 6 1-66. Kleijn, L. J. K. 1974 . Res ults of experimen­ was done by handlining, a small trawl mercial development. but when and tal and exploratory fis hing off north­ fo r catching bait , and at ni ght with one where they are abundant they could be eaS lern South America. Mar. Fish. Rev. 36(9): 67 -77. or two sets of steel-cabl e botto m important in in creasing the supply of Rathjen, W. F. 197 1. Exploratory fis hing protein fo r local res id ents. aCliv iti es U NDP/FAO Caribbean Fisher­ setline. ies Development Project FAO (Food Over 4,600 harks of 25 , Based on project experi ence, there ap­ Agric . Organ. U.N .) Fish Rep. 7 1(2):237- 248. weighing over 165,000 pound (74 ,8 20 pears to be littl e hope of development Rathjen, W. F., M. Yesaki , and B. Hsu. kg) were caught. Nearl y half were of a tu na fi hery by the longline or 1969. Trawlfis htng potential off northeast­ ern South A meri ca. Proc. G ulf Caribb. caught during 245 hours of handlining live bait methods by participating Fish . Inst. 2 1:86- 110. with 1-8 line and about th e same cou ntries in the project. Wagner, D. P. 1974 . Result s of live bait and pole and line fis hing explorations fo r number were caught with 105 sets or pelagic fis hes in the Cari bbean. Mar. F ish. LITERATURE CITED Rev . 36(9):3 1-35. 1,212 hours of steel-cabl e setlines with Wagner, D. P., and R. S. Wolf. 1974 . Re­ 100-175 hooks . were most C hislell, G . R., and M. Yesaki. 1974. Spiny sults of troll fis hi ng explorations in the lobster fis hing explorati ons in the C aribbe­ C aribbean. Mar. Fish. Rev . 36(9): 35-43. abundant between 15 and 20 fa th oms an. Mar. Fish Rev. 36(9) :43-48 . Wolf, R . S. 1974. Minor miscell aneous ex­ during ovember and December and K asahara, H., and C. P. Idyll. 1962. United ploratory/experimental fis hing acti vities Nati ons Special Fund, C aribbean in the C aribbean and adjacent waters. off the mouths of the Iracoube and Mission, Report to the Managing Director. Mar. Fish. Rev. 36(9) :78-87 . Coppename Ri vers. The more com­ U nited Nati ons, New York , 1962:37 p. Wolf, R. S., and G . R. C hislelt. 1974 . Trap Kawaguchi , K . 1974a. H andline and long­ fis hing explorations fo r snapper and re­ mon species were bl acktip shark line fi shing ex plorations for snapper and lated species in the Caribbean and adja­ (Carcharhi nlls Ii mbaflls), small ta il related species in the Caribbean and adj a- cent waters. Mar. Fish. Rev . 36(9):49-61. shark (c. p o r oslI s) , bull shark (c. lell ­ MFR Paper 1082. From Marine Revie w, Vol. 36, No. 9, cas), and tiger shark (Galeocerdo September 1974. Copies of this paper, in limited numbers, are Cll vi eri ). available from 083, Technical Information Division, Environmental The whole area off the of the Science In formation Center, NOAA , Washington, DC 20235. G uianas will yield an average of 3,000 pounds ( 1,360 kg) of dressed shark meat (about 60 percent of round weight) per 24 hours of fis hing, i. e., 1,000 pounds (458 kg) wi th two steel ­ MFR PAPER 1083 cable sets during the night and 2,000 pounds (907 kg) with handlining dur­ in g the day alternated with required Handline and Longline Fishing Explorations trawl hauls. for Snapper and Related Species in the Because the catch rate of shark is initially high, and the stock rather Caribbean and Adjacent Waters small, overfishing could easily res ult from any mtensive fishing efforts. KYOTARO KAWAGU CHI

CONCLUSIONS ABSTRACT - Explorations for snapper and related demersal species T he results of explorations by proj­ have been conducted in the Caribbean and adjacent waters by vessels of ect vessels, as well as others, coupled the Caribbean Fisheries Development Project. This report presents the wi th anal yses of ongoing fis heries indi­ results of th ose explorations which used the handline and bottom set cate that fis hery resources avai lable lo ngline methods on the under- or unexploited shelves and banks within to participating countries in the proj­ the project region. ect are not vast. but several offer po­ Three project vessels spent a total of 382 days conducting exploratory tential for expansIOn. Foremos t is the and simulated commercial type production fishing for snappers, , trawl resource on the and jacks. They produced about 291 ,000 pounds of fish which averaged off northea tern South Ameri ca. The about 760 pounds per fishing day or about 14.6 pounds/line/hour of econd most promising latent re ource fishing. The speCies composition of the overall catch was 51 percent awaiting greater use is that of snappers, snapper (), 34 percent jacks (), 6 percent groupers Jack . and . T he keys to devel­ (Serranidae), and 9 percent other mixed species. The daily catch rates opment of the e re ources by project ranged from a to 137 pounds/line/hour. Fishing efficiency and catch cou ntne a re trai ning of fi hermen in rates are discussed . trawlin g, handl ining, and reel and pot Catch res ults as related to fishing ground, water depth, bottom type, fi hlng fo r nappers, and the operation fishing season, and species composition are examined. Results of experi­ f fi hmg ve el of the Ize and endur­ mental use of the bottom set longline method are given. ance nece ary for the e off hore From exploratory fishing results it is estimated that annual production operall on Re ource of shark and of snapper could be increased from two to four times by utilizing under­ bait fi he ,a well a vari ous pelagic or unfished grounds.

8 INTRODUCTION Kyotaro Kawaguchi is FAO sary facilities. The typical fi hing Technical Advisor, Ministry of methods are pot fishing with ome Agriculture, Fisheries Divi­ traditional handlining for demer al The United Nation Caribbean sion, P.O . Box 470, Kingston, fis h and boat or beach sei ning for Jamaica. Fisheries Development Project be­ pelagic fish. which seasonall y approach came operational in August 1965. shore. Gi 11 nets or longl i nes are em­ The purpose, stated in the Project potentials in the re gion- namely, for poyed easonally in very limited Plan of Operations (F AO 1965), was: snappers and related species usin g th e areas. The dominant northeasterly To provide, through exploratory handline meth od . The objecti ves of trade wind of the region limits mall fi shing, marketing study and demon­ this work were: ( I) Locating new or craft operation to the inshore leeward stration, and training, a bas is fo r the unutilized snapper fishing grounds. portions of the island from October further growth of the fisheries of the (2) Providing training in the use of to May, while hurricane threats limit Caribbean Region. by: (a) indicating mechanical and electrical handlin e their fishing range during the rest of the most promisin g ways in which methods. (3) Confirming avail able in­ the season. the productivity of the fisheries can be formation on the snapper and related At present most of the inshore increased; (b) setting up a nucleus of species resource. (4) Providing fis h grounds near those populated islands trained fishermen and fishery officers; for experimental marketing demo n­ are intensively fished and larger catches and (c) demon trating the most eco­ strations in participating countries. can be expected on th e in hore nomic ways of developing domestic The results of snapper trap o r po t grounds only from pelagic species and export markets and defining those work are reported in a separate paper whose migration routes pass near­ fields in which future capital invest­ (Wolf and C hi slett 1974). Rathjen, shore. ment can most fruitfully be applied . Yesaki, and Hsu (1969) ummarize There are a few foreign investments Within these limitations. the Ex­ demersal fi hes available to otter ill fis hing vessels and shore facilities ploratory Fishing portion of the tr awls. in the Cari bbean area, but these are Project performed di ve rse expl oratory The Caribbean is bounded by almost entirely in , spiny and demonstration fishing for all the Greater Antilles on the north, lobster, and tuna. Otherwise, only major pelagic and demersal fish re­ the Lesser Antill es on the east, the snappers and related species on the sources in the Cari bbean and adj acent island of Trinidad and Tobago and eastern margins of the Central Ameri­ waters of interest to countrie partici­ the north coast of South America on can continental shelf have been com­ pating in the project. A variety of rec­ the south. and the east coast of Cen­ merciall y utilized by foreign Aeets to ognized successful fishing techniques tral A merica on the west. The total any extent. This leaves a number of were applied in to conduct the surface area eastward from the unexploited or underexploited areas mo t effective operati o n within the Jamaica Rise is about 800,000 square on the offshore banks or around un­ limited period avail able. The fis h­ miles. from which the surrounding populated island shelves which possess ing efforts were typically directed countries produce about 440 million the potential for increasing produc­ toward areas unexpl oited or under­ pounds of fis h (FAO 1968) annuall y. tion by Caribbean countries utilizing exploited by local fishermen of those The continental shelves are generally an appropriate size of fishing enter­ areas. Some work was carried out in ve ry narrow in the Greater and Lesser prise. Dominant species on these nearshore waters in order to acquire Antilles area. with rather steep slopes banks or outer continental shelve comparati ve data or to demonstrate descending directl y into the are snappers (Lutjanidae), grouper more efficient gear or methods. Prog­ depth . Those off the north coast of (Serranidae), and jack (Carangidae) ress and details of these efforts were, South America and the east coast of from time to time, published as con­ are relatively exten­ HISTORICAL REVIEW secuti ve Cruise Reports and Fishing si ve and producti ve because of nu­ Logs and made available to the partici­ merous river outA ows or upwellings. Considerable exploratory fishmg pating authorities and other interests There are a number of banks or for these species throughout the area to provide up-to-date information. At reefs along the Jamaica Rise between was conducted by the U.S. ational the end of project Phase I (3 I August Nicaragua and Jamaica as well as in Marine Fisheries Service research 1969) interi m progress reports cover­ the Leeward Islands area. They are vessel Oregon. These efforts have em­ ing the period from December 1966, typically of coral and thus have a ployed a variety of fishing methods, when the project vessels began opera­ rel ati vely rugged bottom. The edges such as bottom or mid-water . tion, to July 1969 were prepared on of those banks or reefs are generally handlining. bottom longlining, gill methods and results of pri ncipal ex­ steep, dropping off from depths of netting. and fish traps. Carpenter and plorations. These provided timely 30 to 50 fathoms to 400-500 fathoms. Nelson (1968), stated that "Immediate information on which to base com­ The local fishing industries are increased snapper and grouper pro­ mercial operations and planning for small, using mostly the daily beaching duction can be realized through adop­ Phase II (August I 969-August 197 I) type craft at numerous locations due tion of modern hook-and-line fi hing explorations. to a small number of natural or man­ techniques." They also state "limited This report covers part of the work made harbors . This results in limited scale fisheries should be sustainable accomplished on one of the two most landings at a given location and pre­ throughout the Antille . although they promising latent demersal fishing vents further development of neces- would almost nece sarily be a hook-

9 and-line or trap nature, since relativel little trawlable bottom exists." Gulland ( 1970) estimates a range of value for the potential a nnu al catch of larger lock fast SWivel bottom fish from the anbbean , In­ cluding off eastern Venezuela, from 50,000 t :!OO,OOO tons . He also feels steel rod trame that this range i in reasonable agree­ ment with the napper and grouper e ti mate of 41 ,000 tons by arpenter and el on. These figures tndlcate an optiml liC target for the Increa c of demer al fi h production by partIcI­ pating project countnes tn the anb­ Figure l.-Hand reel. f lo eldelt SWivel bean. From these potential toc\...s, a full ­ mctn tons or \nappcr annuall) . fhc} scale commercial fi htng effort b) rcgularl~ call at I rcnch ulana where tuna clfcle nook Japanese vessel wa attempted b" anothcr fi\oc ~napper \c~~el\ (1'i to .. two 110 ton modified tuna l o n g ltn e r~ 39 IOn~) arc ba~cd (f ourmanolr 190 ) J based at t. Martin from August 1967 local ~chooner (\lZC un\...nown) In to 1arch 196 (Anonymous 1967) GUyana caught 30,'iOO pound~ ot ). wa y From two to four catcher boat (:! -ton napper and groupcr \oalucd at ~w , ... t l type) were hi pped on the la rger ve - I 1.000 dun ng 16 tn P\ tn I I mont h~ F1gure 3.-Dlagram 01 lermlnal g .. r uaed w ith sels for mother hip o peratIOn, utiltz­ With a cre\\ of nine ( II opp 19'1 ' ) powered Inepper reell during proJect explo· ratlonl ing ha ndli ne and bottom lo ngline . Ten Similar \CS cl based In u\ana During the 8-month penod, o ne \oe el produccd a total of :! 4.4 'i I pou nds tn ab)ut 195 , mal ha\e retarded produced :!40,OOO pound of fi h \0 alued of fish In 195 In thc adjacent ulf de\clopment of the napper tl her} at $45,600 from the entire anb­ of le\Jco, a nap per and grouper b} di\erting the a\ai\able manpower bean area, wh il e the other caught fi her} has e'l.l ted for O\er a century . to it he owner/ \...Ipper operation 395,000 pounds of fi h ( . $7 AOO) In 196:! , the napper fleet of mal become the ne'l.t approach for from only the Leeward land area nearl) 300 \e5 els pr duccd a total the maJont} of the local fi hlng indu - For various reasons, including mar­ of I :! milll n pound \alued at 35 tne tn the anbbean keting problems caused by ome of the mJllt on ( arpenter 1965) The a\erage fish from the Leeward Isla nds being catch per \oe el IS calculated at ap­ VESSELS, GEAR, AND clguatoxlc, the J a panese o peration prO>..1 matel) 61,000 pounds or FISHING PROCEDU RES were d iscontinued . I :! ,OOO a y. ear The fleet has tended In J amaica In December 1968, the to incre e tnce 1955 It appear that Vessels first commercial snapper reel fi hi ng In Gu)ana the rapldl} growing off­ Each of the three project ve el , was initiated by a fis hermen' coopera­ hore hnmp Indu tr), commenctng tive. T hey purchased a econdhand A /CYOII , ClI/wIIlIr, and F rt ~CIIa I, wa Florida ty pe snapper ves el , 51 fe et used for exploratory fi htng dunng the project life. Ale ., 011 and Ca/alllllr are length overall (LOA), and manned It Figura 2 .-Electrlc r.el. with Jamaican fis hermen . A skilled iter v el built In Japan In 1966. U .S. napper fi sherman wa employed They were de igned for multipur­ as captain. The boat fished mostly po e exploratory fi h ing and train­ the offsho re banks southwest of ing. They are off et hou e ide Jamaica and produced nearly 150,000 trawlers. Each ve el accommo­ pounds of fish valued at U .S. $35,700 dates eight crew, eight trainee. by November 1969, making a total and two technicians. Fregara i a of 14 cruises, each averaging about bridge forward einer tyle steel 2 weeks. The result was economically ves el de igned for combination feasible to them and encouraged fur­ fis hing and training. It accommo­ ther enterprises using cooperative dates 10 persons. The Ca/amar and operation. Fregara were operated from Barba­ Off the north and northeastern do while A/cyan was based in of South America, a commer­ Jamaica. The crews were made up cial red snapper fishery has existed for of local fishermen/trainees except past decades along the broad conti­ for captains, who were F AO master­ nental shelf. Four vessels, ranging fishermen. from 70 to 90 gross tons and fishing 'See paper by Wolf and Rathjen, this num­ from Martinique, land about 1,000 ber, for photographs and specifications.

10 Fishing Gear lines were used occasionally for shal­ tom corner, the top corner being low water snappers. secured to th e main steel wire by a Principal gear used for the explora­ T he mechanical snapper reels u ed lockfast wivel. Hooks used on the tory snapper fishi ng were handline were a bicycl e type of hand reel snood were number six to nine tuna gear and some experimental use of (Fig. I) and an electric motor dri ve n circle. bottom longline. Descriptions follow. reel (Fig. 1). Six hand reels were used Bottom longline gear Handline gear on the A /cyon until December 1968, when two of them were replaced by Bottom longline gear was fabricated Types of handline gear used were electrical reels. The electrical reel is in units of baskets. A basket of long­ (I) traditional hooks and line, and (2) driven by a modified automobile line wa comprised of a 60-fathom mechanical reels-hand powered and generator powered from a 12-volt mainline to which were att ached 18- motorized (electric). hea vy duty ma ri ne battery. This reel inch long 160-pound test nylon mono­ The hook and line outfit wa con­ has a designed line take-up speed of filament leaders spaced 4 fathoms structed of 100-150 pound breaking 50 fathoms per minute running free apart (except for the first two cruises strain monofilament nylon mainline and about 41 fathoms per minute of Freg(l/(l which used a 2-fathom about 200 yards long, with one end under heavy load . After A/cyon's interval). Seven to ten ba ket were tied to a wooden winding frame and successful use of the two electric joined together in one line to make a the other end fastened to a 1/2 _11/2 reels for six cruises, the remaining set. The main line wa made of a I·ol_ pound iron weight with a lighter hand reels were replaced by electric inch diameter, tarred "Kuralon" rope thread. From three to five 150-pound reels for the rest of the period. Freg(l/(l commonly u ed for tuna longline gear. test standard wi vels ( ize num ber I) u ed five electric reels while C(I/al/wr The hooks u ed were number six or or three-way swivels were attached to used five electric reels and one hand seven tuna circle. Weights and floats the mainline at equal intervals of reel during her snapper expl oratory were attached to the line at interval about I Y2 feet from the weight. T o fi hin g periods. so that the gear was uspended just each swivel was ti ed about a foot of Typical gear fitted on the hand or above the bottom . T his method wa 55-75 pound test nylon line with a electric reel was a 3/64 inch stainl ess used mostl y by Freg(lla and a few hook at the free end (Mustad-O'Shaug­ steel line with a termina l rig (Fig. 3) times by A/cyon. nessy)2 number 4/0 (for ye ll owtail introduced by a skill ful Gulf of Mexi­ napper) to number 6/0 (for large co snapper fisherman from the United Bait jacks or groupers). Exclusive use of States assigned to the project as a The most common bait used for this gear was made only for the first snapper fishing consultant. The ter­ line fishing was imported frozen squid cruise of the A/cyon (cruise 67-6). minal rig is made of a triangle-shaped (Lo/igo sp. and DarYlelilhis sp.) and Thereafter mechanical s napper reels wire (8 S.W.G.) with a 5-7 pound iron Spanish mackerel (ScolllberOl/lOrOliS were the main gear although the hand- weight on o ne bottom corner and a macu/alus). There was some use of rubber snubber plus a short 250 herring (Clupea hare ngus), Pacific 2Reference to trade names does not imply pound test monofilament lin e with endorsement by the National Marine Fish­ saury (C% /a bis saira) , and Pacific eries Service, NOAA. usually three snoods on another bot- mackerel (Scolllber japoniclls). Some native fish baits such as Atlantic thread herring (Opislhonema oglinlllll ), bump­ Figure 4.-Hand reel. mounted In. lde of Ale,on'. bulwark. er (Ch /oroscombrus chrysllrlls), and fourwing fl yingfish (Hirundichthys affinis) were tested as well. The sqUid and bait fish used were cut to proper size to cover a hook.

Fishing Methods Handline and reel fishing Handline gear and mechanical reels were mostly used from the starboard side and the stern. The mechanical reels were mounted along the Inside of the starboard bul wark at abou t 10-ft intervals on the A /cyon and Ca/alllar (Fig. 4). On the Fre/?al(l three reels were fixed on the starboard side and two on the port side. A bait board fitted to the gunwale and a bait cutting knife were provided for each reel operator. Gear repairing tools such

11 r

Tabl. 1.-FI.hlng log-handlln•• nd ra.,II.hlng crul ••• lor .napper .nd r.,.,ed .peel ••.

Cru i se Sea­ Snapper Fish .-effort Total Catch Sna ppers Groupers Jacks Others" No Month Date Area covered days flsh .-day (line-hour) no Ibs no Ibs no Ibs no Ibs no Ibs

June 19- Pedro Bank. Rosalind Bank A. ' 67- 6 July -16 and Walton Bank 16 15 777 3,846 7,627 3,364 6 ,230 259 361 44 252 179 784 (+?) (+?) Mona Passage, Silver & A . 67- 8 Sep . 7-24 Navldad Banks 17 5 266 480 1,348 179 441 249 630 14 85 38 192 8-14 (+?) A. 67- 9 Oct. 16-20 SE of Morant Cay 10 3 67 113 340 30 101 47 132 17 74 19 33 1-11 A. 67-10 Nov . 16-27 Pedro Bank 22 19 1,5 86 4,632 12,547 2,907 8,077 856 1,512 294 1,720 575 1,238 (+7) ( +?) (+?) (+ ? ) (+?) Pedro Bk., Rosalind Bk., Alice Sh ' l east of Central A. 68- 2 Feb . 7-25 America 19 15 639 3 ,396 11 ,675 2,391 6 ,894 190 945 534 3,261 281 575 Monte Crlstl Bk., Navldad A . 68-3a Mar . 13-30 and Silver Banks (40) l1 V. 523 2, 841 12,086 2,445 10,269 III 408 201 1,027 84 382 Virgin I sland Shelf A . 68-3 b Apr . 3-22 Northern Leeward Islands 40 II 589 1,920 9,222 1,537 6, 191 123 1,586 213 1,237 47 209 Rosalind , Alice A. 68- 4 May 9-23 East of Central America shelf 14 12 1,303 4,635 22,704 1,620 7,042 67 233 1,698 12,156 1,250 3,273 A . 68- 5 June 8-17 East of Central Am erica 9 6 451 4,998 17,592 349 889 14 150 4,091 15,549 544 1,004 Pedro Bk., Rosalind Bk., & A.68- 9 Dec . 4-18 East of Central Am erica 14 12 663 4,775 13,565 2 ,064 4,847 98 470 2 ,059 7,004 554 1,244 Pedro Bk , Mackerel Bk ., New Banks, Blossom Bk , A . 69- 1 Jan . 9-27 Bk . 18 12 694 1,872 6 ,698 1, 198 4,331 168 354 107 543 399 1,470 Monte Crlsli Bank, Navldad A . 69- 2 Feb. 10-26 and Silver Bank 16 11 366 1,819 7,125 1,518 5,789 85 323 196 886 20 127 Navldad Bank, Mona Passage A . 69- 3 Mar. 11 -28 Puerto Rican coasts 17 10 750 1,093 4,458 818 3,404 114 478 91 406 70 170 A . 69- 4 Ap r. 10-24 East of Central America 14 11 1,104 5,068 22 ,087 2,032 5,004 34 212 1,959 13,000 1,043 3,871 May 10- ... A. 69- 5 June -4 Northern Leeward Is 24 14 660 1,631 1,494 4,427 74 1,250 60 516 20 N 6,213 3 16-20 Pedro Bk ., Rosalind Bk . A . 69- 6 June 21-30 East of Central America 14 8V. 310 4,227 11 , 192 804 1,806 67 230 2,898 7,764 458 1,392 14 - 17 SE of Morant Cay A . 69- 7 July 2 1-24 Pedro Bk ., Mackerel Bk. 6 5 126 386 1,469 348 1. 164 14 180 17 115 7 10 Pedro Bk., A lice Shoal A. 69- 8 Aug . 5-18 SE Coast of Jamaica 13 12 601 1,249 4 ,557 962 3.672 129 309 88 447 70 129 A . 70- 8 Aug . 11 -25 East of Central America 14 10 1,008 9,804 23,719 5 ,252 9,717 82 347 3,837 12,291 633 1,364 A . 70- 9 Sep . 16-27 East of Central America 11 8 1,179 9,971 24 .679 3,720 7,329 28 188 4,477 13,318 1,746 3,844 A . 70-1O Oct. 1-8 East of Central America 7 4 438 6.468 12722 3 ,073 5,800 6 IS 1,652 3.495 1.737 3,412 21 Aleyon 's total 315 215 14 ,100 75 ,224 233.625 36lO5 103,424 2,815 10.313 24 ,547 95 , 146 9.757 24,743 C. 70- 9 Oct. 7-28 Off French GUiana 21 14 404 1,237 6,208 1,095 4,080 100 1,619 35 499 7 10 C.70-1O Nov . 12-27 Off SUrinam 15 10 91 369 1,314 283 893 80 415 6 6 C . 70- 11 Dec. 3-1 8 Off Guyana 15 12 198 1,899 10,702 1,810 9,865 62 725 79 20 33 F. 68- 1 Jan . 9-26 Netherland Leeward Islands 17 3 12 9 50 3 10 4 38 2 2 Oct. 21 - F. 68- 8 Nov . - 18 Lesser Antilles - North 27 16 600 1,867 8,289 1,632 6.582 60 865 147 812 28 30 F. 68- 9 Dec . 2- 18 Lesser Antilles - M iddle 16 10 312 85 140 52 95 3 9 II 27 19 9 F. 69- Jan . 8-25 Lesser Ant Illes - South 18 12 405 125 542 93 418 64 17 54 II 6 Feb. 14 - F. 69- 2 Mar . -7 Lesser Antilles - South 21 512 446 1,556 305 946 24 171 75 395 42 44 F. 69 - 3 Mar. 17-29 Barbados 13 11 222 43 97 16 17 32 13 40 10 8 (+7) (+7) (+?) Apr . 14- F. 69- 4 May - 4 Lesser Antilles - North 21 13 408 1,840 7,370 1.567 5,018 59 952 119 653 95 747 May 20- F. 69- 5 July - 5 Netherland Leeward Islands 46 23 514 209 670 85 136 44 189 23 163 57 182 July 28- F. 69- 6 Aug . -26 Off Surinam & Guyana 29 14 746 1,916 7,263 1,749 5,789 138 1, 180 14 199 15 95 F.69- 7 Sep . 15-20 Off Guyana 5 1 25 10 6 10 6 Sep . 29- F. 69- 8 Oct. -23 Off SUrinam 24 12 631 1,134 5 ,280 1.098 4,713 33 548 2 19 Nov. 10- F. 69- 9 Dec. - 16 Oft Guyana 36 7 314 ~ ~ ~ -Lill 4 14 4 54 36 Grand tota I 639 380 19,494 87.563 290,599 49,042 149,401 3.433 17, 106 25 ,01S 98, 178 10 .069 25 ,915

'A represents Alcyon cru ise. C. for Calamar and F for Fregala • ·t .... c ludi n o r9inbow runne r as wire cutters, pliers, a crimping tool Catch res ults were recorded and which was connected to eIther end of (Nico-press) for wire and nylon lines, notati ons were made on specie and the erial basket of II ne. and scoop nets and gaffs for large fish size of fish, number and weight cap­ The gear was fi hed 2-5 hour~ and were provided at a rate of about one tured, number of lines, type of bait, then retneved by a hydraulIC longiine for three operators. A fi sh gutting duration, and depth (range) of fishi ng. hauler on the starboard deck through table and kni ves, washing tank, and Some biological data such as gonad a ide roller mounted on the gunwale a few ets of marker buoys with stage, sex, or tomach content were Catch records similar to those pre­ anchors and a grapnel to take up the also collected whenever time per­ viously mentioned were obtained. marker buoy were also necessary for mitted. the operation. Bait was used at a rate Special care was paid to the hand­ of about 15 pounds per day per line lin g and preservation of the catch for Production fishing or reel. Depending on the vessel, further marketin g demon trations on 5-12 ton of ice were carried. This shore. T he fis h were gutted and washed Ten simulated commercial type was u ed at a ratio of about I pound carefully. When time permitted they production fishing crui es for napper of ice for a pound of fish. were arranged in a plastic fis h box and related specie were carned out On a typical exploratory fishing ex­ bell y down and stored in the iced to demon trate commercial fea ibility pedition an area would be chosen and fish hold. When conditions did not during th e project period. Typically fishing operations conducted o n tran­ permit boxed storage the fish were the fishing was accomplIshed by a sect s near and on the slope edge of the iced in the conventio nal manner and mother hip operation, with AIe,\ 0 11 bank, or shelf, or at a recognized boxed during unloading. acting as a mothership or base for up depth range on the shelf such as 30 to three maneuverable small catcher to 45 fathoms fo r red snapper or 14 Bottom-set longline fishing boats. A variety of catcher boats-­ to 25 fathoms for yellowtail snapper . local dug-out canoe, 19-foot done~ Electronic depth sounding machines This method was conducted during familiar on the Grand Bank of e .... - were fully utilized over the fishing four coastal multipurpo e cruises and foundland. an 18-foot plywood run­ ground to record bottom topography four snapper reel fishing cruises by about boat. and a 16-foot work boat­ and evidence of fish concentration. Fregata. In these cruise 3-10 baskets were used . The fishing methods used When the machine traced a hard or were used. Each basket was bai ted were primarily mechanical reel on rugged bottom, a ridge, or any abrupt and joined in one line; floats and the A Icyon and handlines on the transformation of the slope edge, a weights were attached along the main­ catcher boats. Up to eight local com­ closer examination was made by cut­ line on a chute fixed on the stern deck mercial fishermen from JamaIca were ting acros it from many directions at (Fig. 5). After surveying the bottom em ployed at full share-pay ba~1 (50 slow speed. At a likely spot on slope the vessel steamed in one direction as percent of their catch) to fi h from the edges or upon recording a school of the set was made by hand passing from catcher boats or from A Icyon. fish, fi hing tests were made. If the one basket to another throwing first These cruise were conducted on result was good, an anchored marker line, th en the hook, repeatedly. The known productive grounds. The fish­ buoy was usuall y set to facilitate main­ gear was anchored at each end and i ng operati ons were not re tricted to taining positi on. The buoy made it marked with a flag buoy tied to one either daylight or dark hour . but easier to determine current move­ end of the lift rope, the other end of were continued as long as they .... ere ments as well. Fishing was commonly accomplished while drifting or by Figur. 5.-Settlng bottom longlln. from Fregata. keeping the ve el against wind and current by repeated use of engine and rudder for position keeping. This maneuver keeps the fishing lines close to the vessel to reduce fouling and permit a better feel of the fish bi ting. The drift was repeated until biting slacked off or was considered sufficient for evaluation. Occasionall y the vessel was anchored over a likel y fi hing spot. .. T ypically fi hing was conducted onl y during daytime for deepwater snapper, but on grounds where ye llow­ tail snappers and jacks were abundant efforts were made intermittentl y throughout both day and night by concentrating on the biting periods as noticed by the deck watchman who operated a few monitoring lines.

13 Tlbll 2 -Flahlnll houra, Cllch rIll, Ind ,cllch compolilion by .,. .. Ind blnk,

-~- -- TOlel hours end Calch ,,,Ie Calch composllion (% In wnlyh1) d8Y~ fished IbJ Ino/dllY SnoPP'" Jack Group", Grunl OlhtH AlIa allYl !i ..... ed ID/llne/OI~ ;:, ... apper ... . lit ur..-,uper l.J/",m utno" AItJP (hr.) (deys)

Barbuda Bank N 10 NE edge 446 46 123 (116) 60.4 10 1 89 01 o ~ Barbuda Bk Wedge 67 7 8 140 (118) 849 80 7 ~ 0 0 29 \ 4.5 I 6 ( 41" 527 179 185 43 65 Barbuda Channel Cay 249 45 49 ( 27) 477 246 193 11 68 Easl edge 1, 1 03 69 ( 30) 100 0 0 0 0 25 8 103 ( 81/ 69,7 52 45 0 198 Anllgue SE 10 Sedge 5.9 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 05 3 ( 2) 0 0 100 0 0 NeVIS Is (SW) 74 1 2 ( 2) 100 0 0 0 0 1749 145 79 ( 95) 745 119 9 7 2.8 11 Redonda (NE) 27 0.5 97 ( 52) 534 0 464 0 0 \87 2 2~ ( 231 394 39 21 9 88 260 A bank NE of SI Kills 27 0.5 7 ( 4) 100 0 0 0 0 35 22 76 ( 92: 71 7 68 8 .S 39 92 Havers Shoal and 5.5 2 40 ( 51) 76.2 188 52 0 .9 26 Monlserral 257 3 83 ( 71) 84 .0 115 4 4 0 0 320 3 180 (\91) 916 32 22 04 o 1 6.9 6 7 ( 5) 720 159 84 08 29 750 5S 67 (119) 593 25 .1 110 2.0 26 Dominica 7 1 0.8 15 ( 10) 154 846 0 0 0 46 1 6 109 ( 85) 587 253 9.5 3 .1 3.5 Offshore banks SE of Doml nlca 7.5 18 1 ( 1) 0 85 7 0 0 143 337 :> 88 (\48) 53.6 37.2 52 4 .0 0 WM 1801 145 P4 (130) 697 16 .3 4 1 5.3 4.5 TOlal 4881 56.8 116 (101) 217 :> 105 (115) 50 8 229 182 4 .6 34 UM 323 2 71 (114) 32.3 567 7 4 36 0 75 ( 64) Eill ot NIc:.,agua 5816 565 270 (276) 262 608 1.5 24 2.0 Windward Islands waters WM.' Martinique (ESE) 180 2 3 ( 3) 422 33.3 89 89 667 10lal' 1.6050 1495 151 (161) St Lucia 596 7 17 ( 15) 79.2 81 127 0 0 U M. St Vincent 3.5 1 2 ( 2) 333 0 0 0 667 87 ( 97) Barbados 864 9 2 ( 2) 9.7 37.5 46.5 07 56 HIIPanlol1 10 Traders Bank 11 .0 0 .5 28 ( 28) 306 67 1 2.3 0 0 "- VirOln l,taodS Grenad ine 58.6 6 5 ( 5) 41.2 176 31.9 3.3 60 M onle Clial! Ban. 91 7 13 150 (1 10) 870 52 46 2.3 0 .8 Grenada (SW) 29.2 2 .3 88 ( 88) 65.3 31.5 1 7 0 .9 0 .8 Slh'er Senk 585 5 132 ( 153) 80.2 66 102 1.2 1.8 Ranka bel ween Sliver W .M . Ind Nlvldld Bank 150 1 27 ( 40) 133 9 .9 657 5 .8 5 .3 Total 266.3 27.8 16 ( 15) Nevld.d Bank 1080 115 245 (229) 789 12 .5 56 0 .8 2.3 U .M. Mona Puseoe 53 .3 6 21 ( 18) 45 .7 12 .5 36 .8 0 5 .0 21 ( 20) Puerto R,can Coasl. 354 69 ( 51) 649 180 15 .5 0 0.9 Shell .nd Benks Shefves NE of S . America .round Vi,gin Is 505 5 154 (156) 612 15.0 21 7 0 1 4 Aruba, Curacao and --- Bonai re 120.8 23 13 ( 7) 203 24.3 28.2 0 27 .2 WM Trinidad and Tobago 83 .0 12 34 ( 23) 61 .6 9.5 27 .7 0 1.2 145 0 (132) Venezuela Easl Coast 27.4 7 55 ( 21) 53.8 0.4 44 .7 0 1.0 Total 4124 45 .5 UM Guyana 139.9 19 258 (178) 94 .6 1.7 3.5 0.1 1140 ( 108) SUrinam 159.8 21 88 ( 67) 82. 1 2 .8 13.8 1.3 French Gu iana 156.8 22 126 ( 89) 76.0 4.9 18.8 o 1 L ...... 'd I sl.nds Walers Sombrero Bank 361 3.5 110 (114) 90 .5 28 6 .5 0 0.2 W .M A bank SE ot Sombrero 85 1.5 184 (156) 868 6.3 6 .9 0 0 Total 566.9 81 189 ( 132) Anoullia Bk NW edge 85 1.5 76 ( 43) 62 .0 130 19 .3 0 5 .6 U.M . Angui lIa Bk . N edge 359 4 174 (156) 64 .9 124 22 .5 0 0 .2 112 (756) AngUi lla Bk NE edge 199 33 99 ( 60) 586 64 30.2 0 4.7 AnguIlla Bk E edge 1836 13 .5 159 (215) 680 111 14 .7 0 6.3 W.M . AnguIlla Bk SE edge 10 1 59 ( 59) 497 9 .5 40.8 0 0 Grand tOlal 3,460 382 129 (117) 51.4 33.8 5 .9 89 s..ba Bank 6 .3 1 20 ( 12) 57.3 12 1 25.8 4.8 0 U .M . 78 ( 74)

'Calch '"Ie IS total welghl of catch In pounds per one line equalized to ten fishing hours per day 'Local fISherman 's effort and catch from production fishing cruise are not inlcuded. flom aClual calch rale obtained from Ihe proJecl vessels oW M . = Weighted mean of catch rate from total fishing efforts and catch In the area. 'Catch ,ate In parenlheslS IS actual catch 'ale (catch + hours fIshed) .U.M . = Unwelghted mean of catch rate for total area. 'Other species Include raInbow runner productive and the stamina of the etherlands Antille for seasonal cov­ dae). jack ( arangidael. and grouper crew allowed. Catches were recorded erage. Calal/lClr was u ed for further ( erranidae) fa mIli es. Table 3 II t th e and stored as those in exploratory extensive coverage on the northeast most important pecie caught. fishing except that the local fisher­ South American shelf for three cruises The principal va ri eti es of snapper men's catch was stored in marked duri ng late 1970 where Frega/a had were bl ack, bl ack.fi n. and sIlh. napper plastic fish boxes. completed limited coverage during the along the helf edge. and ye ll owta il laterhalfof 1969. and mailer izes of bl ach. fi n napper AREA AND PERIOD COVERED Geographic coverage using bottom on the continental shelf in th e north­ set longlines was limited to some ern region of the Caribbean : bl ac h. fi n. The region of project exploratory shelves of the Windward I lands and queen. and silk napper in the Wmd­ operations was basically all the Carib­ Netherland Antilles by Frega/a dur­ ward Island area: and Cari bbean red bean waters eastward from the Jamaica ing her exploratory or experimental snapper . vermillion napper . and Rise incl udi ng adjacent waters and cruises to the areas. Practical fishing lane nappers off northeastern S uth off the northeast coast of South Amer­ days by thi method totaled 60 from America. ica-Guyana, Surinam, and French eight cruises made during 1968 and Jacks are usua ll y considered pelagic Guiana. Since emphasi in selecting 1969 . A /c yan experimented with this fishe , but they were often caught on areas to be fished was made primarily method for 2 days on the shelf east of napper handline or reels. Best Jac h. for the interest of project participants, Central America during a production catches were on the ea tern margm the northern shelf of South America cruise to the area in June 1968. of the Nicaraguan helf. T he dominant off Venezuela, the inner shelf east of specie captured durin g all easons Central America, and the coastal DISCUSSION were green jack by nu m ber, and h rse­ waters of Haiti were not included. eye jack by weight. Considerable num­ During exploratory line fi hing for Handline and Mechanical bers of rainbow runner and amber snapper and related species, a total of Reel Fishing jack were also taken easonall,. Bl ack 587 sea-days was spent making 38 jack was the domina nt speci es of the Catch cruises and 382 actual fishing days group on off ho re banks in th e area during the 5 years of vessel operation . A total of about 29 1,000 pounds between south of Jamaica and the The Jamaica-based A Icyon was u ed (round weight) of fish was taken by Leeward Island . A m ber and alm aco to cover the northern region of the this method during these expl orations. jacks (someti me recorded a o ne spe­ Caribbean from the eastern margin of The catch and fishing effort , area, and cies) and horse-eye jack. although the Central American shelf eastward period of individual cruises for each common, were not taken in quantlt,. to the Leeward Islands. Utilizing hand­ vessel for the entire period are shown Grouper catches were generall y lines and reels, she spent 3 15 sea­ in Table I. The major group in total light but added igni fica ntl, to the days during 2 I months in four con­ catch by weight were: snapper of totals. Hind and yell owfin groupers secuti ve years (1967 to 1970) with various specie 51.4 percent. jacks were the main pecies of grouper on 215 actual fishing days . This included 33 .8 percent, grouper 5 .9 percent, ragged hard bottoms in the northern six exploratory fishing cruises and nine and other miscellaneous species 8.9 regi on of the Caribbean. Na sau. red. simulated commercial production percent. Total fishi ng effort expended yellowfi n. and misty groupers were demonstration cruises to the south­ was about 19 ,90 I line-hours (a typical also common species in th e eastern western waters off and around Jamai­ line is a handline or mechanical reel part of the Greater A ntille and in ca, four exploratory fishing crui es lin e with three hooks) obtained during the Leeward Islands areas. Y ello~­ from north of Hispaniola to Puerto 3,460 hours in 382 days of actual edge, snowy, and W arsaw groupers Rico, and two exploratory cruises in fishing including simulated production were preval ent specie of groupers the Leeward Islands water . cruises. onl y in the southern region of the With the same method as A Icyon The overall average catch rate was Caribbean from north of Venezuela to the Barbados-based vessels, Frega/a 760 pound of fish per day from 9 .8 French Guiana . and Calamar, spent a total of 272 days fishing hours with 5 .3 line, which Grunts and tri ggerfis hes formed conducting exploratory fishing in the equalled 146 pounds per line. These most of the remalnmg group. In addi­ waters along the Lesser Antilles arc, rates include both pure exploration ti on to the rainbow runner ~ h ich IS the Netherlands Antilles (Aruba­ and simulated commercial-type pro­ included in the "other" group in our C uracao-Bonaire), and off northeast duction fishing . The catch rate, fishing recordings. South America. Their operations cov­ effort, and composition of catch (per­ Average weight of fis h fo r all specie ered a total of 17 months from 1968 cent in weight) by main fi sh group , was 3.3 pounds each. bei ng 3 0 pound to 1970 with a total of 15 cruises and by area of each bank or helf are for snapper. 3.9 pound fo r jacks. 5.0 165 actual fishing days. This included hown in Table 2. pounds for grouper. and 2.6 pound some repetiti ve cruises to the same for other species Species area. Frega/a did exploratory fishing from the Leeward Islands to north­ More than 70 species representing Gear efficiency eastern South America including the 15 families were caught o n handlines Netherlands Antilles with a repeated and reels. The mo t important of the e Compari ons were made as to th e cruise to the Leeward Islands and are member of the snapper (Lutjani- amount of time requi red for one C) c1e

15 of handllOlng. mechani cal reel . a nd (1 aole I) th e catc h rate In \\. e lght lor dev I.ltl o ns caused h dillcrence 01 electnc reel fi~ hln g. T he o perati ll n th e la tt er becoll1 es ,Ibolll ~() to h6 depth . fis h ' lie, o r Ihhln ' pe rl o rm.lr1 ce con Isted of ba iting (th ree hllll J.. ,) pll umh / hne / h(lur, c(l r1\id enng th e (Ihh hHIO ' hours) I a hl e ho \\. s o me lo\\.ering the line. hooJ.. lOg th e ti,h, retnev lng the lme. and ren1l1ving the fi h T h e~e observatIOn, \\.ere made 10 h bl. 3.-Common nem.. . cl .nlilic nem •. end . om. loe el nem.. of n.h ceugN by hend ll n. CK r.el m. thod:;.:.:.... ______60 fa thom of V\ ater under relatl \ el\ good baltlOg condltlon\ The Cl\ erage Common nam Loco n me total elapsed time \\.a\ 47 mmutes Illr (Snapp rs) (LLJIJ nina) the handline. 4.3 minute, lor the me- Black snapp r Aps lUI (1 nl lUI chanlcal reel (4.0 minutes \\ hL'n llper- Blac""n snapper Lur, nus ouccan 1/ ated bv two men). and 4.7 minu tes Dog snapper L IOCJ for the electnc-pov\ered reel 1 hu, It Gray snapp r L gr UIUS L ne n ppe! L nna r can be calculated that \\ hen U\lr1g M hoga~y snapp , L meh on handime or electnL reels ,j m.1 II1HJI11 Mullon sn Pper Lena s Queen sn pp r fl" IOu lIus of IJ haub per hour" pO\\lole ,lr 14 hauls for one man on a mechanical R d snap Car L pu'pu us Silk sn pper L 8"U reel Thl IS theoretical ho\\ e\ cr, 'I nce Sc:noolmaster L peau. lme breaJ..age. tangling. and ,lther lac­ Verm lloon snapp r RhomOOP leI u uOe s tor tend to reduce thi' tigure tl' aOllut 01 z P, II pomo ao ec'op 11>8 mu o ep a a ~ enChman JA 'Yello .... 18 I sn pp r Ocyurvs CM"U'", C "ub aPR 10 hauls per hour \\Ith each t~ pc ,11 mechanlLal gear. (J CkS Alrlcan pomp no Of the (\\0 dlfterent t)pe\ of h'lllJ.. Almaco Jack PR u ed. strall!ht hanJ.. or tuna circle. Grealer amD 'I ck Bar lack each had ad\antage, and dl\ad\an­ Back ae tages Tuna circle h ),)]..s. haped tll Creva / C Green lock cr s re i t escapement, \\ ere oelter Illr Horse eye e alliS 'Yellow J c oaf/hO ome" 109 catch more fi h In one haul. hence Ralnoo,," runner E agal lOp nnu el8 Sa on ~A they \\.ere good for deeper r.l'ltllm. hut aDoBdos had some dlsad\ ant age 10 unhl11klOg (Groupers Se

Based on the hauling cycle limita­ Sand Idellsh Malacenl hus p /um,ef' Sandllsh or sandee / (W'/ ) tion previously noted. under ideal con­ )olocho (P R.) Blacklone tolellsh Cau'o/al,'us cyanops ditions. the maximum theoretical catch rate obtainable is estimated to be Moray ee ls Gymnolhofax spp about 40 fish/line/hour (at 3 hook / Sharks Carcharh,nus spp li ne). Under average practical condi­ Negapflon sp Sphyrna sp tions this falls to about 15 to 20 Eu /am,e SP fis h / line / hour. Since the average ' (JA) - Jama ica. (P.R.) - Pu erto RICO, (Le) Brotl sh Leeward Is .. (Pa .) - Paplamento . (Tr .) - weight of fish caught was 3.3 pounds Tro nldad , (B'dos) - Barbados . and (W.i.) - West Ind ies

16 short-time catch rates recorded on The catch rate from this type of more than o ne-half of the A In 01/' relatively good fishing ground where fishing method would vary not onl y fis hi ng effort Trainee were replaced fish chool were found on the echo with the skill of the skipper. a in bot­ every 6 month at the termination of sounder. Such short-time catch rates. tom trawling or purse seining. but al 0 their cour e however. are highly variable during depend greatly on individual teach­ It I a u med. therefore. that project the cour e of a day due to change of nique and incentives to the fi hermen. ve el catch rate dunng production fish biting condition. difference of To illustrate this. the fishing efficiency fis hing woul d be about 15 percent Ie.~ the ves eI's passing duration over the of the project vessel's crew and th an th at of a commercIal ve ~el fish chool if drifting. change of cur­ trainees. who engaged on the fi hing havi ng an expen enced crew rent and/or wind. or sometimes a cruises without bonus (except fixed reduction of stamina of the crew. sea allowance). is compared in Table Day catch rates for the best catches 6 with catch rates of the local co m­ Discussion of fishing from principal banks or shelves during mercial fishermen who worked with grounds by area the explorations of the three project them but upon a contract of fu II The average catch rate and catch vessels are shown in Table 5. The hare-pay from their catch during the compo iti on by pnnclpal groups of catch rate in terms of numbers of fish imulated production crui es . As foot­ species for all reel fi hing efforts ranges from 3.3 to 20. I fish/line/hour noted in the table. there were some appear in Table 2. Whale thl IS of with relatively longer biting durations. handicaps to the commercial fi shermen overall general In terest. more peclfic The catch rate in terms of weights has in fish i ng methods and gear in th e information relatl ve to fi hI ng a wider range. from 10 to 137 pounds/ earl y cruises. but those were evened grounds. fi sh species. and eason are line/hour depending on the size of fi h out in the later cruise . The technical necessary to elect the best areas and avai lable in the area. ability of the commercial fi shermen seasons fo r carrying out commercIal A verage catch rates from total fish­ who were from the mo t skillful and operations. These data are presented ing effort in Table 2 are far below the experienced group o f fi hermen in in tabular fo rm WIth accompanyIng above figures since geographic and Jamaica. was of cour e higher than narrative fo r the fo ll OWing geograph­ seasonal abundance are involved . that of the trainees. wh o undertook ical area and ubareas In the Appendix: Teble 4.-Selected short-time catch rates (everage from live reels). ( I) Jamaica ou th to southwestern waters of project area: Depth Duration Actual Catch Catch rate Date Fishing grounds (fm ) (hrs) no (I bs) no/hr Ib/hr (a) South coa t-J amalca

20-3-68 Monte Crist I Bk. (N . edge) 30-40 125 82 417 11.8 60 (b) O ffs hore south of JamaIca 21-3-68 Monte Cnsti Bk. (N. edge) 35-40 0.5 50 257 20.0 102 19-3-68 Mo nte Cnstl Bk . (WSW edge) 35- 120 2.5 98 421 7.8 34 20 -3-68 Monte Cristl Bk . (WSW edge) 50- 120 2.0 44 202 4 4 20 26-3-68 Navldad Bank (NNE edge) 55 -60 1.0 46 225 9.2 45 26-3-68 Navldad Bank (NNE edge) 55-60 1.2 61 264 10.2 44 Teble S.-Cetch ret. comperlson CN., 27-3-68 Navldad Bank (NNE edge) 45-90 12 109 366 18 .2 61 01 trelnees, end commerclel IIsh.rmen 27-3-68 Navl dad Bank (NNE edge) 45-90 1.5 84 301 112 40 Crew and Commercial t rainees fishermen Teble 5.-Catch rat .. observed from the beat cetches on the best fishing grounds. Cru i se (I bs/llne/hr) (lbs/man/hr)!

Total Catch rate 67-310 7.8 (37)2 20.9 (100 2 fish ing De pt h Tota l catch Main (-/iine/hr) 68-44 225 .2 (121) 20.9 (tOO)2 Area Date no Ibs (h rs) (fm ) speci es no Ibs 68-5 46.0 (202) 228 (100)2 68-59 16 .7 (57) 291 (100 2 E of Nicaragua 13-6-68 1,278 3,984 ' 18.7 18-24 HEJ , GAJ2 200 62 69-5•6 1 89 (106) 84 (100 24.£-69 1,204 3,328 10.4 18-2 4 GAJ , HEJ 20.1 56 5 69- 4 180 (78) 231 (100 • 17-8-70 1,233 3,734 ' 9.0 22 YTS , GAJ 13.1 40 70-58 204 (66) 30.8 (100)2 13-8-70 E of Honduras (2nd shelf) 743 909 ' 9.1 20 YTS 8.4 10 70-59 187 (85) 22.0 (100 2 15 -2-68 263 1,113 10.0 28-120 BKS, YTS 3.3 14 70-510 270 (80) 33.8 (100 2 Aosallnd Bk. 1-7-67 300 664 4.2 22 YTS 9.5 21 Tota l 177 (78) 226 1...,,,, 2 10-2-68 142 677 7. 6 50-55 BKS, BFS 3.4 16 (averag e) Alice Shoal 24-2-68 244 1.018 44 40-100 BKS, BFS 10.1 45 23-7-69 Pedro Bank (E) 219 896 10.0 35-130 BKS, SKS 3.7 15 ' The fishermen occasionally used two nes Pedro Bank (SW ) 24.£-67 584 1,174 5 .3 14-30 YTS 15 .7 32 at a lime for one man and the catch rate 13-8-69 Pedro Bank (NW) 461 1,775 9.7 40-80 BKS 7.9 31 Includes the total catch from the 'wo lines Monte Cnstl Bk . 20-3-68 278 1,428 5.5 50-120 BKS 10.1 52 as Ib/man/hr Navidad Bank 26-3-68 611 2,305 12 .3 50-60 BKS, BFS 11 .0 42 2lndex. Commercia fishermen s catch rate = 25 -3-68 1,437 10 .1 Silver Bank 376 45-150 SKS . BKS 7 4 29 100 Virgin Islands 3Commerclal fishermen "shed mostly from 15-4-69 ( Bk.) 364 -vS42 9.3 35-60 BKS 7.8 33 satelille catcher boats '" the ",gt>t for yel owt81 Anguilla Bk . 8-4-68 376 1,969 12 .2 50-120 BFS , BKS 6 2 32 snapper In shallow waters whl e Crew and 30-10-68 Barbuda Bk. 293 1.237 8.2 35- 125 SKS 7 1 30 trainees fished 'I daytime for deepwater 5-1 2-70 Tnnidad & Tobago 105 406 2.1 60-70 CAS 83 32 snappers at edges Guyana (N) 14-11-69 754 5 .041 10.6 34 CAS 14.2 95 4ThiS crUise wes the Itrst experoence tor t e 12-12-70 395 3,901 4.3 41 CAS 13.9 137 commercial fIshermen In calc n9 flU-merOil! 13 - 12-70 550 3,770 3.6 33-41 CAS 191 131 lerge-slZe lacks (10 bs on average) e SUrinam 20-8-69 374 1,076 10.0 37 CAS 7 5 22 mechanlca reels ha<:l the advanlage for lak ng 5-10-69 138 758 4.5 37 CAS 6.1 34 ,arge-slze f sh while \tie commercial f s armen 14-10-69 French Gu lana (NE) 312 1,870 9.5 43 CAS 6.6 39 were discouraged because of sore ngars French GUiana (E) 16-10-70 313 1,391 10.7 52-63 CAS . VMS 4.9 22 from Ihelr handl,"es from the savy calc 5Commerclat f shermen Ished mosl of 'Production fishing crUise , bul commercial f,shermen's catch IS excluded fro,., Alcyon ~ deCi< and also usea 2HEJ = Horse-eye lack, GAJ = Green Jack, YTS = Yellowtail snapper, BKS = Black snapper reels ~hene"er aV811abre BFS = Blackf," snapper, SKS = Silk snapper, CAS = Canbbean red snapper and VMS = "Mostly daytime fishing lor deepwater snapp.rt Vermillion snapper. on slope edges

17 (c) Banks southwest of J a­ ( 19 percent in number) grouper, 43 Probable fact r~ affecting the'>e two maica. percent (25 percent in number) jack, different intervals are that ~napper (d) Central American shelf. and 2 1 percent (39 percent in number) ~ehooh are generally compact and (2) North of Hispaniola to Virgin shark and other fish . hief s pecie~ of narrow while the grouper'> or jacks In Islands: these varietie are imilar to tho~e these area~ usuall y are well d lsper')ed. from the handline method. . (a) Bank north of Hi paniola. Fishing grounds (b) Mona P assage. (c) Puerto Ri co and the Vir­ Discussion of bottom longline atches and catch ra tes (pound,>1 gin Islands helf. catc h rate and gear efficiency basl-..et) by fish In g \ubarea and m nth (3) Leeward Islands: are \ummanLed In Table I I Only the atch rate and ' pecle comp Sltl o n (a) Sombrero I land-Anguil­ shelf edges off T obago ') how re latively by fi hing area are shown in T able 8. la Bank. hi gh catch rates, bu t ven these Soaking time ranged from 1.5 to (b) Barbado -Antigua Ba nk . amount; Indl ate bottom longllnlng I 6.9 hour and averaged 3.1 hour\. (c) St. Kitts--Dominica. not a\ effiCient as reel handllnlng Re ult tndlcated that th e catch rate (4) Windward Island . Resu lt s of expenmenta l bottom did not in rease with soal-..ln g time. (5) Aves I land . longllne operati o ns b, J a panese In th e Table 9 IS a c mpanson of catch rates (6) Aruba-Curacao--Bonaire . Leeward hlands area al 0 Indicate the of each fiv e ets betw en the longest (7) Continenta l shelf of South relative IneffiCienCy of thl gear for a nd horte t soaking time. There was America from Trinidad to French napper Thel r efforts produced a total considerable bait 10 s, a eV ide nced of 2.533 pound of Ii h (1,057 pound Guiana: by empty hooks, even dunng the et (a) Shelves around Tobago of nappers) In SIX fls hlng day on dba of shorte t d ura ti o n . The " bait teal­ east of Trinidad . Ban I-.. mlng a total of 3 ,555 h ob er .. were not Id entified . In ce nappers (b) Shelves east of Orinoco (34 ba ket ) for 25 set The catch and Jack took baits soon after the Ri ver (Jat.JO oN to 9 0 ) . rate was onl, 66 pound per 100 lines reached bottom dunng hand­ (c) Shelves off Guyana. hook With a range of 33 to 9 .5 . Their line operations, thl feeding habit (d) Shelves off Surinam . dati, et ranged from 20 ba ket might be one of the rea n Increased (e) Shelves off French Guiana. (2.200 hool-s) to 66 basl-..et (7,260 oaking time did not ,ield Increased hool-.. ) o n 14 to 154 fathom bottom. Bottom Longline Fishing catches. The catche deeper than 100 Catch fathoms produced mo tl, hark and a DISCUSSION OF RESULTS Only about 1,888 pound (round few . Be t re ult were gen­ AS RELATED TO COMMERCIAL weight) of fis h wa taken utilizing thi erally obtained from 30 to 0 fathom POTENTIAL OF UNUTILIZED method during the expeditions. Table A previou Iy described the Inter al OR UNDERUTILIZED STOCKS 7 shows the catch, fi shing effort, gen­ between each hook along a 60 fath m OF SNAPPER AND eral area, and period by cruise. mainline wa 4 fathom, but 2-fathom RELATED SPECIES C atch rate on average was only interval were u ed dunng the fir t two 3.3 pounds per basket (60 fathom crui es on the Aruba and Bonaire ince mo t of the un- or under­ long with IS to 16 hooks) or 19 helves. A compari on of catch rates exploited areas e i t beyond the range pounds per 100 hooks from 87 sets in between the two different inter al of of the pre ent local fi hing boat . 58 fi shing days. The catch by weight branchline is shown in Table 10 . these boats cannot be expected to was about IS percent (17 percent in The result is inconcIu i e due to the utilize the potential stock unles their number of fish) snapper, 21 percent inequality of eason and depth fished . size and their crew' technical know-

Table 7.-Flahlng log - bottom longlln. fllhlng eNI_. l or .napp.r end releted .pecl ••.

Fregala Bottom Cruise longllne Fishing effort Total Catch Snappers Groupers Jacks Others no Month Date Area covered l ish i ng days sets baskets hooks no Ibs no Ibs no Ibs no Ibs no Ibs

68-1 Jan . 9-26 Aruba 11 74 2.115 70 508 8 25 4 10 50 399 8 74 Feb. 12- Bonaire (5 sharks = 63 pounds)

68-2 Mar. - 4 (Klein Bonaire) 2 5 19 570 13 63 2 36 8 20 3 2 4 Mar . 29- 68-3 Apr. -26 Barbados 10 11 110 1,7 60 29 107 2 4 6 4 3 19 18 80 Aug . 12- 68-7 Sep . -20 Trini dad & Tobago 11 19 175 2.663 152 81 7 27 91 35 229 38 332 52 165 69-1 Jan . 8-25 St. Lucia - St. Vincent 7 10 59 944 44 66 9 29 1 5 34 32 Feb. 14- 69-2 Mar . - 7 Grenadine Is. 6 10 41 656 41 187 7 26 12 10 4 3 37 19 20 69-3 Mar . 17-29 Barbados 12 44 704 12 69 7 61 1 4 1 4 3 (+ ?) May 20- 69-5 July - 5 Aruba-Bonaire _ 8_ _9 .-R 568 24 22 2 5 6 17 16 ? 8 (+?) (+?) cruises Total 58 87 564 9,980 365 1,839 64 277 72 388 97 799 152 375 (+ ?) (+?) (+?)

18 T.bl. 8.-Bonom longlln. c.lch r.l. by ......

Catch rate Catch composition (% In WI ) Total Depth ra'l Fishing area Ib/l00 hooks flsh/l00 hooks Snap Jacks Group Shark Others hooks (fathoms

SI. Lucia shelf 10.2 2 .7 46 16 10 0 28 300 ( 20)' 18·110 St . Vincent shelf 11 .8 7 .5 38 0 16 35 11 360 ( 24) 30· 45 Grenadine Is. shelf 7.7 3.8 48 0 49 3 0 873(57) 17.210 Near Tobago 39.3 5 .7 10 36 36 10 8 2211 (149) 21 ·1 48 SE offshore Tobago 16 .2 5 .1 22 41 2 34 2 396 ( 24) 18· 56 Near Trinidad 6.9 5 .9 19 0 35 38 8 375 ( 25) 25· 35 Barbados shelf 8 .2 2.4 36 19 4 38 3 2480 ( 158) 28·255 Aruba shelf 21 .2 3 .2 5 77 3 12 3 2.435 ( 94) 27·152 Bonaire shelf 15 .9 3 .1 29 2 20 32 17 902 ( 41 ) 18-195

'Num ber of baskets.

Tabl. 9.-C.lch ral .. by .o.klng tim •. and, therefore, cause ciguatera fish It hould be clearly understood that

Longest soaking time poi oning when eaten by man. the catches of snapper. Jack. and Soaking According to Hal tead (1970), there groupers from the bank~ outhwe t of time Catch rate Total (hr) (flsh/l00 hooks) hooks is a growing amount of evidence to Jamaica. north of Htspanlola. and off suggest that the largest populations of the northeast coast of outh America 6.9 0 160 6 .3 0.6 160 toxic fish are found within the Virgin contained no ciguatoxlc Ii h. and the 5.2 0.6 160 development of th e great latent Ii. hery 4.9 0 60 and Leeward islands, with the epi­ 4.5 3.1 120 center at the St. Kitt -St. Eu tatiu - re ources these group repre\ent

Shortest soaking time Redonda Island complex. Historically hou Id not be overlooked becau~e certain species, such as yell owfin ciguatera associated with the\e 1.5 9.2 120 1.6 6 .7 75 groupers, dog-tooth nappers, and groups in the northern Leeward Island, 1.7 1.3 75 horse-eye jacks, over a certain ize and adjacent banks. 1.7 9 .2 120 (about 2 ki lograms) from pecific 1.8 8 .3 60 CONCLUSIONS localities have been con idered su - ledge of navigation and modern fishing pecl. Accordingly these species, as Con idering the re ults obtatned methods are increased. Economically, well as other, are avoided by commer­ from 5 years of exploraton fishin g. an appropriate size boat would be cial fishermen, and if caught they are the project has concluded that the between 45 and 60 feet long depend­ di carded. After fi h caught by one of resource of demersal snapper and ing on the crui ing range from its base. the project vessels reportedly cau ed related specie in the anbbean and As indicated in the Appendix, the ciguatera poisoning it became project adjacent waters could UPPl)rt tn­ areas with the greatest potential for policy to save, for research purposes, creased annual production b utlltZl~g commercial fishing operations are east demersal species caught in the north­ presently under- or une plOlted of Nicaragua, Navidad Bank, Barra­ eastern portion of the Caribbean. ground . Based on the est iMate of cuda Bank, Anguilla Bank, and the rather than sell them . An exception 20,000 to 25,000 tons presentl y t ken Guyana shelf. was silk snapper. since this species yearly from the regi on by local fi her­ The use of a mothership type opera­ usually inhabits depths from 60 to 100 men on local ground thiS tnc;rea! e tion, taking one or two small satellite fathoms, and fish caught at these could be two to four fold b ed n boats, has considerable potential. The depths are less frequently ciguatoxic estimates of Carpenter and el 0 advantage of the mothership type than those from shallower waters. No (1968) and of Gulland ( 1970 operation is a remarkable increase in cases of ciguatera were reported from The handline (electnc ree\) hshln catch at a lesser increase in the cost the silk snapper sold. At the present method has produced profitable catch of production. This type of operation, time a ciguatera studies project is rates from a number of location however, is restricted by sea condi­ being carried out by the Caribbean throughout the regIOn. It I~ <;e lectl\ e tions for the satellite boat. From the Research Institute at the College of toward larger fish and therefore d e experience of the project vessels, these the Virgin Island. The laboratory not catch some species haVing only boats of 17 to 19 feet, open dory type, faci Iities for the project are located at small ize ranges The bottom longltne could not go fishing from the mother­ Benner , Sl. Thomas, Virgin fishing method has not demonstrated ship when the wind exceeds Beaufort Islands. commercial potential. scale 3. Since the trade winds in the Caribbean area often blow continuous­ Table 10. -Calch r.le comparl.on at 2 and 4 f.thom hook Int_v.i • . ly with more force, this type of opera­ tion may be possible only during part Around Bonaire Aruba NW shelf fish/basket flsh/loo hooks flstl/ bas et flsh/l00 hook~ of the year. A possible deterrent to the expan­ 30 hooks/basket (2 fathom Intervals) 0.7 '32 11 l36 sion of the fishery for snapper, 15 hooks/basket grouper, and jacks in the northern (4 fathom Intervals) 3.6 0.5 '28 Leeward Islands and adjacent banks i 'March 1968. 5 sets (570 hooks - 19 baskets) on 18·105 fathom bottoms 2May and June 1969, 4 sets (269 hooks - 18 baskels) on 65·195 fathom bOlloms the fact that individual fish from these 3January 1968, 9 sets (1 ,815 hooks - 62 baskets) on 27-110 fathom bon oms groups may be occasionally ciguatoxic 'June 1969, 4 sets (320 hooks - 20 baskets) on 96·152 fathom bonoms

19 Table 11.-Botlom longline calch ralas by subarea.

Total set Depth Catch rate Catch b~ Species Fishing ground Month (baskets-hooks) range (1m ) (I b/basket) Snapper Jack Grouper Others

St Lucia shelf N to NW sid e Jan 1969 2 (12-180) 30- 110 2.5 3 ( 14) 1 ( 5) 2 ( 3) 2 ( 9) South side Jan 1969 1 ( 8-120) 18 0 0 0 0 0 St Vinc ent shell West side Jan 1969 1 ( 8-120) 30- 40 3.3 0 0 6 ( 7) 5 ( 19) S to SE side Jan 1969 2 (16-240) 30- 45 1.4 4 ( 16) 0 6 ( ?) 4 (- Grenad ine Is shelf S to SW of Bequ la Jan 1969 2 (10-150) 21 - 39 0 .7 1 ( 4) 0 5 ( 3) 0 West of Quatre Jan 1969 1 ( 5- 75) 17- 19 1.4 1 ( 4) 0 2 ( 3) 2 (- N E of Sa il Rock Jan 1969 1 ( 5- 75 ) 27 0 lost gear N E of Carnacou Fe b 1969 1 (10-160) 45 0 0 0 0 0 N to NE 01 Grenada Feb 1969 3 ( 17-259) 17- 27 3.0 4 (24) 0 16 ( 27) 0 S to SW of Grenada Feb 1969 2 ( 10-154) 196-210 0 .2 2 ( 2) 0 0 2 ( 2) To bago East sid e Sep 1968 5 (50-763) 43- 78 9.5 6 (39) 18 (138) 23 ( 196) 13 (103) East side Feb 1969 6 (23-319) 42-148 6.0 4 ( 3) 3 ( 37) 11 ( 95) o ( 25) N to NE side Sep 1968 6 (58-869) 33- 60 1.9 9 (23) 5 ( 40) 5 ( 20) 10 ( 25) SW side Sep 1968 1 ( 8-108) 30 16.1 1 ( 11 ) 8 ( 95) 0 5 ( 23) SE side Sep 1968 1 ( 10-152) 21 - 25 1.8 1 ( 9) 0 0 2 ( 9) Off-shore SE of To ba go Sep 1968 3 (24-396) 18- 56 2.7 6 (1 4) 2 ( 26) 1 ( 1) 11 ( 23) Trinidad N & NE side Sep 1968 '3 (25-375) 25- 35 1.0 4 ( 5) 0 5 ( 9) 13 ( 12) Bar bados shelf South si de Mar 1968 10 ( 100-1 .600) 42-210 1.0 2 ( 4) 2 ( 16) 6 ( 4) 18 ( 80) South side Mar 1969 5 (20-300) 28- 87 4 .6 8 (70) 4 ( 20) 1 ( -) 1 ( 2) Wes t side Mar 1968 1 ( 10-160) 57- 38 0.3 0 1 ( 3) 0 0 West side Mar 1969 4 ( 16-240) 60-195 ? 0 0 0 6 ( ?) N to NW side Mar 1969 3 ( 12 -180) 75-255 0.3 0 0 1 ( 4) 7 ( ?) A ruba NW side Jan 1968 9 (62- 1.815 ) ' 27-110 8.0 6 (24) 48 (389) 4 ( 10) 8 ( 74) NW side J une 1969 4 (20-320) 96- 152 0.4 0 0 5 ( 8) 4 ( ?) SE side Jan 1968 2 ( 12 -300) 29- 63 0.9 2 ( 1) 2 ( 10) 0 0 A round Klein Bona re Mar 1968 5 ( 19-570) ' 18 - 105 3 .3 2 (36) 1 ( 3) 8 ( 20) 2 ( 4) Bonaire Klein May-Jun . 1969 4 (18-269) 65-195 44 2 ( 5) 0 1 ( 9) 12 ( 66) Bonaire East tip May 1969 1 ( 4- 63) 45- 60 0 0 0 0 0

'25 to 30 hooks per basket

Ctguatera wi II remai n a deterrent fishing explorati o ns for snapper and re­ miles.3 A few fishermen from Port lated species in the Caribbean and adja­ to expansion of the snapper, grouper. cent waters. Mar. Fish. Rev. 36(9): 49-61. Royal or from Old Harbor set pots and jack fis hery in the northern Lee­ or do handlining there. The nearest \.\>ard Isla nd, but research efforts are part of Pedro Bank, the northeast APPENDIX under\.\>a) to overcome this problem . edge, is about 50 miles from Kingston. It extends westward about 100 miles, LITERATURE CITED Jamaica South to Southwestern Waters (Fig. A-1) has a total area of about 2,365 square A llsopp, \\ H. L 1958. ReView of the miles, and a total circumference of Fisheries of British Guiana. British Guia­ South coast of Jamaica na Dlv. Bull No.1. Georgetown . nearly 319 miles. The eastern shelf Anonymous. 1967. J apanese Firm to Con­ duct Longhne Red Sna pper Fishing from Within reach of local fishing vessel around the cays on the bank has been l. Marten Island 5wsan N lppo . June 13, 1967 out of Kingston Harbor. more than extensively exploited by pot fishermen Carpenter J S 1965. A review of the one dozen offshore banks exi t. These based on the cays serviced by carrier Gulf of red snapper fish ery. .S. Fish W lldl Sen., Circ. 208, 35 p. have already been heavily exploited ve sels. The mid-part of the north side Carpent er, J. S., and W . R. Nelson. 1968. by effective fi h traps and handline . is being fished by ome larger canoes Fishery Potential fo r Snapper and Grou­ per In the Caribbean ea and Adjacent In July 1967 and January and August from the southwest coast of Jamaica outh America Coast. Page 56 - Abstracts 1969 experimental fishing was carried during good weather. The remaining ymposlum or 1 nve ligatIO ns and Resources of the Caribbean ea and Adjacent Re- out to effect comparison with effort area is fished very little. gIO ns, f-AO, Rome. Food and Agn cuiture OrganiZatIOn of the in unexploited a reas. As indicated in Three unnamed banks about 35 United Nations. 1965 Pl an of Opera­ Table A-I , poor fi hing results were mile southeast of Morant Cay are tio ns li NSF Project RegIO nal, C aribbean F i ~h e r y Develo pment Project, Rome. obtained. seldom fished and have a total area of 196 Yearbook of Fi hery StatistiCS for 36.5 square miles with 44 miles cir­ 1967. FAO, Rome Offshore south of Jamaica Fourmanolr , P 1968. La Peche an Pagre cumference. Catch rates for specific L U(jc1 ' IIIS c1\"c1 au Large de la Guyana et du As anticipated , offshore bank locations in the off hore water south Brazil. La Peche M artlma, No. 1080 March 196 , Pari s (transl all On). which are within the operational range of Jamaica are given in Table A-2. Gulland, J. A 1970. The FI h Re ources of of only the larger local boat produced th e Ocean. F 0, Rome The catch rate from Mackerel Bank Hahtead , B W. 1970. InvestigatIOn on much better results. Mackerel Bank ranged from 12.4 pound /line/hour h,h POisorung W IBOO 1. F 0 , Rome. Rathjen. W F., M Yeakl , and B. Hsu . compri es two separate bank which in January to 4.0 poundslIine/hour in 1969 Tra" lfishlng potenllal off north­ li e about 25 miles outh of King ton . ca,tern outh men ca. Proc. Gulf a­ nbb. FI,h In,t :c 1 6-1 10 The total area i I 1.5 square miles with Wolt. R. , and G R hl slell 1974 Trap a total circumference of about 21 3 All miles in thi paper are nautical miles.

20 Jul y. The b e~ t catche occurred from 35 to 45 fath o m o n the south ccc. tern ed ge. Blac k napper comprised 66 pe r­ cent f th e to ta l catch . M o~t black sna ppe rs were feeding heavily o n wA Clol'eli l1 (/ (a pecie o f tunicate call ed .. ea T api oca" by sna ppe r fi hermen ). Sna pper fro m II· o ther producti ve ba nks (S il ver, avi­ d ad , etc.) were abo feedi ng heavil y o n ea T a pi oca. Bl ack jack a nd hinds \ o were the nex t do mina nt specie in th e 'I \ area. On o ne occasio n a school of ra in ­ V '~ bo w runners congregated a round the \~~ ve sel a nd 56 fis h (278 pound ) were w- ", t (, captured in 2 h urs. Fro m this a rea, ) during the producti o n cruise in J a nu­ -.' ary 1969, the commercia l fis herme n I aboard averaged 99 pou nds/ma n/day I during 6 days fis hing. / TA The catch ra te of deepwate r sna ppe r BANK in d aytime on the eastern edges o f Pedro Ba nk fro m Po rtl a nd Rock to the o utheast tip o f th e bank ra nged fro m 3 to 17 po unds/line/hour. The Flgur. A-1 . -Ar•• 01 op.r.tlon~am. l c •• outh to .outh ••• t.m •• 1.... catch rate fro m the co mmercia l fis he r­ men a board a satell i te ca tc he r boat at Table A-1.- Catch rDte. ob.erved at .paclflc loca tion. oH .outh co .. 1 of J.maOO. ni ght in sha ll ower waters wa 136 Depth range H Jurs Fishing grou nd Month fished (fm ) fIShed po und per 9 hours fis hing per ma n . Thi was mo tl y yell o wta il. Bl ack, New Bank Jan 1969 60- tOO 4 7 02 Blossom Bank Jan . 1969 25- 110 38 O~ fo llowed by black fi n a nd silk , nap per Cow B ay Aug 1969 50- 110 12 o Lamottes Bank Aug 1969 40-80 28 o do mi na ted catches fro m the slope Norseman Bank ed ge fro m 35 to 80 fa thom, wi th Dingl e Bk . & Morant PI Aug 1969 40-140 66 o vo laz (deep ea wenchma nl domi­ California Bank Jan 1969 35-90 6 20 nating fr o m 80 to 130 fa th o ms. Bl ack California Bank Aug 1969 30 4 20 Walton Bank July 1967 20-50 3 4 03 jack. ho rse-eye jack, yell ow fi n grou per. hinds. grunts. a nd triggerfish were commo n . but did not collect ively com­ d ay fis hing for )ell owtail and deep­ The catch rates re\ulteJ In II b prise mo re th an 30 percent of the total water snappers near the southwe t tiP and 4 pound,/I ln e/ hou r. re pc II C catch by weight. Fi hing a lo ng th e of the bank re ulted in poorer catch I). The dominant 'PC<.:I " \' cre bl o uth edges of Pedro Bank re ulted in ra te I to 9.7 po unds/line/hour. napper. bl ack jat:k. catches ra nging fro m o nl y 1.2 to 3.0 Fi hing operati o n o n the v.e tern po unds/lin e/hour. The species caught ed ge of the bank no rthv.ard from the were imila r to those from the east south west tip re ulted in rather poor ed ge. The helf southwest of NW catch rates. In February 196. 117 Ridge was relati vely produc ti ve fo r ilk napper (200 pound 1 v. ere yell owtai! sna pper . The da il y catch caugh t from 100 to 120 fat hom In one rate ra nged fro m 6.6 to 31 .6 pou nd / da). In A ugust o nly 10 ilk (23 line/hour in June 1967 ( 3 percent pound) v, ere caught along v, Ilh a fev. ) e ll o ~ tai J) . a tche ranged from 2. I blackfin napper. black napper. to 14 .9 pound /line/hour in o \ em­ a m berJack . ho r e-e)e and blackJa k. ber 1967 (45 percent yell owtaill. T he yell o \\ fin grou per. and hind H igh lowe r atch rate and percentage of catch rat of 30.5 and 2 .4 pl und./ ) ell o\qail v. as du e to the project \e el li ne/hour ( 5 percent bla k napper) fi hing more for deepwa ter napper: v. ere obtained In 40 fa thom from the silk . bl ack. and bla kfi n . The ate ll ite north\, e t lip of the bank in ugu t b at \, ith co mmer ia l fi hermen pro ­ 1969. du ed fi h in 14- 16 fa thom at a ra te of T he three un named bank ~U!h<.: t 22.3 pound (66 percent ) ello\\lail) of :>I orant a) \\ere fi hcd ~ r n<.: ­ man/da) for 10 da ) fi hlng. In Oe­ half da) in J ul) 19 ~ . one d ) In Jul\ ember 196 and ugu ' t 1969 a fev. 196 . and th ree da\ In 0 I b<.:r I Table A-2.-Cetch ralaa al apecilic locaUona-oI1ahor. aouth 01 Jamaica. per) with the best catche at 120 fath­

Depth range Hours Catch rate oms. One daytime fishing operation on Fishing ground Month Iished (1m) II shed (Ib/llne/hr) the west edge (laI.16° 29' ) resulted In

Mackerel Bank Jan 1969 25-85 48 5 124 ( 16 .6) -- a 16 .2 p und.,/Iine/hour catch rate. Mackerel Bank July 1969 30- 120 140 4 .0 the best depth being 50 to 55 fathoms Three banks southeast of Morant Cays July 1967 40-80 2 .5 116 for black snapper and 60 to 80 fath­ July 1969 35-130 8.5 31 om for blackfin snappers. DUring the Oct 1967 18 - 150 139 4 .8 A bank west of Morant Cay Ju ly 1970 18 -35 (5 days) - 4 1 production cruise the commerCial fish­ Pedro Bank Easl of Portland Bank Jan 1969 12-110 283 66 (8.5) -- ermen fished In 14 to 25 fathoms at night June 1967 15-50 40 7. 8 only, With catch rates of 178 pounds/ July 1969 40-135 50 36 Nov 1967 13-130 1276 77 (9.5) -- man/day In May 1968 and 8 E. of Blower Bank July 1969 35-130 10.0 14 .9 pound /man/day In December 1968. SE TIp July 1970 30-40 (7 days)' 87 Shanon Shoal June 1967 20-40 147 26 In 45 to 130 fathom on the north­ South of Banner Aug 1969 60-100 10 3 0 east edge of the unnamed bank we t of Southwest R'K Aug 1969 10 3.0 12 South of NW Ridge June 1969 14-35 842 I IS Ro allnd Bank the catch rate was I .5 N ov 1967 11-60 109 .5 72 (126) " Dec 1968 18-40 2.5 3.0 pounds/hne/hour of mo tly Ilk snap- Southwest lip Aug 1969 10-100 23.8 4 1 per dUring daytime Ight catch rate West edges Feb 1968 55-140 8 2 62 Aug 1969 30-70 173 28 on the shelf <25-5 fathoms) were less Northwest tiP July 1967 15-50 7 8 1 8 at 6.7 to .4 pound /hne/hour. chiefly Aug 1969 28~0 242 234 for bl ackfi n. yellowtail, and black -Fished by landll ne gear mostly In the morning and evening dUring pot fishing crUise napper and hor e-eye Jack. - -Catch rate from the commercial fishermen aboard In pounds per line per hour

Table A-3.-Calch ral .. al apeclflc locllliona on banka aoulh ...1 01 Jamaica. Central American shelf Depth range Hours Catch rate Fishing ground Month fished (fm) fished (I b/llne/hr) The econd helf. connected bI a narrow neck to the maIn conti nental Alice Shoal Feb 1968 40-50 124 24.5 May 1968 2S-30 80 3.7 (31)' - helf east of Hondura. and ome Aug 1968 14-100 546 60 shelf margin east of entral Amen­ Rosalind Bk. east edge Feb 1968 2S-140 207 6.4 May 1968 14-25 70 6 .8 (187) • ca are within 350 mile range from June 1969 30-60 10 44 Kingston . The econd helf has an area July 1967 20-50 73 22.0 Dec 1968 21-25 30 12 .8 (117)' of about 1.920 quare miles with West edge Feb 1968 45- 110 76 16 .2 Banks between Thunder Knoll & about I 4 mile circumference. The Rosalind Bank Feb 1968 25-130 337 88 entral American helf from PI.

'Catch rate of commercial fishermen aboard In Ib/llne/hr Blanca (about lal.lO° ) northward to Cape amaron (about long. 5 °W) ha almost 29.000 quare mile with 660 Banks southwest of Jamaica part of the edge howed a catch rate mile of helf margin (excluding the ranging from 11 .7 to 42 . 1 pound / second helf) . Exploratory fishing on Farther southwest of Jamaica, be­ line/hour of black and blackfin nap­ and near the margin for snapper was tween 200 and 300 mile, i Alice per and black and horse-eye jack in extended to the area for overall evalua­ Shoal (77 square miles with 33 miles 32 to 100 fathoms during daytime. At tion of the fi hing ground in the circumference), Serranilla Bank (291 night it wa 3 to 9 pounds/line/hour Caribbean . The catches appear in square miles with 75 miles circum­ for horse-eye jack, blackfin napper. Table A-4. ference), Serrane Bank (105 quare and hind on the hallower bottom On the second helL night catch miles with 56 miles circumference), (14-28 fathoms). The catch rate on the rates (from 14 nights' fishing in var­ Rosalind Bank ( 1,441 square miles south edge was 5.4 to 15 .0 pounds/ ious months) in 18-40 fathom along with 157 miles circumfe rence), Thun­ line/hour . The rest of the edge were the edge ranged from 2.7 to 17 .9 der Knoll (49 square miles with 26 poor in catch . Only four si lk nappers pound /line/hour with an average of miles circumference), and a few un­ (37 pounds) were caught on Alice 8.2 pounds. Day catch rates (from six named banks (347 square miles and Shoal. On Rosalind Bank, a good catch daytime operations) on the same helf 93 miles circumference in total) be­ rate of yellowtail napper at 21 . 1 (20-34 fathoms) ranged from 4.3 to tween Rosalind Bank and Thunder pounds/line/hour was obtained from 12.2 pounds/line/hour with an aver­ Knoll . Of these, only the two banks on 22 fathoms on the northern part of age of 7.6 pounds. Dominant species which some cays exist are being fish ed the east edge in daytime. In February, were yel lowtail snapper and horse-eye to some extent by the carrier-canoes May, December of 1968 and June of jack with traces of blackfin, dog, type of operation previously men­ 1969 overnight fishing produced most­ schoolmaster, and lane snappers, green tioned . This leaves a tremendous area ly yellowtail snapper and horse-eye and yell ow jacks and amberjack, red practicall y unfi hed and certainly jacks. One daytime fishing operation and yellowfin groupers, hinds, trigger­ offers good commercial potential for deepwater snappers resulted in fish, white and margate grunts, and (Table A-3). onl y 3.7 pounds/line/hour (mostly of porgy. The productive area for yellow­ On Alice Shoal, the northeastern si Ik snapper and some blackfin snap- tail snappers on the shelf was around

22 Table A-4.-Catch ratea at specific localiona-Central American Shell. relatively low. rangi ng from 1.6 to 25.3 pounds/line/hour. The edge of Depth range Hours Catch rate Fishing ground M onth fished (fm) fished (I b/l ine/ hr) the lope around the foregoing convex shel f wa the best ground for Cari bbe­ Second shelf NE edge Feb. 1968 20-25 10 .5 4.8 East edge Feb. 1968 22-130 29 .8 8 .6 an red snapper and black nappers. South edges Feb . 1968 22- 130 56 .8 14 .8 Apr. 1969 24-90 32 .0 6 .7 (23 .5) • but the average catch rate was o nl y May 1968 28-30 5 .5 2 .5 12.4 pounds/line/hour for a ll species. June 1969 24-34 4 .1 7 .9 Aug . 1970 20-32 41.4 8 .2 (16 .4) • A trong northerly current which SWedge Feb . 1968 18-120 21 .7 10.4 dominates this area often made hand­ Main shelf edge from the neck to 15°N Feb . 1968 21-110 20 .8 8 .6 line fis hin g difficult because the boat Apr . 1969 40-80 3 .0 1.6 was unable to hold the best fishing May 1968 22-25 8 .5 4.7 Mai n shel f edge from 15° N to position . The period of biting of these 14° 30' N Feb 1968 28-120 17 .3 20 .7 (22 .9) - Apr. 1969 16-90 101.4 22.6 (22 .5) • shall ow-water snappers and jack May 1968 20-40 100 .5 29 .2 seemed to bear some relation to the June 1968 18-70 57 .5 46.0 (35 .0) • June 1969 18-100 51 .6 39 .5 current changes (direction and veloc­ Aug . 1970 16-22 50 .4 30 .8 (41 .5) • ity) caused by the tidal current com­ Sept. 1970 15-20 65 .6 18 .7 (22 .0) • Oct. 1970 18-20 39 .0 27 .0 (33.8) • plex in the area. There were two Dec . 1969 20-100 98 .3 17 .2 (35 .6) • phenomena to suggest this; one that 'Catch rate from the commercial fishermen aboard in Ib/line/hr. either good or poor bites were often observed oon after some change of direction fo ll owing a slack current lat. 15 ° 16'N , long . 8 1° 12'W to lat. time fi hing averaged 39.9 pounds/ event when echo soundings confirmed 15 ° 21 'N, long. 8 I ° 28'W (20-30 fath­ line/hour with a range between 15.2 the existence of fish under the ship. oms). Catch rates for deepwater snap­ and 93.9, while ni ghttime catch rates The other reason is that with swinging pers along the edges ranged from 4.5 on the same bottom were less at 24.6 of the vessel due to wind (east-north­ to 23.6 pounds/line/hour with an av­ pounds/line/hour, ranging from 8.6 to easterly) and current (northerly), th e erage of 12.5 pounds/line/hour from 52.2. The catch was composed mostly nature of the bottom under the ship nine daytime effort mostl y in Febru­ of horse-eye and green jacks and cou Id change considerably duri ng the ary 1968. On the east edges, ilk and yell owtai l snappers. but mutton snap­ fis hing trial and different species of bl ackfi n snappers and amberjack were per accounted for 70 to 8 I percent of fish would be caught at different domi nant at 85 to 130 fathoms. the snapper group in May and June periods. It was ob erved that catches Around the south point of the shelf (30 fathom bottom near the ridge) of grunts, hinds, or triggerfish would where a few bottom slopes protruding and some large amberjack (20 to 30 be made after initiati ng good bites by into deep water exist, relatively hi gh pounds size) occupied 15 to 2 1 percent yell owtai I snappers or jacks, or vice catch rates of black and blackfin snap­ of the jack group in April, May, and versa. Both phenomena were observed pers were obtained with traces of black August (from 16 to 20 fathoms). Rain­ during successive fishing for several jack and amberjack, margate grunts, bow runners were caught seasona ll y days by securing the vessel on the red grouper, and hinds mi xed. On the from April to June, the amounts being best spot by anchor with 90 to 120 southwest edges of the shelf, Caribbe­ from 7.7 percent to 16 .5 percent of fathoms of rope. Moon phase, which an red snapper, silk , and bl ackfi n snap­ the total catch . This species was influences th e tidal current, seemed pers were captured from 60 to 120 caught mostly near th e surface at ni ght to affect the night fishing by its bright­ fathoms at a rate of 23 .6 pounds/line/ by cast and pull type of operati o n with ness as well. Noticeable quantities hour. The commercial fis hermen a lin e and baited hook . The comme r­ of horse-eye jack and green jack were aboard produced fish, mostly yellow­ cial fishermen on board produced fish seen under the ship lights, and were tail snapper, at a rate of 254 pounds at 323 pounds/man/day on average caught by cast and pull type handlines (April) and 17 I pounds (August)/ from a total of 47 fishing days in this on dark nights but not on full moon man/day . area, th e range of the average catch ni ghts. Along the edge of the main shelf, rate by month bei ng: April 1969- from the neck to the second shelf 266, May 1968-234, June 1968- North of Hispaniola to southward to lat. 14 ° 15 'N , ye ll owtail 356, August 1970-5 17, September Virgin Islands (Fig. A-2) snapper, horse-eye jack, and green jack 1970-267, October 1970- 337, and Banks north of Hispaniola were abundant around ridges along the December 1968-282. From the above shelf edges. The best ground is located location farther north to the neck of North of Hispaniola are three signi­ at about lat. 14 °33'N, long. 81 °45'W the second shelf or south about lat. ficant banks within 50 miles range of where a ridge running along the edge 14 ° 15 'N, onl y a few places-Iat. the coast. One is Monte Cristi Bank. becomes highest (16 to 18 fathoms be­ 15 ° 19'N , 14°53' to 14°50'N near the which is an extended island shelf with low the surface) and the edge line of shelf edge-had a catch rate of more an area of 309 square miles. The sec­ the shelf is convex. Daily catch rates than 20 pounds/lin e/hour for the shal­ ond is Silver Bank (868 square mile here ranged from 8.5 to 98.0 pounds/ low-water snapper and jacks. with 138 miles circumference) and line/hour. Most were higher than 20 The catch rates for deepwater snap­ the third is avidad Bank (196 square pounds/line/hour. Catch rates in day- pers on the edge of the slope were miles with 73 miles circumference).

23 6!, and trt ggerflsh were caught In 10 to l'i fathoms ncar the surface over a 40 w­ ~ N " " >R PROvE~T fa thom bottom. being recorded on the MOl CHt R­ B,1N~ AREA COvERED BY VESSE_ BANK J ) echo sounuer IIk.e a surface \chool of ftsh [ og snappers ~ere caught a t 40 r BANK '_ ...J to 44 fathon,., dunng daytime. bu t 10"- from 14 fathoms alter dark. _ Mutton snapper.., ~ere caught In 30 tn 35

,pe E "lOno fathoms mall slle \ello~tall \nappers I!"- were c.aught from 10 to 'i4 fathoms. prOUUCII\e place on t!ver Bank. ~ a\ t he north slue of the ea\t tl p arounu lat.20 Jl}' long,l)l} 22' W 11"- n thiS euge. "Ik snapper ~as abun­ uant at 0 In 110 fathoms IA.hlle most SuPRA :II S:IINK black and blackhn snappers IA.cre found at 40 to (J fathom . Vermliiton 1)'- anu ljueen snappers and volaL lA.ere

Figure A-2 .- Ar •• 01 op .,atlo n ~orth 01 Hlapanlola to Virgin lalenda Incluueu In snail quantllle\ trom lA.aters over 100 fathoms ommon Three unnamed mall banb e "\1 t area ~d~ 60 t 70 tathom~ (blad; \nap­ spccles of jacks anu grouper lA.ere between the latter t~o off hore bank.s. perl. 'i0 to 60 fathom\ (black.fin \nap­ black. Jack. mist} grouper. and hind . a nd one to the outh ot 11\ er Bank. perl. 010 10'; fathom\ hllk. \napperl n thc shaliolA. (12- 16 fathom) outh with a total area and circumference ot 120 fathom\ (\ermliiton \napper and anu lA.est euges. the onl) '>napper 27.8 square mile and 34.5 mile. \olaz) and 11410 130 tathonh (queen caught IA. ere blad.:lin and ) eliolA.tali. re peclI\ e\}. Catch re ult are gl\en In snapper) n the north euge~ ~)t the ther varieties 01 Ii h caught on the e Table A-'i bank. onl) the ~est e rn Side sho~ed shallo~ b ttoms IA. ere a au ) eliolA.- Catch rate on the ~est lip of the better catch rates. from 3.5 10 51 7 hn and tiger grouper hind. and Monte Cnstl Bank. ranged bet\\een 6 . pound /hour ~hlle the eastern Side grunt . The at h rat lA.ere lolA. at and 209 pound /Itne/hour. ~ith over ~a unproml Ing The u omlnant pe­ .1 . .1 to 4 . .1 pound , Itne/hlur One top 60 percent of the total catch bel ng CIC In thl area I black. napper (near­ tor 1.6 hour ' fi hlng at outhe t lip black. napper ilk. napper ( 10 to 20 I} 90 percent of the t tal catch) 0 r the bank. produ ed a high catch rate percent). black.fin napper (2 to 3 per­ queen or \ermlill n napper ~a of 20 5 pound /lIne/hour for m tl} cent). vermtllton napper (I to 2 per­ caught. but dog and mutton napper~ black. nappers cent). and queen nap per to t 30 ~ere pre ent Ilk. . bla k.fin. and The edge along the north tip of percent) ~ere common Black.. hor e­ ye llo~tall napper. amberja k. . almaco. the a\ldad Bank. lA.ere pr du tl\e eye. and amberjack. or almaco jack. and hor e-eye jack. . )ello~fin and The dall} catch rate ranged from were also common. but collecllvely ml ty grouper. hind . and grunt ~ere 5 7 t 165 pound /ltne/h ur. Domi­ accounted for only 4 to 8 percent of also pre ent In trace quantille On nant pecle ~ere black. and black.fi n the total catch Nassau and red grou­ the e edge. black. nappe ~ere pro­ nappers and black. jack. . The e "\ plora­ pers. hinds. and grunt were the other duced from hallower bottom (34 to lion on the e edge IA. ere made onl} varieties tncluded tn the total. The 45 fathom). On some occa Ion . black. In February 1969and March 196 a nd best depth range for snapper In tht and blacHin napper . hor e-eye jack. 1969 The foliolA.lng I a compa n o n of catch comp Itl o n (pe rcent tn Table A-5.-Catch rata. et apec:lflc l ocetlon.- benka north 01 HI.penlole. weight) for the mai n pecie . (Figures in parenth e are pe rcent number of Depth range Hours Catch Fishing ground M onth fished (fm) fished (Ib/lme/hr) fi h .)

Monte Cnstl Bank West edge Feb 1969 30-100 134 65 Mar 1968 25-120 318 209 Feb 1969 Mar 1968 Mar 1969 North edge Feb 1968 30-100 66 2 .8 Black 480 527 57 1 Mar 1968 25-120 30.5 197 snapper (41.3) (456) (466) East half Mar 1968 42-120 94 1.6 Blackfln 33 6 25 I 24 .3 Sliver Bank snapper (40.9) (33.6) (304) East edge Feb . 1969 40-80 142 13.1 Black 110 125 3 9 East edge Mar. 1968 45-150 101 28 .5 lack ( 99) ( 11 7) ( 33) Southern edge Sept. 1967 12- 14 20.6 3.3 Groupers 2 .3 11 9 3 SE tiP Feb. 1969 40-80 1.6 20 .5 ( 3.8) ( I 4) (1 4 5) West edge Sept. 1967 16 12.0 4.3 Others 5 I 8.6 54 Navldad Bank ( 4.1) ( 7.7) ( 5 2) South edge Sept. 1967 14-40 17 .5 8 .9 North edge Fe b . 1969 40-80 33 .5 32.3 Mar. 1968 45-90 23 .0 36.3 The average catch rate in March Mar. 1969 25-80 34 .0 16 .1 1969 was less than half that of the A small Bank NW of Navldad Ban k Sept. 1967 15-18 15 .0 2.7 same month of the previous year ( 16. 1 Banks east o f Samana Bay Mar. 1968 52- 100 4 .5 7.0 pounds ver us 36.3 pounds). but the catch composition for snappers shows

24 almost the same ratio, the balance T.ble A-6.-C.tch rate at .peclflc loc.tlona-Mona P ....ge . being affected mostly by the occur­ rence of black jack and groupers. A Depth range Hours Catch rate Fishing ground Month fished (1m) Iished (Ib/line/hr) remarkable di fference in fishi ng for Ea st end shell of Hispaniola Mar 1969 40-100 4 04 the two March fishing operations was Sept 1967 50-60 6.3 17 the depth occurrence of the snapper , Isla M onlto Sept 1967 28-60 7.5 58 Isla M onlto & Mona Island Mar 1969 42-90 21 0 .3 the productive depth range for the P lacer Bank Mar 1969 44-91 1.5 Nil 1968 cruise being from 50-60 fathoms Sponge Bank Sept 1967 16-30 0 .8 Nil Mar 1969 16-110 163 0 .0 while in 1969 it was shallower-30 to 50 fathoms . In February, the depth occurrence for the napper was more Table A-7 .-Catch ratea at specific location.-Puerto Rico .nd Virgin 1.I.nds .hell. like the previous March at 45 to 60 Depth Range H ours Catch rate Fishing ground Month fished (fm) fished (Ib/line/hr) fathoms . Occa ionally fishing effort at a certain depth affects the catch com­ Puerto R,co S of Ponce Mar 1969 20-70 150 43 Grapier Bank SE of Pu erto R,co Mar . 1969 44-50 14 .3 98 posi tion as well as catch rate but. Pu erto RICO off Pta . Guyanes Mar. 1969 80-130 27 8.2 Puerto RI CO N of Cabo San since a drift for fishing i made from Juan Mar 1969 30-90 34 3.3 shallow to deep water (or vice ver a WNW of Whale Bank Apr 1968 50-120 20.9 166 North o f St Thomas Apr 1968 50-120 91 7.5 according to current and wind direc­ NE of Anegada Island Apr. 1968 50-120 11.2 54 tion), as long a fish biting continue Barracuda Bnk. NE edges Apr . 1968 35-60 9 .3 332 the catch compositions by species and the depth occurrence given above can ranging from nil to 6.1 pounds/line/ Leeward Islands (Fig. A-3) be regarded a representing the abun­ hour. Strong northerly currents be­ In this area two large island shelves. dance of the good commercial species. tween Mona Island and the east coast namely Anguilla Bank and Barbuda­ On the south edges of the bank, of Hispani ola are totally unfavorable Antigua Bank, and a large offshore the catch rates o n the shallow bottom to bottom fishing for deepwater spe­ bank, Saba Bank . exist. Around these from 14 to 40 fathoms near the edge cies. The shelf west of Puerto Rico has three banks a few small unnamed off­ resulted in 8.4 to 10 .5 pounds/li ne/ been i nten i vely fished by pot fisher­ shore banks are scattered. The helv es hour producing more groupers (yel­ men of the area. Catch details are of other islands are all narrow and lowfin . hinds, Nassau. misty, etc.) given in Table A-6. have been intensively fished. mostly than snappers (blackfin. silk , black. by fish pots. and yell owtail). One day's fishing in 10 fathoms on Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands shelf Anguilla Bank one of the unnamed small banks re­ sulted in a poor catch rate of 2.7 This is a large area of about 3,450 The Anguilla Bank has an area of pounds/line/hour for the sha ll ow bot­ sq uare miles with a total length of about 1.3 10 square miles with a total tom near the edges. Hinds and group­ 482 miles of helf edge. The shelves of I n miles circumference. There are ers occupied nearly 66 percent of the around Puerto Rico and within reach two small unnamed banks (3 I .6 square total catch, while nappers and jacks of the local boats in the Virgin Islands miles with 34 miles circumference) occupied 13 percent and 10 percent have already been heavily exploited. and Sombrero Bank (16 square mile of the total, respectively. Only a few offshore banks exist in the with 15 mile circumference) on the One-half day coverage on the three south off the shelves. A total of nine northwest of the bank and a relatively small banks east of Samana Bay pro­ fi hing days was spent to cover the large one (approximatel, 59 square duced 157 pounds of fish , mostl y black area during April 1968 and March miles with 31 miles circumference) on snappers, from a total of 4.5 hours 1969. the southeast. A total of nearly 28 fishing with five reels on vari ous deep Relatively productive places were fishing day in three different months spots. The catch rate of 7.0 pound / on the northeast edge of Barracuda were expended on explorator, fi hlng In line/hour on the average includes o nl y Bank, chiefly for black snapper (67 this area. The catch rates are depicted four other varieties: blackfin snapper, percent). and the shelf edge WNW of in Table A-8 . amberjack, yellowfin grouper, and red Whale Bank, chi efly for silk snapper The re ults In Table A-8 represent hind. (41 percent), misty grouper (31 per­ only spring and fall season In the area cent), and blackfin snapper ( I I per­ and contain insufficient elements for cent). Other vari eties of fis h included proper companson The varietie of Mona Passage area in the catch from this area were nappers were mostl; black. blackfin. I n the Mona Passage area, there yell owtai l, vermilli on, choolm aster, and silk snappers throughout the area exist relatively extended isl and shelve , dog snapper, and volaz (deep sea and season However. a few vermillion one on the east coast of Hispaniola wench man) for snappers, black, horse­ and volaz were from ombrero and the and another on the west coast of eye, green. bar, almaco jacks and unnamed bank. and orne vermillIon, Puerto Rico, with a few offshore bank amberjack, mi sty, Na sau, yellowfin , yellowtail. volaz, queen. and a few in between. The species caught were yellowmouth groupers, coney. and mutton and dog snapper were from An­ similar to those north of Hispaniola, hinds. Table A-7 gives the catch rate gUIlla Bank. These nap per compn ed but the catch rates were very low by ground and month . 7'2 to 99 percent of the total catch from

25 S mbrero a nd the unnamed han"- .Ind ea,t tiP 1 he ,lope edge' 01 the n­ liVing water I

ii' the han srMBRERD IS " ( 10 c ANGUILLA BARBUDA quare mile v.lth 2 nllle llrt.: m- II~ BANK Icrenl.d t.: I t a Ie ~ mill: t the n nh N SABA '\ T hrllu 'h, UI the e pk)rat r. pen d BAN2 ' -- ../~ 1 h\ handline and reel mt.:!h d. nl} 'RE DA t ~_ _ ''"<::\i vJ ~ ,) A TIGUA I dol\ v.a penl n thl area t.:\l\enn_ l)me t.:d~e ~ n the ea t and n nh 01 ST. KIDS ~ ~ • 6.-1 SERRAT th... h.Jn and the ,mall ban . The NEVIS ;):1) -- GUADELOUPE HAVER'S SHOAL ,.0 ' , <- C re,ult \\a alml t nt;gall\e. prlduclng /'C) onl~ I 11 h 162 pound ) 01 \arrLU • ,_, ./ DESIRADE pelle Irom 70 tl) I 0 l.Jth)m helt 16' " -" edge, from n 3 hour ti hlng ome AVES IS. ~ "' j Marte Galanle ILES e'\!t;n I\e ea,onal 'l)\erage In thl 9 DES DOMI ICA ~. SAINTES area utiliZing pot methl)d (v.hlch () follov.ed the e plorawr) perrod). hov.­ e\er. dl clo ed rather prooucll\e b)t­ MARTI I UE t m along the n rthern edge. chleft) llfW 69" f r tI"- napper. ~UBA BONAIRE I. ~ 12S NO/ ST. LUCIA Barbuda-Antigua Bank CURACA~ ~. Barbuda- ntlgua Ba n"- ha an area L------S-T-. V-I-N-CE-N-T----~ (~ BARBADOS f nea r!) 97 qua re mtle v.lth about 163 mil clrcumferen e On the ban"-. BEGUIA" _~ IJ~ ¥"') two relatl\el) large Island e"\i t. Bar­ .7'"x MUSTIOUE buda I land in the north and ntigua . -. j CARRIACOU".... .J . I land in the o uth . ~5 mile apart . )>ti brenadme / . ;' Islands From the e two i land more than 60 boat, of which about 50 are equipped C:;~R ENADA with inboard engine, are fi hing on thi bank. mo t of them concentrated on the Antigua helf. The annual FIgure A.3.-ANa of op.,aUon----.LH.ard and Windward lalanda .atera, Ay .. laland, Aruba, Curacao, and Bonalr • . landing from thi bank i around 1.6

26 Table A-B .-Catch rates at specific locallons- Sombrero " 'and-Angull'a Bank. (the catch rate in Table 2 is for 10- Depth range Hours Catch rate Dominant hour fishing periods) obtained from Fishing ground Month fished (fm) fished (Ib/llne/hr) species the edges of these southern Leeward Sombrero Island Apr . 1968 50-120 11 .8 21.0 BK-SKI Islands shelve were very poor, being May 1969 50-125 20 .0 6.2 BK-SK Oct. 1968 93-120 4.3 6 .1 SK-BF less than 2.3 pounds/line/hour, ex­ Unnamed bank NW of cept Haver's shoal and Redonda Island Anguilla Bank Apr. 1968 50-120 8.5 18.4 BK-SK Anguilla Bank shelf which showed comparatively NWedges Apr. 1969 28-111 7 .3 6 .0 BK-SK higher catch rates of 8.9 to 15 .0 Oct. 1968 30-100 1.2 17 .3 BF-SK AngUilla Bank pounds/line/hour. The variety of fish N to NE edges Apr. 1968 50-120 12 .2 32.3 BF-BK caught from these areas were similar May 1969 50-150 18 .0 9 .4 BK-BF Oct. 1968 27-126 5.7 10 .6 SK -BF to those from the northern Leeward Anguilla Bank NE In the east Apr. 1969 36-38 10.2 12 .7 BF-SK Islands except that queen snapper were May 1969 75-150 8 .0 7.2 BF-SK included in the common species of Oct. 1968 45 1.7 5 .6 BF-O Anguilla Bank snapper. East tiP Apr. 1968 50-60 10 .5 17 .6 BF-BK Apr. 1969 34-129 128 .9 14 .8 BF-BK Windward Islands May 1969 50-125 18 .0 8 .3 SK-BF Oct. 1968 35-135 262 23 .8 BF-BK The island shelves and their utiliza­ Anguilla Bank SE edge May 1969 50-125 10 .0 5 .9 BF-SK tion in the Windward Islands are very

'BK = black snapper. BF = blackfln snapper, and SK = silk snapper . si mi lar to those in the southern Lee­ ward Islands- narrow and extensively fished, except for the Grenadine million pounds. A few small offshore red, and a sau groupers and hinds Islands shelf which has an area of banks (a total of 2 quare miles cir­ were the common varieties of the about 1,010 square miles. Offshore cumference) lie on the west side of grouper. The daily catch rate ranged banks are few and small, most of them Barbuda Bank. from 8.6 to 19 .8 pounds/line/hour on lying within reach of the local fishing The project vessels, from a total the northeast to north edges and 7.0 boats. Table A-12 gives the area and of 13 days fishi ng in thi area, pro­ to 30.2 pounds on the west edges of perimeter of each shelf, with the fish­ duced relatively high catch rates along Burbuda Bank. Table A-IO shows the ing month and depth range in the the northern half of the Barbuda Bank catch rate by month and area. last two columns. including the offshore banks, in spite Despite an ample geographic cov­ St, Kitts to Dominica of the hort distance from the coastline erage transecting the edges of these of Barbuda. The catche were com­ The other island shelves in the Lee­ shelves with echo sounder and test posed of 65 to 92 percent snapper, ward Island are generally narrow and fishing, the catch results were mostly 3 to 33 percent jacks, and 0 to 14 per­ exploited intensively with fish pots by very poor. Eighteen out of a total of cent groupers. The variety of snapper the local fishermen. Table A-II gives 28 fishing days in these areas produced was chiefly silk, but blackfin and the approximate area and the circum­ practically zero catch. The most pro­ black snapper were also common ference of the shelves of these islands, ductive area was around the south tip and a few vermillion, queen, and dog including neighboring offshore banks. of the Grenadine Island shelf where snappers were taken . Except for one The fishing month and depth range in 9.2 to 11 .0 pounds/line/hour was ob­ night when three horse-eye jacks were the la t two columns in the table are tained. The catch was composed of caught, amberjack or almaco and supplementary to the information in 65 percent snapper (chiefly blackfin), black jacks were the only species of the Table 2. 32 percent jacks (black, green, amber­ jack group captured. Yellowfin, misty, As shown in Table 2, the catch rates jack, and horse-eye), and 3 percent

Table A-g.-Body tamperature of some nsh species caught In Laaward Islands ( OC),

Depth Yellowfin Time Surfaca (fm) Black snapper Blackfln s . Silk snapper Blackjack grouper (hr) w. tamp. (OC) Area

(7) , + 0.3-': (2) + 0.0 39 25 .2 - 0.2 25 .2 - 0.0 14 26.3 Barbados (5) + 0.3 (1) (7) + 0.2 53 24 .9 - 0.4 25 .2 25.3 - 0.3 15 25 7 Anguilla (E) (5) + 0.7 (5) + 0.2 (1) (1) 54 24 .3 - 1.3 24.3 - 0.3 24 .0 24.0 14 26.3 Barbados (3) + 0.3 (4) + 0. 1 70 24 .2 - 0.2 24.0 - 0.3 08 25.4 Anguilla (NE) (5) + 0.5 80 22 .6 - 06 11 255 Sombrero (1) (1) (1) (1) 90 22 .8 22 .8 22.0 18 .0 08 25.4 Anguilla (NE) (1) (1) + 0.5 100 22.0 20.5 - 0.8 11 255 Sombrero (1) (1) 100 22 .0 22.7 08 25.4 Anguilla (NE) (2) + 0.1 (1) (3) + 0.1 11 0 23 .2 - 0 .1 23.5 25 .4 - 0.2 10 25 .6 Anguilla (E)

'Figure In parentheSIS shows number of fish measured . • -DeVi ation from maximum and minimum

27 Table A- l0.-Cetch retea at apacilic loceliona- Berbuda-Anllll"e Be"a. and ~ I X hI ack Jack~ I n A ugu~t 1969 were captured With o th er pelagiC ~pe­ Depth range Hours Catch rate Fishing ground Month fished (fm) fished (Ib/llne/hr) c l e~ wh tl e ~urface trolling In thl~ area

Barbuda. N-NE edges May 1969 50-130 40.5 11.9 Aruba-Curacao-Bonaire Area Nov 1966 36-125 4 1 160 55-100 175 106 Wedges May 1969 rhe ~helve~ of the~e three 1~land~ Small banks W of Barbuda Bank Apr 1969 36-110 97 6 1 Nov 1966 24-135 405 176 are very narrow haVing wldth~ of I<....,~ Between Barbuda & Antigua E edge Nov 1966 42-120 11 3.5 than I mile nl, the north and Antigua S-SE edges Apr 1966 60-110 59 00 ~outh ~helve~ of ruha hland are ~Itghtl, hroader 5 mlk.., and 2 mlle\. re~pectl.eIJ. the ea\t \ide of the \helf Table A-ll.-Prlnclpal cherecterlallca of apaclflc locelillea flahad - SI Kllia-Domlnica helng con nected hy a I 04-fathom ~ea Area Perimeter FiSh In II Deplh range nom to the north edge of the ene­ Name of shelf (Sq mil .) (miles) monlh fished (fm) luela ~hell. total of 23 fi~hlng-day~ SI Kills-NevIs 219 109 Nov 1966 30·135 Redonda 36 24 Apr 1966 60 - 120 were \pent on ex pI orator, fhhtng for Monlserral 41 33 Nov 1966 42-135 \nappe r\ and related \pecle\ on t he'>e Havers Shoal 19 46 Nov 1966 26-130 Three banks In Guadeloupe passage 45 55 Dec 1966 ~hel"e., dUring the month\ of \la, and Guadeloupe 444 159 Dec 1966 30-140 June I C)oC). Tahle -13 he catch re­ Flandre Bank 103 10 Dec 1966 30- 136 Mane Galamle Is 39 36 Dec 1966 30-120 \ult\ on the\c \helf \Iopes were mO'>tl, lie des Salnles etc 67 33 Dec 1966 'vcr, poor. thc catch rate ranging from A bank between Mane-Galante & lie des Salntes 11 14 Dec 1966 () to O. pou nd~/h ne/hour on the Bo­ Dominica 97 76 Nov & Dec 1966 12-1 I 1 A bank SE of Dominica 40 25 Nov & Dec 1966 45-135 naire \helf. () to 1.0 pound on the uracao ,>helt. and 0:1 to . 1 pound~ on the ruha .,helr. the north edge of mixed fis h wtth grouper. grunt. and Aves Island Area the ruha \helf being comparall'vel} sqUlrrelfi h A hort period of fi htng productl\e The catch wa compo cd on the north edge of Dominica I land The A've Island ()r Bird I land) and of \napper (3 to 45 percent in num­ shelf caught fi h ( 5 percent black everal ~mall ofhhore bank~ e\i~t ber) Jack (6 to 24 percent) groupers Jack) at a rate of 5 .2 pound /llnel about 120 mile we t of Dominica (6 to 27 percent). and tra h h h (24 to hour Aro und the outh tip of the l. The total area of the~e ~heh e\ I~ "I percent) Lucia I la nd shelf. datly catch rate of approxlmatel, 17 quare mtle~ and The majority of the napper pecle 1.6 to 4.4 pound /hne/hour (77 per­ their edge t tal 35 mile I ng The was mainly blacktin 'Alth ome queen cent queen napper) were obtained exploratory fi hi ng wa e\.tended to tlk. \ermilhon. and 'volaz The jack from the 75 to 150 fathom lop thl area dUring lay and ugu t pecle 'Aere m tly amberJack. but These catch rate are probably good 1969. to tal of hour tran eCllng ome black and hor e-e, e Jack 'Aere only for the local fishing boat bottoms of these bank dUring l a, pre ent equipped with outboard engine. found no proper pot for napper fi h­ whose cost of operatIOn and depreCia­ Ing. One hour fi hlng In ugu t cap­ Continental Shelf of South tion rate are very low. The remainder tured onl two cone, (I pound) from America from Trinidad of the shel ves In thiS area give les 13 fat hom bottom I t I Intere ling to French Guiana than 1.0 po und/line/hour. that one black Jack in Augu t 1967 The continental helf of outh America I 50 to 90 mile wide from Teble A-12 .-Prlnclpel charecterlallea 01 apaclflc locelill .. Ilehe6-Wlnd... d lalenda. the coasthne to the helf edge of the

Area Penmeter Fishing Depth range 100-fathom hne. The area and the Name of shelf (sq mll _) (miles) month fished (fm) edge line are about 57,400 quare

Martinique Is. 353 106 Dec 1966 24-207 mile and 930 mile long from the A bank ENE of Martinique 16 17 Nov & Dec 1966 45- 135 no rth of the west boundary of Trini­ SI. LUCia Is. 157 64 Jan 1969 30-153 A bank south of St LUCia 25 5 dad to northeast of the Oyapock River. SI. Vincent Is 43 49 Jan . 1969 To-125 the east boundary of French Guiana Grenadine Is. 1.010 234 Jan & Feb 1969 22-135 Barbados Is. 69 60 Mar. 1969 16-260 (Fig.A-4).A previouslystated.commer­ The shallows 16 16 Mar. 1969 25-75 cial snapper fi hing on this shelf has exi ted for past decades, but the

Table A-13.-Catch ret.-Aruba-Cureceo-Bonalr. er.a. number of ves els operating there has not increased . It is estimated, however, Depth range Hours Catch rate Fishing ground Month fished (1 m) fished (I b/line/hr) that a considerable amount of snapper has been and is being caught inci­ Aruba Island May to June 1969 10- 104 19 2.2 dentally by those shrimp trawlers (402 Bonaire Is. May to 37 0 .6 June 1969 vessels in 1969) operating on the in­ May to terior part of the shelf (10 to 35 Curacao Is. June 1969 45 1.0 fathoms) where lane snappers, vermil-

28 lion snappers, and some Caribbean red SB' 56" 55' SI' Sl' 52' snappers are present. r , I I I The exploratory fishing by the proj­ ect vessels covered al most all of the AREA COVERED BY likely bottoms for snapper along the PROJECT VESSELS edge of the shelf as well as the interior part of the shelf. Most of the bottom of this vast shelf has a featureless g'- smooth bottom with a gradient of I fathom or 2 for every 2 mi les or a slow slope on the edges, with , of course, some exceptions. Generally, fish schools were not found by echo sounder on these bottoms, but they Georgetown were located on some outcrops or 6' - GUYANA so-called "hard bottom" on the shelf, around ridges or rugged bottoms near 5' - the edges, or on the reasonably teep SURINAM edge slopes where the deep ocean ( ' - floor is close to the edge. Further details of catch results and good fish­ ing grounds by area are as follows. Shelves around Tobago and east of Figure A4.-Area 0' operations---eontinental shelf 0' South America from Trinidad to French Guiana . Trinidad.-The catch results around Table A-13.--<:atch rates at speCific locations 0' Trinidad and Tobago. Tobago and the eastern shelf of Trini­ dad were generally poor (Table A-I3). Depth range Hours Catch rate FIshing ground Month fished (fm) fIshed (Ib/llne/hr) The catch rate by area around Tobago ranged from 0 to 13 .2 pounds/line/ Around Tobago Feb.- Mar. 1969 22-150 59.1 2.6 Dec . 1970 29-90 0.7 0.0 hour, the edges east of the island Inward shelf east of Trinidad Dec . 1970 9.46 1.9 2.7 East of Delware Bk . Mar . 1969 37-120 17 .6 0 .1 being more productive while the shelf Edges from lO ON to 10 0 30' N Dec. 1970 46-70 4 .6 15 .3 south to southwest of the island yielded mostly zero catch . The domi­ Table A-14.--<:atch rates at specific locatlona-shelves east 0' Orinoco River. nant species on the slope edges were Depth range Hours Catch rate Caribbean red snappers and black FIshing ground Month fished (fm) fished (Ib/llne/hr) jack. A few yellowedge grouper, am­ Inward shelf N of Oronoco River Dec . 1970 30-44 0 .1 0.0 Edges from lO ON to 9° 30'N Dec. 1969 36-90 9.5 0.4 berjack, and coneys were included in Dec . 1970 33-1 00 4.0 16.8 the catch. The catch rate along the Edges from 9°30'N to 9° 18' N Dec. 1969 45-49 11 .3 0.0 Dec. 1970 34-61 0.2 1.6 shelf edges east of Trinidad ranged Edges from 9° 18'N to 9° N Dec . 1970 55-100 2.3 23 .7 from 0 to 32.2 pounds/line/hour. The Inward shelf N of Walnl R. Dec . 1970 33-42 0.1 0.0 best catch was obtained on the 60 to groupers, chiefly yellowedge grouper, fish in less than 8 hours fishing in 2 0 70 fathom bottom around 10 27'N. sometimes contributed more than days . These catch rates averaged 95 The inward shelf yielded few fish . The snapper to the total catch. The catch to 137 pounds/line/hour with more dominant species for snapper were rate by specific locality appears in than 99 percent of the total being Caribbean red snapper, vermilli on Table A-14. Caribbean red snappers. The snapper snapper, and yellowedge grouper. Shelves off Guyana.-A total of 19 caught by the Fregara averaged 6.6 Some blackfin snapper, Warsaw grou­ fishing days was spent in this area. pounds each while those caught by the per, and porgy were included in the Considerable echo sounding transects Calamar averaged 8.1 pounds each. catch. Table A-13 gives further details were run on the slope edges as well as The former area is located at about by month and area. likel y bottoms (30 to 40 fathoms) on lat. 8° 18 'N, long. 58°32'W (34 fathom Shelves east of Orinoco River the inward shelf. The shelf edges bottom) and the latter at lat. 8 ° 46'N, (I at. lO oN to 9°N)-From a total usually have a steep gradient, but the long. 59° 12'W, about 50 miles north­ of seven days spent in this area, two shelf proper was largely even excepting west from the former. Fishing during narrow areas--edges around lat. for some very small bottom outcrops. the December 1970 Calamar cruise 9°40'N and around lat. 9°05'N­ As shown in Table A-15 , the three best at the former position and March 1971 showed good catch rates, 17.4 and catches were produced from such cruise at the latter position, showed 25.7 pounds/line/hour, respectively. outcrops (about 6 feet high) on the no sign of the fish school. It is likely Catches. from the inward shelf were inward shelf in this area. One in that those large schools of fish move almost nil. On these edges Caribbean November 1969 produced 7,400 from one small outcrop to another red snapper, blackfin snapper, and pounds of fish in 2 days by Fregara, due to a limited supply of food. The vermillion snapper were the main and one in December 1970 by Cala­ shelf edge with rather steep gradient snapper species, but in total weight, mar, caught nearly 7,700 pounds of displayed good potential. Relatively

29 Tabl. A· 15.-Calch ral.1 al Ipaclflc 10catlona- lhelv.1 off Guyana . range Irom 0.6 to 149 The htgher catc h rate\ were obtained In 31 to 40 Depth range Hours Catch rate Fishing Ground Month fished ('m) "shed (Ib/llne/hr) fathom\ between long 'i6 'i Wand 'i6 Wand In 17 fathom\ around Inward shell between long 59° & 59 '12 Ow Dec 1969 35-45 11 05 Dec 1970 33-5 1 160 1334 lat 7 OW long 'i 1 44'W [unng Shell edge between long 59° and 5 9 '12 W Dec 1970 45 ·52 03 0 Inward shell be tween long 59° and 58 /2 Dec 1969 35· 45 109 01 the month of ovember 1970 a total ' Ow Dec 1970 34-47 09 37 (34) ' of 29 1 hour\ In about two (i\hlng day\ Shell edge between long 59 and 58 1f2 W Dec 1970 45 · 100 85 t25 (99) ' Inward shell be tween long 59° and 58 '12 Ow Nay 1969 34 17 6 845 wa\ \pent to cover a belt of 30 to 37 Dec 1970 30·52 (63) " 0 fathom,> bottom (a total dl\lance of Inward shelf between long 58 2° and 58 ° W Dec 1969 3 1·34 2 5 0 Dec 1970 30·60 03 0 170 mile\) along the coa\t nl> I X Shell edge be tween long 58 /2 nand 58 W Sep 1969 27·95 50 02 ' Dec 1970 45·120 38 7 2 \mall \chooh ~ ere located at an Shell edge between long 58 and 57 20 W Nay 1970 47.oa 28 12 1 ' a\erage intenal of about 9.5 mill.... . Inward shQII between long 58 and 57'/2 Ow Aug 1969 22·59 89 10 2 Shelf e dges between long 57 '12 and 570W Aug 1969 45·60 23 5 89 f rom the I dnft\ on the ,>chool'>, in Nay 1970 50·57 5 4 123 2 hour'> 9 minute,> actual fi'>hlng time, Sh elf edge be tween long 57 ' and 56 '12 Ow Nay 1970 49·150 3 0 59 Inward shell be tween long 57° and 56 "2 Ow Aug 1969 22·40 33 8 59 the a\.erage catch rate ~a\ e'>tlmated Nay 1970 35-36 (1 5) " 00 at ahout 4 .3 pounlh/line/hour, ) leld­ ' Catch rate from n ight fish in g Ing mo'>t I) zero cat he,> e cpu ng f9r • 'Ho urs sp ent fo r scouting and fish i ng the lir\t area (long. 56 'i \\ to 56 W, . Tabl. A·16.-Catch ralel at specific locatlonl-Ihalv.. off Surinam ~hlch prllduceu 1.4 pounu\/ltnc/ Depth ra nge Hours Catc h rate hour fished Fishing g round M onth fished (fm) (I b/llne/hrl n the '>helf euge,> . dunng the later Shelf edge between crul'>e a total of 90A hl ur In eight long 56'12 ° and 56 Ow Aug 1969 45·65 10 4 88 Nay 1970 5 1·75 0 8 (7 8) • 9 1 t1 hlng da),> co\ered ab )ut 270 mile . Nay 1970 56·145 07 (9 01 2 4 Long 56° and 55'2 Ow r...\ore fi.,h choob ~ere found along Long 55' 2° and 55 0 W Nay 1970 50·250 3 9 ( 1541 112 Long 55 0 and 54 ' 2 Ow Nay 1970 55·120 as 18 01 00 the'>e euge than n the In~ard hell. Long 54' 2° and 54 ° W Nay 1970 48-55 0 6 155) 00 ~a Into Long 54 ° and 53'2 ° W Nay 1970 45-52 0 6 (531 00 -\ total ()f 77 unit maue the Inward shelf between h'>h \ch) I ~Ith 1.' . 1 hour of actual Long 56'2 ° and 56 ° W Aug 1969 35·38 332 24 7 Nay 1970 30·37 0 8 (631 8 1 fi,>hlng The a\erage Intenal of the e Long 56 and 55'2 ° W Aug 1969 34..54 188 66 fi h chool,> I'> about 3.5 mile . lIma­ Nay 1970 33·34 0 6 (461 00 Long 55'/2° and 55 ° W Aug 1969 27~0 95 35 lion of atch rate from a t tal f 7 6 Nay 1970 33·34 0 2 (481 00 reel hour Ii hlng effort and the cat h Long 55 " and 54V2 ° W Aug 1969 27·35 11 0 06 Nay 1970 32·33 07 (38) 00 ('i..+ p)und) I 10 .9 pound , llne/ Long 54' 2° and 54 Ow Nay 1970 30..50 0 2 (661 0 0 Long 54 and 53Y2 ° W Oct 1969 32-53 33 4 7 8 h ur The atch rate ranged from 0 t 13 . 1 pound /ltne/h ur ~Ilh higher 'F,gures In parenthesIs show total scouting and fish ing hours catch rate from the euge bet~een the longllude of 55 \\ and 55 5 W Table A· 17-Calch ralea al specific locatlons-iheivel off French Guiana. The at h In thl area c mpn ed Depth range Hours Catch rate Fishing Ground Month fished (fm) ',shed (I b/llne/hr ) about 33 t 5 per ent napper. I I to 66 percent grouper. and the remain­ Shelf edge between lo ng 53'12 ° and 53° W Oct 1969 27·53 310 174 der. I to 4 percent. Jac],., and ttlefi h . ( 148) • Oct 1970 5(}-95 84 2 6 he \ anelle f the atch ~ ere I milar Long 53° and 52'12 W Oct 1969 43 24 .5 7 a Oct 1970 5(}-85 24 (9 .5) 11 4 to tho e from the hel\e ff uyana 20 .0 44 Long 52'12° and 52 'w Oct 1969 43· 55 Tabl~ - 16 gl \ fu rther detail of Offshore bank and edges between long 52'12 ° and 52 °W Oct 1970 41·65 5 .5 (18 .8) 96 catch r ult b) area . Shelf edge between long 52 ° and 5 1'12° W Oct 1970 43·65 476 (1330) . 17 .6 (33 .5) " hehe off rench GUlana.- The Long 51 '12 ° an d Sl OW Oct 19 70 52·61 12 (114) • 19 .9 north~e tern half of the helf edge in Inward shelf between 53'12 ° and 53° W Oct 1969 27 63 00 Oct 1970 30·50 02 ( 147) • 00 thi area has mo tl) a featurel Long 53° and 5 2'12 oW Oct 1970 30·41 00 (28) • 0.0 gradual lope excepting for o me Long 52'12 ° and 52 ° W Oct 1970 35·38 11 (6 0)' 66 Long 52° and 51'12 oW Oct 1970 25-35 18 (117) • 6.3 bottom contour built up by low out­ Long 51'12 ° and S l OW Oct 1970 30-50 18 (11 .3) • 4.5 croppings on or about the 50 fathom ·Total sc outing and fishing hours line where ome snapper chool were • 'Catch rate from night flshln g found. The helf edge from about productive position were on the shelf yell owmouth grouper were al 0 lo ng. 52°W outhea terl)' were di tin­ edges around the longitudes of caught. Further details of catch results gui hed by teep lope lanting direct­ 58° 45'W, 57 °4 1'W, and 5r 19' W . by localities are given in Table A-15 . ly onto the deep ocean floor . In ide of. The varieties of the catch were chiefl y Shelves off Surinam.- During the but near the edge, th ey have favorable Caribbean red snapper with some months of August and October 1969, ridge umerous snapper chool vermilli on snapper and a trace of exploratory fishing off Surinam was were found a long thi 40 mile long blackfin snapper. A few large amber· centered mainly o n the inward helf edge. Probably the narrowne s o r jacks (13-20 pounds each) and o ne or from 27 to 60 fathoms . The catch rate steepne of the edge pro ided for two yell owedge, Warsaw, a nd/or averaged 9.4 pounds/line/hour with a more congregation of fish because

30 of the narrowness of the optimum fishing on rugged 55 fatho m botto m On man) OCC a\ 1 1n~ It \\, a\ Impl1\~lhk depth range, as well as an advan­ near the shelf edge , but fr om o nl y one to hold the \ e\\el on((1 a ti\h \Chllll i r tageous biological environment. The location (Iat. 5° 53' , long.5 1° 34'W ). to reach the bottom \\, Ith the 6 tn '1 interior part of the shelf between the T a ble A - 17 gives further deta il s of th e pound \ lni-. e r\ o n th e ti ,hlng Ilnc, edges and 30 to 33 fathoms bottom catch rate by fi shing ground . when th e ve~~c1 \\, a, anchorcdt l1 maln­ was mostly devoid of s napper and The currents we re gene ra ll y str ng tal n pOS iti on it has flat and smooth bottom features. to the northwest throughout this a rea. There were some outcrops on 30 to 33 fathoms bottom , but the size of the MFR Paper 1083. From Marine Fisheries Review. Vol. 36. No 9 September 1974 CopIes o f thIs p aper, In limited numbers, are fish schools found there was relatively avaIlable from 083, Technical InformatIo n D,v,s,on Env ironmenta l small. Science Informat IO n Center , NOAA , Was hington, DC 20235 I n October 1969 the northwestern half of thi area was fi hed for a total of 8 fishing days, mostly near the edges MFR PAPER 1084 at 43 to 60 fathoms . The catch rate averaged 9.8 pounds/line/hour with a range from 0 to 39.4. The catche Results of Live Bait and Pole and from the inward shelves were mo tl y Line Fishing Explorations for Pelagic nil. A mo t productive ground was on 43 fathoms bottom around lat. in the Caribbean 6° 51 'N , long. 53 ° I3'W. In the same month of 1970 a total edge distance DONALD P. WAGNER of about 200 miles and the 30 to 45 fathoms bottom on the inward shelf, about 240 mile lo ng total, were cov­ ABSTRACT-This paper presents results o f exploratory fish ing in the ered in 14 fishing days. On the north­ Caribbean for live bait and for tuna, using the pole and line rrethod , 1967- we tern half of the shelf, the catch 1970. Seasonal fluctuations in abundance o f both bait and tuna stocks rate was 6.3 pounds/line/hour for th e were evident. Bait fishes were caught throug hout the Caribbean but were deeper bottoms near the edge (from most abundant off the Windward Islands, Trinidad , and Tobago. Catches of 10 .8 actual fishing hours out of 27.1 bait ranged up to 700 pounds per statio n and were pnmanly Atlantic thread total hours on the grounds) and zero herring, Opisthonema oglinum ; dwarf herring , J e n klnSla lamprotaenla; for the shallower bottoms on the in­ pilchards, Harengula sp.; and sardines, Sardinella sp. Tuna catches were ward shelf (from 1.3 actual fi shing as high as 73 pounds per hour and were mos tly skipjack, Katsuwonus pelam­ hours out of 23.5 total hours on the is . During 1970, an intensive survey near the Windward Islands produced grounds). In the southeastern half the catches averaging 24 pounds per hour. catch rates were nearly three time better at 18 .5 pounds/line/hour on or to T ri ni dad a nd we t al ong th e north near the edges (53 .8 fishing hour out INTRODUCTION coast of South Ameri ca to ahllut of 144.4 total hours) and 5 .3 pounds/ From March 1967 through June long.75 °W . T he area ~ urr oundlng the line/hour on the inward shelf. 1970, the United Nations Develo p­ Windward Islands received the 010 t The catch comprised 66 to 92 ment Program/Food and A gri c ulture exten ive cove rage In the ... c l \c r percent snappers, 7 to 26 percent Organization Cari bbean F i hery due to encouraging r e p ort~ trom the groupers, and I to 8 percent jacks. Drvelopment Project (C FDP) made U .S. Bureau o f Com merCial hshene A few tilefish and triggerfish were live-bait surveys and pole and line research vessels Gerollll/1(1 and l II also present. Only three varieties of fishing exploration as part of in vesti­ daLlnt ed l and earlier result obtained snapper were caught in this area. gation of available fi hery resources by the CFDP that mdlcated a re .1- Caribbean red snapper was mo t domi­ in the and urrounding tively greater abundance of tuna nant throughout followed by vermil­ waters. The following objective were schools In th is area. From Janu3n lion snapper. Lane snapper was cap­ set: through Ju ne 1970. more concentrated tured only from shallower bottom I. Develop information on the avail­ survej \\, ere made In the are.! \\,e t of of 29 to 35 fathoms. Yellowedge, ability of live bait suitable for pole th e Wlnd\o\-ard Island~ hounded h the Warsaw, snowy. and yellowmouth and line fishing . 2 . Define the geographical and t Lucia Channel to the nl rth and the groupers were common on the shelf seasonal distri bution of surface school­ outhern tip of Grenada to the outh edges, but on the shallower bottoms ing fishes . principally tunas. The \essel u cd \\,e re the alal/1C1r on the inward helf only nowy, 3. Conduct experimental tuna fi h­ A!c\OIl, and Fre'lltCl T he) \\,ere de­ ing by the pole and line method. yellowedge, and red grouper were signed as combinati on. multlpurr e common. Jacks were rare in daytime Exploratory fi hing operation In fishing, only a few amberjack and 1967. 1968. and 1969 extended from , RV Ulldaunlt de rUl e Report 2 < 67-1 ••lnd R\ Gerommo ( r Ul e Report 66 ~ green jacks being caught. From one the coa t of Briti h H onduras to J a­ are 3 \ dllable fr om the outhe.c t h hen night's fishing 27 horse-eye jacks (427 maica. Hi paniola . and Puerto RI CO . Center at'1nal !l.1a n nc h hen ~ nl'­ NOAA ~ < \ ',rgJnla B ea~h Dn\e t lam, II pounds) were captured from 2 hour thence south along the Antillean rc 33149.

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