Exploratory Fishing Activities of the UNDP/FAO Caribbean Fishery
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MFR PAPER 1082 Exploratory Fishing Activities of the EDITOR'S NOTE UNDP/FAO Caribbean Fishery Development This number of Marine Fisher Project, 1965-1971: A Summary ies Review documents the re sults of a five-year international study of the fisheries potential of the Caribbean Sea. RO BERT S. WOLF and WARREN F. RATHJEN The area surveyed under this study was immense, covering al most one million square miles. ABSTRACT-The UNDP (United Nations Development Program)/FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) Caribbean Fishery Development The countries involved in the Project became operational in 1965. The Exploratory Fishing Section study were Barbados; Guyana; formed the largest component of the project; it was primarily staffed by Dominican Republic; France in FAO personnel, but was planned and directed by the U.S. National Marine respect to French Guiana, Gua Fisheries Service. Activities from 1965 to 1971 are summarized in this deloupe, Martinique; Jamaica; publication. Antigua; Montserrat; Sf. Christo Beginning in 1966, nearly 2,500 sea days were spent by three vessels in pher, Nevis, Anguilla; Nether resource experimentation and exploration. Operations extended from the lands Antilles; Surinam; Trinidad Central American coastal shelf to the islands and banks off the Greater and Tobago; United States of and Lesser Antilles and to the coastal shelves of eastern Venezuela, America on behalf of Puerto Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana. Rico; Grenada; St. Lucia and Experiments were conducted in attracting and catching pelagic fish by Sf. Vincent. the use of longlines, live bait/pole-and-line, trolling, gill nets, lift nets, and handlines, and in catching demersal fish through the use of handlines, Romantic names, these. Yet power reels, traps, longlines, trawls, and gill nets. the West Indies are a good deal Exploratory efforts produced about 1 million pounds (453,597 kg) of more than coconuts and steel usable food fish . Of this total, about 35 percent consisted of trawl-caught bands and rum . Excluding the demersal fish, 38 percent of snapper, jacks, and fish of related species, mainland countries of Guyana, 17 percent of sharks, and the remaining 10 percent mostly of pelagic fish . French Guiana, and Surinam, the Three major resources were delineated. The demersal trawl fishes are island countries in this study, al limited to the continental shelf off northeastern South America. The demer though occupying wide arcs of sal snapper and related species exist throughout the project region, but the subtropical sea, have a total are most concentrated on the edge of the Honduran/Nicaraguan conti land area about the size of that nental shelf off Central America, on the banks of the northern Leeward of our small State of Maine. On Islands, and on the edge of the Guyanan/French Guianan continental shelf. A lesser resource, of sharks, occurs on the continental shelf of these islands live more than 11 northeastern South America, and is concentrated off Surinam. A seasonal million people. increase in availability of skipjack tuna to live bait/pole-and-line fishing Only one aspect of this study was apparent during March through May in the Windward Islands. Pelagic has heretofore resulted in formal species showed a seasonal increase in availability 10 trolling during the publication; yet the remainder same period in the northern Leeward Islands and during September and of the material gathered pro October off Jamaica. Spiny lobsters were taken in good quantity in April vides a solid datum for future on Pedro Bank south of Jamaica, but were not available on the other studies and development of fish grounds in the project region. A small resource of tilefish was found in eries in the Caribbean Sea. deep water off the edge of the Surinam continental shelf. This number of Marine Fisher ies Review places in the perma nent record a series of investi Accomplishments in the Explora the builder, did actual operations be gations that directly or indirectly tory Section of the UNDP/PAO gin. In June 1967, the MV Fregala affect the welfare of several Caribbean Fishery Development Proj was delivered and the three-vessel million human beings and thus ect during the first year (1965) were fleet was complete. Phase I of the proj appear eminently worthy of pres limited to acquiring staff, ordering and ect was completed o~ 31 August 1969, ervation. receiving necessary equipment, and and Phase II on 3 I August 197 1. operational planning. Not until No The overall project can be described T.A.M. venber of 1966, after delivery of the as a commercial feasibility or pre MV Calamar and MV A/cyan from investment survey of the fishery re- 1 Ki ngston Old Harbor Cope COIllt1roll URAS NETHERLANDS A R U~A ANTILLES BO AIR C~ _ <1 C<1 0 V E ~J - COLOMBIA Figure 1.-C.rlbbe. n Flah.ry Developm.nt Project R.glon. 2 t:>' ST. CROIX ~BARBUDA Mayagu ez ISLANDS C> ANTIGUA lies des Sainte's '; M arie G alante \) DOMINICA ~MARTINIQUE <5- "'S-T-. -W-C--II-A '<'"'7-1--: <)S' ST. VINCENTO . Bcqllia ~ Islas Los I BARBADOS Canollan ' Grenadine Roqll es Union Is/and:' Islands ClIrr - IOCOl ! Blanqllilla Los Tcstigos Islan ds .~: ~TOBAGO TRINIDAD E ZUELA 3 Table 1.-Summary of project exploratory opera lions by fishing method or other claulflcallon. Catch (CA) In thousands of pounds and eff ~~ VESS EL & DEMERSAL DEMERSAL SHARK PELAGIC FISHING DE MERSAL HANDLINE POT OR HANDLINE & PELAG IC PELAGI C POLE & OTHER GEAR l T RAW LI NG & REE L TRAP SETLINE TR O LLING LONGLINE LINE METHODSZ A/cyon CA EFF CA EFF CA EF F CA / EF F CA EFF CA EFF CA EFF CA EFf 1966-67 a a 8.4 17 0.4" a a a a a 199 84 0.8 55 a a 1967-68 a a 91.6 113 2.0" a a a a 12 a a 1.4 79 a a 1968-69 a a 79.2 145 a a a a a a a a 0.5 40 a 0 1969-70 a a 23 .7 14 28.7 153 a a 5.9 24 a a a a a (l 1970-7 1 a 4 37 .4 16 9.2 50 a a 1.3 26 a a a a a II A/cyon Subtotals a 4 240 .3 305 40 .3 203 a a 7.2 62 19.9 84 2.7 17 4 a Ca/amar 1966-67 84 .3 37 a a a a a a a a 15.2 59 2 .8 41 a 1967-68 155.9 198 a a a a a a a a a a a a 1968-69 86.8 42 a a a a 62.9 75 97 20 a a a 47 0.3 ; 1969-70 14 .1" a a a a a 102.9 130 a a a a 6.6 48 6.8 3) 1970-7 1 a a 182 57 28.8 92 a a 5.6 18 a a a a a 13 Ca/amar Subtotals 341.1 277 18.2 57 28.8 92 165 .8 205 153 38 15 .2 59 9 4 136 7 1 54 Fregata 1966-67 a a a a a a a a a a a a 16 30 a 1967-68 a a a a a 18 a a a 6 a a 5.9 96 2.4 1968-69 a a 28.5 179 a a a a a a a a a a 19 1969-70 a a 12 .8 53 a a a a 0 .2 11 a a 11.5 86 a 1970-71 a a a a a a a a 5.8 96 a a a a a Fregata Subtotals a a 41 .3 232 a 18 a a 60 113 a a 19.0 212 4.3 GRAND TOTALS 341.1 281 2998 594 691 313 165 8 205 28.5 213 351 143 31 1 522 11 4 PERCENT OF TOTAL 28.5 11.3 25.0 23.8 5.8 12 .6 13.8 8.2 24 8.5 2.9 5.7 2.6 20 .9 1.0 5 .~ I 1 Septem ber through August 31 2 Bottom and surface longline. bottom and surface gill net handline drift attraction etc 3 live bait fishi ng was Incidental to pelagiC pole and line fishing sources of the region. It was divided pr ovided on the ves els for fi hermen pl o rat ions were made in the waters into three sections with over lappin g trainees. near Hi pani ola. Puerto Ri co. and the operational scopes: Resource expl oration was conduct Les er Antille . The continental shelf I. Exploratory fishing. ed in the waters of the Cari bbean off northeastern South Ame ri ca be 2. Marketing study and demon Sea, from th e edge of the Central tween Margarita Isla nd, Venezuela, stration. American continental shelf east to the and th e border betwee n French Guia 3. Fishery officers' and fisher- arc of the Les er A nti ll es (Fi g. I). na and Brazil was expl ored . men's training. Territoria l and adjacent water of the U nder contract to FAO, the U.S. The Exploratory Fishing Section in Central A me ri can countries, Colom ati onal Marine Fi sheries Service cluded definition of resources, experi bia, and Venezuela were not under (formerl y Bureau of Commercial Fish mentation with fishing gear and direct crutiny of the Cari bbean Fish erie ) was respo nsi ble for planni ng, methods, simulated commercial fish ery Development Project as they were organizin g, and upervising the explor ing, and demonstration fishing for within the study area of associ ated atory fi shing activities.