WECAF STUDIES No. 6

Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC)

INTERREGIONAL PROJECT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FISHERIES IN THE WESTERN CENTRAL ATLANTIC

A REVIEW OF THE CLUPEOID AND CARANGID FISHERY RESOURCES IN THE WESTERN CENTRAL ATLANTIC

by

J .W. Reintjes Consultant WECAF Project

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Panama, 1979 - ii -

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. DEVELOPMENT OF FISHERIES IN THE WESTERN CENTRAL ATLANTIC

The Interregional Project for the Development of Fisheries in the Western Central Atlantic (WECAF), which was initiated in March 1975, entered its second phase on 1January1977. Its objectives are to assist in ensuring the full rational utilization of the fishery resources in the Western Central Atlantic through the development of fisheries on under-exploited stocks and the promotion of appropriate management actions for stocks that are heavily exploited. Its activities are coordinated by the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) established by FAO in 1973. The Project is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as the Executing Agency.

As in the initial phase, two series of documents will be prepared during the second phase of the Project to provide information on activities and/or studies carried out. This document is the sixth of the series WECAF Studies. The other series of documents is entitled WECAF Reports.

W.F. Doucet Programme Leader - iv -

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Reintjes holds degrees in Biology and Chemistry from St. Johns University (Minnesota) and in Zoology from the University of Hawaii. He was engaged in oceanic tuna and tuna baitfish resources of the Central Tropical Pacific, 1949-1952; marine fisheries of the U.S. Middle Atlantic Bight, 1952-1955; Northwest Atlantic trawl fisheries, 1956; and menhaden and herring-like fishes of the world studies, 1956 to the present. He has conducted surveys and collected pelagic and neritic clupeoid fishes along the South Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States, in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. He participated in the Indian Ocean Expedition in 1964 to collect sardines and herring-like fishes in India. He has published more than 50 scientific papers. He is a fishery biologist at the Beaufort Laboratory of the Southeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmos­ pheric Administration, Beaufort, N.C. 28516. Table of Contents

1. Summary 1

2. Conclusiones and Recommendations 1

3. Introduction 2

4. Fishery Productivity Zones 3

(a) Cape Hatteras to Cape Canaveral 5 (b) Southern Florida and The Keys 6 (c) Northern Gulf of Mexico 6 (d) Southern Gulf of Mexico and Campeche Banks 6 (e) Bahama Islands and Banks 6 (f) Greater Antilles 7 (g) Lesser Antilles 7 (h) Western Caribbean Sea 7 (i) Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Western Venezuela 7 (j) Northeastern Venezuela 8 (k) Guianas and Amazon Delta 8 (1) Northeastern Brazil 8

5. Herrings, Sardines, Anchovies, and Related Clupeoids 8

(a) Menhadens 10 (b) Atlantic Thread Herring 10 (c) Spanish Sardine 11 (d) Scaled Sardines 12 (e) Round Herring 13 (f) Dwarf Herring 13 (g) Anchovies 15 (h) Atlantic Anchoveta 17

6. Scads, Bumper and Related Carangids 19

(a) Round Scads 21 (b) Bigeye Scad 22 (c) Rough Scad 23 (d) Atlantic Bumper 23

7. Definition and Status of Stocks 23

8. Acknowledgements 25

9. Bibliographic References 26

Annex 1 - Summarized Information on Clupeoid and Carangid Resources in the Western Central Atlantic 30

Figure 1 - The Area of the WECAF Project 4 1. Summary

Available information about the identity, biology, distribution, abun­ dance and fishery of clupeoids and carangids has been reviewed to formulate new opportunities for fishery development in the WECAF Project Area.

Although some species or species groups have been identified that could be harvested at a higher level than at present, the quality and amount of existing information prevents the calculation of any reliable estimates about their fishery potential. The absence of reliable quantitative estimates should not prevent reasonable fishery develop­ ment efforts.

As the gap bebveen fish demand and production is greatest in the Caribbean Islands, it is reconnnended that experimental fishing in selected localities for anchovies, dwarf and round herrings, and scads be undertaken.

2. Conclusions and Recommendations

Information on the identity, distribution, and abundance of clupeoid and carangid fishery resources in the WECAF Project Area is limited from the Gulf of Mexico and off northeastern Venezuela and almost non-existent along the coasts of Central and South America, and in the Caribbean Islands.

A review of existing information indicates that most of the spe­ cies and species groups, other than Atlantic and Gulf menhadens could be harvested in the WECAF Project Area at a higher level than at pre­ sent. However, until more is known about current landings and the distribution and abundance of most species, there can be little re­ liance in estimates of their potential for fishery development.

The main limitation that has been found to define distribution and abundance for most of the groups reviewed has been the quality of the existing landings statistics. In the Western Central Atlantic (FAO Major Fishing Area for Statistical Purposes 31) 42 countries re­ ported catches in 1976, of these six are countries outside the Area, i.e., France, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Poland, and USSR. Of the 36 countries within the A:irea, only 10 reported any clupeoid or carangid catches and these comprised only a small percentage of the catch reported. No clupeoids or carangids are reported for the other 26 countries.

Until there is a marked improvement in the statistical reporting of the kinds and quantities of fish landed in the WECAF Project Area, no further conclusions on pelagic fishery resources can be drawn.

It is already known that inadequate reporting of landings from most of the countries is caused by limitations mainly affecting the col­ lection of such statistics. It is therefore recomruended that action be taken, at the national and regional level, to improve the quality of land­ ings statistics collected and their subsequent reporting to FAO. There are reasonable indications that Spanish sardines, Atlan­ tic thread herrings, round herring, Atlantic anchoveta, and round scad can support larger fisheries in some localities than are cur­ rently being conducted. Much more knowledge about stock size, popu­ lation and age structure, and movements is required before quantita­ tive estimates of fishery yields can be made.

Most of the species that offer some potential for fishery ex­ pansion are found along the continental margins, usually near estua­ ries, bays and upwellings. Prospects for fishery development are more liimited in the Caribbean Islands because the productive zones, created by current boundaries, upwellings and estuaries are smaller. Dwarf herring, scaled sardines, and anchovies at times are abundant in the Antilles, however the market demand and utilization of these small fish is low. In addition, great seasonal variations in abun­ dance and availability make it difficult to develop a fishery. Scads are larger and more desirable as food but their occurrence and abun­ dance in the Antilles is not knovm.

Certain localities in the WECAF Project Area have geographic and hydrographic characteristics that show greater promise for fi­ shery development. These current boundaries, down-current or island wake areas, and places with upwellings of nutrient water near banks, along continental shelves, and along passages between islands are likely localities for trial fishing. Experimental fishing in se­ lected areas is especially recommended during the cooler months.

A programme of market development and consumer acceptance is re­ commended for clupeoids and carangids, with special emphasis on an­ chovies, dwarf herring and scaled sardines. As some clupeoids (Har~ngula humaralis Opisthonema oglinum) have been involved in cases of fish poisoning (Brody, 1972) such aspect should be consi­ dered during this programme.

3. Introduction

The Western Central Atl~ntic is a greatly diverse fishery re­ source area with continents~ islands, and reefs surrounded by tem­ perate and tropical seas that are fed by over 100 rivers and mixed by ocean currents, seasonal winds and rains, and cyclonic storms. Except for a few fisheries, such as menhaden, penaeid shrimp, spiny lobster, tuna snappers and groupers, along the continental margins the fish resources are underexploited and underutilized.

Pelagic fisheries include an aggregate of species and species groups that are the least exploited and utilized in the region co­ vered by the WECAF Project. Qualified exceptions to this are menha­ den and scomeromorid mackerels along the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, the Spanish sardine in the Gulf of Cariaco, Venezuela, the bluefin tuna that are currently being fished at or near the optimum yield.

The pelagic fishery resources considered in this report are clupeoids (menhadens, herrings, sardines, and anchovies) and carangids (scads and bumpers). This is a diverse assortment of animals that represent under­ developed fishery resources in the WECAF Project Area. Most of the species are small, generally occur in schools in the upper and surface waters, are relatively short-lived, feed on plank.tonic animals, and are preyed upon by larger fishes, sea birds, and marine mammals.

This report on the clupeoids and carangids was abridged and prepared from a general review of the pelagic fishery resources, excluding tunas and billfishes, in the Western Central Atlantic Ocean. The review was prepared under the direction of W.F. Doucet, Programme Leader, and Luis Villegas, Resource Evaluation Specialist, of the WECAF Project.

A brief summary report of it was presented at the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, 3lst Annual Meeting, Cancun, Q.R., Mexico in November 1978 (Reintjes, 1979).

The WECAF Project Area consists of different geographical zones, with distinctive oceanographic characteristics, harbouring scores of pe­ lagic fish stocks. This diversity of geographical, hydrographical, and biological conditions requires methods of assessment and evaluation de­ signed to solve separate and distinctive problems of distribution, abun­ dance, and seasonality of pelagic fishes.

In the first part of this report the geographical and hydrographical zones are described, in general terms, and the principal pelagic clupeoid and carangid fishery resources are identified.

The second part consists of a description of the pelagic fish with a summary of current biological knowledge and some information on their geographical and seasonal distribution and abundance.

4. Fishery Productivity Zones

The WECAF Project Area extends from Cape Hatteras (35° N) on the eastern coast of the United States to Alagoas State, Brazil, (10° S) and eastward into the mid-Atlantic 2cean (Figure 1). This immense region consists of nearly 6 million mi of marine waters, 7 OOO mi of continental coasts, 4 OOO mi of island shores, over 100 rivers and estuaries, and thousands of islets and reefs. Fisheries productivity ranges from the abundant stocks near the Mississippi, Orinoco, and Amazon deltas and the Cariaco upwelling in eastern Venezuela to the scant stocks in the Atlantic off the Bahamas and the Lesser Antilles. so 0 700 eo 0 50° 36°N

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Fig. i. - The area of the WECAF Project Because fisheries productivity ranges so widely in kinds of animals and their numbers, biomass, and density distributions, the Project Area must be divided into geographical zones and locali­ ties as it would be impractical to assess in the same way the fi­ sheries productivity of the Northern Gulf of Mexico, Campeche Bay, Bahama Banks, Caribbean Basin, Colombia Coast, Cariaco Trench and Gulf, Lesser Antilles, Guiana Coast, or the Amazon Delta. Each zone, containing localities with similar productive capabilities and characteristics with identifiable stocks of fish, must be assessed separately whenever practicable.

For' the WECAF Project, each productivity zone has its own geographic, biologic, hydrographic, economic, social, and politi­ cal characteristics that will determine the extent of Project in­ volvement in fishery assessment and development. The following zones are somewhat arbitrary geographical segments of the WECAF Area that may permit a more orderly approach to the evaluation and assessment of the pelagic fishery resources:

Cape Hatteras to Cape Canaveral Southern Florida and the Keys Northern Gulf of Mexico Southern Gulf of Mexico and Campeche Banks Bahama Islands and Banks Greater Antilles Lesser Antilles Western Caribbean Sea Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and western Venezuela Northeastern Venezuela Guianas and Amazon Delta Northeastern Brazil

(a) Cape Hatteras to Cape Canaveral The zone includes continental shelf waters of the United States off North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida including the Gulf Stream. The zone is within the 200-mile extended jurisdiction of the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. Atlantic menhaden are fully exploited by the U.S. purse seine fi­ shery, and Atlantic thread herring are caught incidentally to that fishery in the Carolinas. Landings of herrings, sardines, anchovies, scads, or bumpers have not been reported. Round herring, Spanish sardine, and round scad occur frequently in the food of other fish and during experimental trawling cruises.

Rough scad occurs in the zone; but, no large catches have been reported. Scaled sardines, bigeye scad, and bumper are uncom­ mon to rare.

The zone is characterized by a relatively ·wide shelf, bounded - 6 -

on the east by the Gulf Stream. The coast is a contiguous series of estuaries and salt grass marshes.

(b) Southern Florida and the Keys

The east coast of Florida and the Keys have a narrow shelf composed of coral reefs and banks. The Yucatan or Loop Current becomes the Gulf Stream as it moves northward between Florida and the Bahama Islands.

The southweBt coast of Florida has a wide continental shelf. All species discussed in this report occur in this zone; however, there is no large fishery for any of them.

Small catches of menhaden, thread herring, scaled sardines, Spanish sardines, round scad, and bigeye scad for bait are made by fishermen for their own use or for sale. Combined landings of all species probably do not exceed 1 OOO .t • The zone is small so, except for some estimated stocks of Altantic thread herring, scaled sardine, round herring, and Spanish sardine in the Gulf of Mexico, the potential pelagic resources for fishery development are limited.

(c) Northern Gulf of Mexico

This is a productive zone off the southern United States over­ lying a relatively wide continental shelf that is enriched by the Mississippi River and several other rivers, bordered by extensive saltmarshes, and traversed by the Yucatan or Loop Current. The only large directed fishery for clupeoids or carangids in the zone is for menhaden, with landings of 820 OOO t in 1978. An incidental catch of Atlantic thread herring in the menhaden fishery is esti­ mated from 5 OOO to 10 OOO t •

There are several small directed fisheries in western Florida for Spanish sardine, round scad, and bumper. Combined landings reported are less than 2 OOO t.

(d) Southern Gulf of Mexico and Campeche Banks The coast of Mexico in the southwestern Gulf has a narrow continental shelf ranging from 50 mi at the Mexico-United States border to less than 10 mi near Alvarado. The shelf widens from Punta Morillo in lower Campeche Bay and forms the extensive Cam­ peche Banks that extend to the Yucatan Channel between Caho Catoche and Caho San Antonio,Cuba. These banks and nearby current boun­ daries form one of the more productive fishing zones of the Area.

(e) Bahama Islands and Banks The Bahama Archipelago, consisting of 3 OOO islands and bays, extends 1 OOO mi in to the southeast from 50 mi off Florida to Navidad Banks, just north of Mono Passage near eastern Dominican Republic. The zone consists of shallow-water banks and reefs with clear oceanic water. There are no rivers nor any strong oceanic currents to cause upwelling.

(f) Greater Antilles The seas surrounding Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico are influenced by the Caribbean Current that flows east to west from the Atlantic Equatorial Current System. The current goes through the deep passes between the islands and causes a ge­ neral pattern of sinking rather than upwelling along the Greater Antilles. At times there is some outflow through Mona Passage and Windward Passage towards the northeast. Some productive locali­ ties develop along the coasts of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico from small eddy upwellings and the influence of rivers and estuaries. In general, productivity is low. Productive plank· ton localities are usually restricted in size and are ephemeral.

(g) Lesser Antilles

The islands from Grenada and Barbados north and westward in­ cluding the Virgin Islands form a highly diverse zone with an oceanic front to the east, strong currents through the passages, with eddying, upwelling, and sinking along the westward boundary. These effects are more pronounced near the larger islands: Grenada, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Martinique.

(h) Western Caribbean Sea

This a large zone of great diversity south and west of Cuba and Jamaica frordered on the west by Quintana Roo (Mexico), Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The Caribbean Current flows from east to west andnorthwest through the zone causing boundary upwellings and eddies in the central region. Coastal rivers and extensive banks and reefs off Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua make the near-shore water productive.

(i) Costa Rica. Panama. Colombia and Western Venezuela

This is one of the least known zones of the WECAF Project Area with a narrow continental shelf except in the Gulf of Uraba, Gulf of Morrosquilla, and Gulf of Venezuela off Lake Maracaibo. Nearshore fisheries development efforts have been undertaken by Colombia and Venezuela with principal interest in the demersal fishes. Robins (1978) reported bumper as the more abundant fish in the Gulf of Uraba. - 8 -

(j) Northeastern Venezuela One of the more productive zones of the WECAF Project Area is along Sucre State and Margarita Island, Venezuela. Except for the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the most significant landings of pelagic fishes in the Area are made in this locality.

(k) Guianas and Amazon Delta This is a productive zone overlying a wide continental shelf receiving a large volume of nutrient-rich and sediment-bearing water from the Orinoco, Essequibo, and Amazon rivers. The zone has some international shrimp fisheries and coastal landings of marine fishes. Pelagic clupeoids and carangids are not identified, and there are no directed fisheries for any of the species.

(1) Northeastern Brazil A developing fisheries zone with sizable stocks of pelagic herrings, sardines, scads, and bumpers. The zone is only peri= pherally included in this report. Atlantic thread herring and bumper are reported as the principal species in the coastal fishery.

Some of the zones are inside waters under national jurisdic­ tions and are being fished by the coastal countries. Pelagic fisheries within some of these zones are usually developed or are being developed. These are:

- the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, includ­ ing the zones from Cape Hatteras to Cape Canaveral, south­ ern Florida and the Keys, and the northern Gulf of Mexico;

- the southern Gulf of Mexico and Campeche Banks;

- northeastern Venezuela; and

- the Amazon Delta and northeastern Brazil.

The remaining zones are of particular interest to the WECAF Project for the development of artisanal pelagic fisheries.

5. Herrings. Sardines. Anchovies, and Related Clupeoids Clupeoid fishes contribute more toward world fisheries pro­ duction than any other species group, and of even more signifi­ cance to this report, have the largest potential yield of any fishery resource in the WECAF Project Area.

Menhadens, herrings, sardines, and anchovies rely upon pri­ mary productivity (algae, plants, and detritus) or zooplankters that are herbivores (copepods, amphipods, and other planktonic crustaceans and invertebrates), thus placing them at the lower part of the food triangle or food web. Because of their trophic role, biomass estimates or total stock size place the clupeoids as the most abundant fishes of the region.

Species or species groups of clupeoids of current interest in the WECAF Project Area:

Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus (Latrobe) Gulf.menhaden B. Ratronus Goode Finescale menhaden B. &unteri Hildebrand Yellowfin menhaden B. smithi Hildebrand S.W. Atlantic menhaden B. aurea (Agassiz)= B. pectinata (Jenyns) Atlantic thread herring Opisthonema oglinum (Le Sueur)= .Q· captivai Rivas Round sardinella = Sardinella aurita Valenciennes Spanish sardine S. anchovia Valenciennes Orangespot sardine ~. brasiliensisl(steindachner) Scaled herring Scaled sardine Harengula jaguana Poey = H . .Eensacolae (Goode and Bean) False herring = H. clupeola !lvalenciennes False sardine Redear sardine H. humeralisltuvier Round herring Etrumeus teres (DeKay) Dwarf herring Jenkinsit;1amprotaenia (Gosse) Little eye herring .J.. _ma jua- Whitehead Shorthand herring J. stolifera!/ (Jordan and Gilbert) Striped anchovy Anchoa hepsetus (Linnaeus) Bigeye anchovy A· lamprotaenia Hildebrand Bay anchovy A· mitchilli (Valenciennes) = Longnose anchovy = A· lyolepis (Evermann and Marsh) Dusky anchovy A. nasuta(Hildebrand and Carvalho) Silver anchovy = Engraulis eurystolel/ (Swain and Meek)= Cam iguana !• estauquae (Hildebrand) Flat anchovy Anchoviella perfasciata !/ (Poey) Atlantic anchoveta Cetengraulis edentulus (Cuvier)

11 Species not distinguished for this report. The clupeoid spe­ cies can be grouped by genera or related genera. The groups are menhadens, thread herrings, Spanish sardines, scaled sardines, round and dwarf herrings, and the anchovies. - 10 -

(a) Menhadens

The four species of North American menhaden occur in the near­ shore waters of the Continent. The Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, and Gulf menhaden, ]. patronus, are fully exploited by the U.S. purse-seine fleet. Consequently, they are not potential resources for development in the WECAF Project Area. Klima (1976) summarized and reviewed the Atlantic and Gulf menhaden from reports published by Schaaf and Huntsman (1972) and Chapoton (1972). The stocks of yellowfin menhaden, ]· smithi, and finescale menhaden, ]. gunteri, apparently are small and support a gill net and seine fishery for bait in Florida and off Veracruz, Mexico. A reduction plant for the manufacture of fish meal a.nd oil operated with three purse seiners at Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche,during 1960. Some menhaden were caught but the supply was insufficient for the plant, which operated on purse seine catches of Atlantic anchoveta.

The two species of Southwest Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia ~ and!• pectinata, are not clearly distinguished as bvo spe­ cies. Berry (1964) concluded that]. ~ is the senior synonym of Ji· pectinata. These species occur in northeastern Brazil but there are few references to them in publications that are available in the United States. Checklists of species and reports from the Univer­ sity of Ceara do not list Brevoortia.

(b) Atlantic Thread Herring

Atlantic thread herring, Opisthonema oglinum, occurs through­ out the WECAF Project Area. A second species, Q. captivai, has been reported from the Colombian coast (Rivas 1972), but for the purposes of this report is not considered significant. Whitehead (1977) has considered that Q. captivai is a synonym of Q. oglinum.

Thread herring are caught incidentally in the U.S. menhaden purse-seine fishery along the Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. There is no directed fishing for the species. A purse­ seine fishery was developed off southwestern Florida in 1967-1968 and 15 OOO t were landed by three vessels. Legal restriction and weather curtailed production and eventually the area was closed to purse-seining (Klima, 1971). Thread herring are more abundant along the continental margins than in the Caribbean. The princi­ pal areas of abundance are the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, the northern coasts of Venezuela and Colombia, and the northeast coast of Brazil.

FAO estimated catch for the Statistical Area 31 as 5 714 t in 1975 and 19 300 tin 1972. Thread herring are not reported for Brazil, but Almeida (1974) reported it, with bumper, as the prin­ cipal species caught in wooden fish weirs off Ceara. Estimated annual catch throughout the WECAF Project Area is probably between 30 OOO and 50 OOO t, According to Fuss, Kelly and Prest (1969) sexual maturity is reached by 50 percent of the population at age 1 and all by age 2. Maximum growth is reached during age 3; few fish live beyond age 4. Spawning is completed offshore and the eggs are pelagic, floating near the surface. Phytoplankton and zooplankton are filtered from the water with fine gill rakers. This manner of feeding and diges­ tive tract suggest an omnivorous diet with a large percentage of algae and diatoms. Predators are nearly all larger carnivorous fish, birds, and porpoises. The preferred habitats of thread herring are the shallow continental and insular shelves and the deltas of rivers and bays.

Methods of capture include any purse-seine, surrounding nets, beach seines, gill nets, and weirs. Thread herring will not take baited hooks.

Thread herring is the top contender as a potential resource throughout the WECAF Project Area. Bullis and Thompson (1967) and Bullis, Carpenter, and Roithmay~ (1971) estimated a stock in the Gulf of Mexico of 1 OOO OOO t. Houde (1977c) estimated a biomass from 110 OOO (1971) to 370 OOO (1973) for an annual yield from 60 OOO to 120 OOO t for the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

(c) Spanish Sardine (FAO name: Round Sardinella)

Spanish sardine, Sardinella aurita (§.. anchovia) occurs through­ out the WECAF Project Area with greater abundance along the continen­ tal margins of North and South America. Another species, ~· brasiliensis, has been reported from the area, but in this report is not considered as a separate resource.

Spanish sardine support the largest fishery in Venezuela~ but no major fishery has been developed along the Gulf coasts of the United States and Mexico where it has been reported in abundance. In the United States, a small directed fishery off Florida lands an estimated 1 OOO t annually for bait, and in Mexico, 1 051 t were reported in 1974. Few landings are reported in other WECAF countries.

The estimated total catch in 1975 for FAO Area 31 was 50 717 t. Reports from Simpson, Griffiths, and others (1965 - 1971) summarized all the other current knowledge about Spanish sardine in the WECAF Project Area and the following is taken from Griffiths and Simpson (1972):

"The sardine, Sardinella anchovia, is taken by beach seine in eastern Venezuela. The annual catch, most of which is canned, has averaged approximately 40 OOO t since 1963. This stabilized catch is considered to be mainly due to the relatively limited accessibi­ lity of the resource to the method." - 12 -

"The relative percentage of the total sardine catch origina­ ting in the Gulf of Cariaco was, till about 1965, always greater than 80 percent, but from 1965 onward this proportion declined to an average of 30 to 50 percent on an annual basis. The southeas­ tern coasts of the Island of Margarita, the north coast of the Peninsula de Araya, and, to a lesser extent, the Carupano area on the north coast of Sucre, have become important catch area. The cause of this in unknown."

"According to the length-frequency data, the smallest annual mode normally enters the fishery in May at a total length of about 140 nun. This size is approximately that at which the first scale ring is formed and corresponds to one-year old fish."

"The sardine probably has a maximum age of five years; most of the catch consists of fish older than one year and less than three."

"The sex ratio does not differ significantly from 1 to l."

"Sexually mature specimens of total length less than 140 mm are rare. This fact, together with the time of entry, or later of fish of this size into the fishery, indicates that sardines one­ year old or younger do not normally participate in the main annual spawning of this species."

"Spawning intensity was highest in the early and late months of the year."

"Although the commercial species of sardine is considered to be Sardinella anchovia, the closely-related species, ~· pinnula and~· brasiliensis, have been observed and may have been caught. However, the taxonomy of the genus in this area is in need of re­ vision since the existing descriptions have been based on very few specimens."

Griffiths and Simpson (1972) indicated that the maximum annual catch of the Venezuelan fishery would not be higher than 44 OOO t. Gulland (1970) stated that the Spanish sardine catches off Venezuela could be increased to 80 OOO t annually. Trujillo (1977), after reviewing catch statistics from different sources, est,imated that past annual landip3s of Spanish sardine have been higher than that and on several occasions have exceeded 70 OOO t .

. (d) Scaled Sardines (FAO name: Scaled Herrings)

Scaled sardines, or razorbellies, are abundant nearshore fish of the genus Harengula that occur throughout the WECAF Project Area. Three species are reported: Harengula clupeola, ]. humeralis, and ]. jaguana. These are caught for bait throughout the area, used for food in some localities, and canned in Cuba and Venezuela (Rivas, 1963). Scaled sardines, along with other small herrings, are caught - 13 - and used for bait and food without being identified to species or re­ ported in the landings. The only reported landings in the WECAF Pro­ ject Area are from Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Houde (1977b) estimated the U.S. landings for bait in Florida at 500 t.

Scaled sardines are fully grown by age 2 and few live more than 3 years. They attain sexual maturity at age 1, when they are between 9 and 14 cm fork length. Sex ratio is 1:1 and fecundity ranges from 5 500 to 53 OOO ova, increasing according to female size (Martinez and Houde, 1975) • The spawning season in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico is from February to August with peak spawning in April. Spawning occurs nearshore but not in bays and estuaries.

Klima (1959) reported that 76 percent of 292 Spanish makerel sto­ machs contained only clupeoids, particularly scaled sardines.

(e) Round Herrinti A very abundant clupeoid that occurs along the South Atlantic coast of the United States and in the northern Gulf of Mexico and along the Mexican coast to Yucatan. Exploratory vessels have collected some from the deeper water off Colombia, and Haugen (1969) has reported the round herring from the Venezuelan sardine fishery. At the present time, there is no evidence of large round herring stocks in the area except in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Soviet/Cuban fishing off Campeche Banks caught some but no large concentrations were reported.

Houde (1977b) estimated a biomass of round herring in the eastern Gulf of Mexico of 700 OOO t (1971-1972) and 130 OOO t (1972-1973). His best estimates of annual yields were from 50. OOO to 250 OOO t. These estimates were made from egg surveys and have not been substantiated by other methods.

There are no landings reported for round herrings in the western Atlantic. Hildebrand (1963) reported a catch of 90 tin Maine (1953). There have been erratic occurrences along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. It commonly occurs in the stomach contents of larger fishes and its eggs and larvae are abundant in plankton collections.

Information on its abundance and occurrence has appeared in the cruise reports of the research vessels OREGON and OREGON II.

(f) Dwarf Herring

The dwarf herring is one of the more common nearshore fishes in the Caribbean Sei:>.. Three species~ Jenkinsia lamprotaenia, d· ma:jua and d· stolifera are reported from the Area (Whitehead~ 1963; Bohlke and Chaplin 1968). For this report no distinction among the three species will be made. Dwarf herring have been reported throughout the area. They are principally insular and not continental in distribution. verY few occur in the Gulf of Mexico, north or Florida Keys or Cen- tral Mexico, and along the South American coast. They are most abundant in the Caribbean Islands and along the South American coast (Ge rvigon, 1966) •

General characteristics of the population of dwarf herring are their phenomenal and ephemeral abundances. They appear in numbers in a relatively short time 2 to disappear about as quickly. They have a short life span of less than 2 years and more likely less than 1. They spawn several times during the year.

Thvarf herring eggs and larvae have been sought in plankton col­ lections for many years to no avail. A recent discovery, unpublished, by Dr. Mar Juarez, Centro de Investigaciones Pesqueras, Havana, that dwarf herring spawn demersal eggs explains their absence Irom plankton collections. This also implies their neritic distribution and habitat preferences. The same conclusion was reached by Powles (1977) who collected eggs and small larvae from near the bottom and not in the water column.

Dwarf herring characterize the enigma of small schooling fish in the areao They are a short-lived species with great variation in abun­ dance by season and locality and are very hard to utilize either for food or bait because of their small size, which is about 2 and 1/2 in (60 - 70 mm). They are neritic, rarely found far from shore. There are no reported landings. They are used for food either sun-dried or fresh; however, the principal commercial interest has been as live bait for the pole and line tuna fishery.

Wagner (1974) reported on the results of the tuna live bait sur­ vey conducted as part of the UNDP/FAO Caribbean Fishery Development Project during 1967-1970. Dwarf herring were caught in Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and Grenada, and with thread herring and scaled sardines, they were the more abundant fishes. Methods of capture, be­ cause of their small size, require a directed fishery using small mesh nets, seines, weirs, or traps. Dwarf herring have been caught for live tuna bait with la:mpara or bagnet, lift or blanket net, and beach seine. Wagner reported the lift net caught 90 percent of the live bait during the Caribbean Fishery Development Project surveys.

Fishery development depends first on a suitable demand for food, bait, or fish meal; second, upon effective gear, and third, upon time available for fishing operations and localities. Griffiths and Simpson (1972) report, "From time to time the 'sardina canalera' (dwarf herring) is abundant in eastern Venezuela, but there is no commercial fishery for it; its potential for use for direct consumption, fishmeal, or bait should be studied." Fishery development must rely on the length of time a resource is available to the fisherman and his gear. The potential yield of short-lived ephemeral stocks can be obtained only during their short life span and in competition with its predators. ~ 15 -

(g) Anchovies A considerable number of species of anchovies occur in the WECAF Project Areao The schools are often of bvo or more species with one species usually dominating in a localityo Some of the species are relatively unconnnon, or their distinction has not been recognized. There is no directed fishery for anchovies in the areao

Three genera, Anchoa, Anchoviella, and Engraulis, with 15 or more species and Cetengraulis edentulus, the anchoveta, have been described from the area. Several other genera have been reported but until more information is available, they are of no significant concern in the present review.

The following species are included:

Striped anchovy Anchoa hepsetus Bigeye anchovy A. lamprotaenia Bay anchovy A· mitchilli Dusky anchovy = b:,o lyolepis Longnose anchovy Ao nasuta Flat anchovy Anchoviella perfasciata Silver anchovy = Engraulis eurystole = Camiguana ~· estauquae Atlantic anchoveta Cetengraulis edentulus

These are grouped as anchovies unless reports designate a cer­ tain species or species group. Three species, Anchoa hepsetus, b:,o mitchilli, and A· lyolepis, appear to make up the bulk of the Gulf of Mexico resource (Bullis, Carpenter, and Roithmayr, 1971).

These three species are closely associated with coastal waters nourished by upwellings and estuarieso They are relatively short­ lived, usually not over 2 years of age, sexually mature, and nearly fully grown by the end of the first year. Populations fluctuate in abundance, annually ~nd seasonally, and vary greatly in the same lo­ cality and between localities from month to month.

Only four countries reported anchovies (1975): Brazil, Grenada, Mexico, and Venezuela. Venezuela reported anchoveta. Brazil land­ ings of 6 100 t for Area 41 were undoubtedly principally anchoita from southern Brazil~ outside the WECAF area. The Mexican landings probably were also amchoveta.o Therefore few anchovies, other than anchoveta and ancho;i.ta, were reported0 There is little data to jus­ tify an estimated catch for the areao As with most small clupeoids catches are used for food and bait in small quantities and there is no directed fishery or substantial market demand in the areao An­ chovies appear regularly in the artisanal catch and can always be seen, in small numbers, in the markets. - 16 -

Pelagic spawning occurs in the bays, estuaries, and nearshore waters. Little is known of the spawning times except that ripe fish have been found in all months of the yearo Because there are juveniles of all sizes, several spawnings may occur annually by some specieso More information and more accurate identification of the species in the catch are needed to eliminate confusion over the spawning behaviour of each species.

Anchovies feed on zooplankton, mainly copepods and other crusta­ ceans. Fish eggs and larvae and some phytoplankton also appear in the stomach contents.

As with most small schooling fishes, anchovies are preyed upon by all carnivorous fishes and sea birdse

Small mesh cast nets, lampara, bagnets, midwater trawls, purse - seines, lift nets, dipnets, and weirs are capable of catching anchovies. Because of their size and distribution, a directed fishery for their capture is needed.

Anchovies have usually been included with other clupeoids in es­ timates of biomass and potential yields. Bullis, Carpenter, and Roithmayr (1971) estimated the total clupeoid resources in the Western Central Atlantic at 10 OOO OOO t. They refer to anchovy stocks in the area exceeding the menhaden stocks. From light attraction and fish pumping experiments they conclude that anchovies are the dominant pe­ lagic species in the eastern Caribbean.

"Although relatively abundant, the camiguana (Anchiovella ~­ guae), which is sold fresh to a fairly restricted group of consumers, is underexploited in Venezuelae Occasional samples of camiguana have been obtained, but no systematic study has been undertaken except in­ sofar as camiguana eggs and larvae are samples in routine egg and lar­ val surveys" (Griffiths and Simpson 1972).

Counting schools from the air and acoustic surveys are the more likely assessment methods for a mechanized industrial fisherye Pela­ gic egg and larvae surveys for total biomass estimates would be appli­ cable o Light attraction and trial fishing may be the most practical local assessment method for artisanal fisheries.

As with many other small fishes 2 fishery development will depend on the demand for anchovies. Direct use for food or batt will conti­ nue to be smalL Bullis, Carpenter, and Roithmayr (1971) stated:

"They are small fish and offer a potential only for industrial fishing •o• Aerial spotting reports 'thousands and thousands of small schools' outside the barrier islands between the Mississippi Delta and Mobile Bay. Closer observation from research vessels have shown that most anchovy schools are relatively small and therefore would be un­ economical to attempt harvesting with conventional purse seines. - 17 -

Fu.:rther observations with survey aircraft, using infrared photographic techniques, have shown almost continuous anchovy schools along the beach areas from Mobile, Alabama to Apalachicola, Florida. Gulf coastal waters contain many thousands of tons of anchovies:; but new techniques must evolve to harvest them efficiently. Other observa­ tions of anchovy stocks range from the coastal waters of the Carolinas and Georgia down into the Caribbean and along vast stretches of the South American coast."

(h) Atlantic Anchoveta

One species of anchoveta occurs in the WECAF Project Area. Although an anchovy, it is discussed separately because it schools separately from the other anchovies. It occurs in the Gulf of Cam­ peche, Mexico, along the coasts of Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and Brazile It is the largest anchovy in the area. The species has been reported from most of the Caribbean countries but does not appear to occur abundantly in the islands.

The only reported landings are by Venezuela. Landings for 1959-1976 fluctuated between 850 and 5 420 t (average 3 007 t). The landings statistics are from fish meal plants so do not include those used for other purposes such as canning, salting, or sold fresh. An­ choveta also are caught, sold, and used for bait throughout the area but are not identified in the statistics.

Anchoveta school along the coast in water less than 20 fathoms. Compact schools, similar to thread herring, can be seen from the mast head or from aircraft. Population abundance appears to fluctuate markedly from year to year. Any areas of plankton production from upwelling or river mouths are likely localities for anchoveta schools.

The life history of the anchoveta has been described by Simpson (1965) and Simpson and Griffiths (1973). The following information is from the latter publication:

"The anchoveta's main spawning season was found to be July to December, according to relative abundances of fish with ripe gonads, and there was an indication of a secondary spawning around March. The model progression of ovarian eggs also confirmed the two main spawning periods." Sexual maturity and adult growth are reached during the first and early part of the second year of life. Few fish in the landings were over 2 years old. Anchoveta feed by filtering plankton, mainly phy­ toplankton, from the water. About the only information on the fishery for Atlantic anchoveta is in reports by Simpson (1971) and Simpson and Griffiths (1973). The following from the publication is pertinent to this report:

" The fishery in eastern Venezuela for anchaveta, Cetengraulis edentulus, locally known as 'rabo amarillo' (yellowtail), is a - 18 - comparatively restricted one, the main fishing area being the north coast of the Peninsula of Araya, particularly in the vicinity of Taguapire. The schools are caught by beach seine, but being somewhat dispersed, the whole school is not usually taken in one set, in con­ trast to the sardine fisher~ (Simpson 1963); the net size is probably the main determination in catch size per set. The fishery for ancho­ veta has been briefly described by Simpson (1963, 1965) and Simpson and Griffiths (1967). Peterson (1958) also made a general preliminary report on the anchoveta in eastern Venezuela."

"The anchoveta in eastern Venezuela is considered to be abundant,. and the fishery is almost certainly limited by the method and the ac­ cessibility of the fish to it (as mentioned above). The catch is al­ most entirely used for fish meal production) and the catch data were obtained from the fish-meal plants."

" This species has undoubted potential for developmento Conse­ quently, has been an object of evaluation. However, the difficulty of access to the fishing villages on the north coast of the Peninsula of Araya has made it difficult to carry out a proper evaluation, parti­ cularly since no data on fishing effort are availableo Indeed, the beach seines fish almost casually for anchoveta and tut'n to other spe­ cies as they present themselves. The anchoveta fishery is, therefore, seasonal (mainly August to December) and sporadic. HOivever, with a relatively intensive deployment of sampling aides, samples can be obtained in every month of the year."

"For a number of years, biological samples have been obtained within the above-mentioned limitations,."

Suitable conditions for the occurrence and abundance of Atlantic anchoveta depend on nutritive waters from upwelling or river deltaso This requirement or ecological role is sunilar to the menhadens. North American menhadens occupy the area from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Veracruz, Mexico. Atlantic anchoveta occur from Veracruz to eas­ tern Brazile South American menhaden replaces it from Alagoas south­ ward.

Stock assessment by any method should consider the limited areas of upwelling and plankton productivity that seem to be the significant factor in stock size and distribution. After the potentially produc­ tive hydrographic areas are defined, some rapid survey methods could be used to assess stocks in a superficial way so as to get rough estDnates of stock size.

Anchoveta are not an easy fish to catch without relatively fast and efficient methods for setting a large seine. They are not readily acceptable for human consumption without processing by salting or can­ ning. Their potential in the area is mainly for the production of fish meal and oil that requires reduction plants. - 19 -

The northeastern coast of Venezuela has been reported as an area of extensive upwelling by Peterson (1958), Simpson (1963), and Griffiths and Simpson (1972), among others. Annual variations in the intensity of upwelling probably influence the resource considerably.

The distribution of this species in eastern Venezuela according to the area in which samples have been obtained correspond to known upwelling areas (Griffiths and Simpson, 1972).

6. Scads, BumJ>ers 2 and Related Carangids The scads, bumper and related fishes in the family·Carangidae are a highly diverse group of fishes that occur abundantly in the warm temperate and tropical world oceans. Over 200 species are recognized; at least 28 of these occur in the WECAF Project Area. They vary greatly in body form, size, habitat preferences, behaviour, and feed­ ing habits. From a fisheries viewpoint, they form two broadly similar groups; smaller schooling fishes that feed on planktonic crustaceans and larval fish and the larger, more solitary or more loosely congre­ gated ones that feed on juvenile and adult fishes and squids.

The first group, composed of scads and bumper, are likely resour­ ces for fishery development. They school quite densely, are moderate in size, can be caught with a variety of nets, are attracted to light and artificial structures, have palatable flesh, are not too oily or have too many bones, and keep well fresh, iced, or frozen.

The species in this group are:

Round scad Decapterus punctatus (Cuvier) Mackerel scad D. macarellus (Cuvier).!./ Redtail scad D. tab l Berry.!./ Rough scad Tra~us lathami Nichols Bigeye scad Selar crumenophthalmus (Bloch) Atlantic bumper Chloroscombrus chrysurus (Linnaeus)

The second group of larger, more solitary fishes require indivi­ dual capture by trolling, handlining, and nets. Usually their capture requires power boats and accessory equipment. They also are not as

.!./ Species that are not distinguished for this report. - 20 - numerous and with a more scattered distribution. The occurrence of ciguatera in many of the larger jacks have made them unpopular as food.

The more common species in the Area are:

Rainbow runner Elagatis bipinnulata (Quoy and Gaimard) Blue runner Caranx crysos (Mitchill) Crevalle jack £. hippos (Linnaeus) Yellow jack £. bartholomaei Cuvier Horse-eye jack C. latus Agassiz Bar jack C. ruber (Bloch)

The amberjacks, genus Seriola, are larger, more solitary jacks that are generally beyond the scope of this report.

About 10 OOO t of assorted scads, jacks, crevalles, and bumpers are reported from the Project Area. These are principally reported by Venezuela and Brazil. From the occurrence in the landings throughout the Area, an additional 2 OOO to 5 OOO t is reasonable.

Crevalle jack are taken seasonally along the Venezuelan coast mainly by beach seines and trolling. Landings are about 2 OOO t annually. About two thirds of the catch is made in the eastern zone and about one third in the western. Crevalle jack probably occur in the central zone, but the fishing is underdeveloped. It is believed that increased catches are possible; however, the seasonal abundances and sporadic occurrences impede fishery development. These general remarks are correct for all of the schooling carangids.

Very little information on the life history or biology of jacks, crevalles, scads, and bumpers is available from the WECAF Project Area. Larvae have been described for some of the species and spawning is in coastal and open ocean waters (McKenney, Alexander, and Voss, 1958; Aprieto, 1974). Erdman (1976) summarized the spawning times by observ~ ing gonad condition. He concluded that most of the pelagic carangids have protracted spawning periods.

Little is also known about their age and growth. They are rela­ tively fast growing, probably reaching sexual maturity and adult growth in 2 years. Of the smaller, schooling carangids of particular interest in this report, probably few are older than 3 or 4 years.

Food is mainly zooplankton crustaceans, fish larvae and juveniles, and small squid. Jacks concentrate beaveen the reefs and the continen­ tal shelf edges, in estuaries, and along oceanic current boundaries. As with many fishes, they eat whatever is small enough to catch and swallow.

Their predators are all the larger carnivorous fishes, sharks, and dolphins. Small scads schooling near the surface are frequently preyed upon by sea birds. - 21 -

Habitat is generally oceanic, usually in the nearshore areas. In general, they are not abundant in estuaries.

Scads and other small carangids are caught by all types of gear; seines and nets, trolling, jigging with chum, weirs, traps, and set lines.

The methods for assessing the schooling carangids are similar to those for the clupeoids: acoustic detection, visual sightings, and experimental fishing.

Carangids are more adaptable to artisanal fishery development than their companions, the clupeoids. Carangids can be caught by a great variety of gear: baited hooks, seines, gill nets, weirs, etc. They are more in market demand for food.

Information on the distribution, abundance, and seasonality of the scads and bumpers is required before any estimation of the resource potential can be made'. The species are reported from the Project Area, but there are no published or unpublished reports attesting to the re­ source potential except in cruise reports of the OREGON and OREGON II. Other opinions on the carangid resources are similar to those expressed in this report; i.e. that the WECAF Project Area has hydrographic and geographic features similar to other warm temperate and tropical regions of the world where sizable stocks of the small, schooling carangids occur.

(a) Round Scads Three scads, genus Decapterus, are reported from the WECAF Project Area: round scad, Q. punctatus, mackerel scad, Q. macarellus, and red­ tail scad, D. tabl (Berry, 1968). Not enough information is available to distinguish the species for this report. In general, mackerel scad are more oceanic and insular in distribution, whereas round scad are more closely associated with the continental margins.

Estimated landings of Decapterus are reported only from Guadeloupe, 200 t and United States, 300 t. Undoubtedly, round scad occur in other landings but are unidentified. Estimated landings of Decapterus for the Area probably do not exceed 3 OOO t. Cervigon (1966) reported it to be abundant along the Venezuelan coast.

Decapterus are short-lived fishes that show marked seasonal and annual variations in abundance and undergo marked diel movements and schooling behaviour. Major concentration occurs in areas of plankton abundance and density distribution.

Little or no information is available on round scad life history and biology in the WECAF Project Area. Decapterus from other areas spawn in the ocean, usually not far from land. They have pelagic eggs and larvae that grow rapidly and reach sexual maturity and full growth by the time they are 2 years old. They feed principally on copepods - 22 - and other planktonic crustaceans and fish larvae. Predators are carangids, scombrids, and other carnivorous fishes. Their preferred habitat is nearshore over the edge of the continental or insular shelves, usually in regions of upwelling and on the downwind side of islands in areas of plankton concentrations.

Round scads are caught by beach, lampara, purse seines, and any nets that catch schooling pelagic clupeoids. Lift nets, bag nets, and dip nets can be effective when used with lights. Generally, trawls are too slow for their effective capture.

Round scads are an important fishery in the Philippines. Fi­ shing with lights and bag nets or purse seines produce more than 350 OOO t annually. Ronquillo (1973) reports that the catch is prin­ cipally juveniles as the adults are unavailable for capture, "either because they are no longer attracted by the lights or have moved away from the grounds fishes." Rafail (1972) reported on the use of lights and purse seines in the Red Sea. Onke and Kakuda (1962) reported round scads the most abundant fish in the pound net catch in Kasaoka Bay, Japan. A fishery for round scad was conducted with torches and primitive nets in Hawaii before the European discovery of the islands.

Round scads can be assessed by any means used for other pelagic species. Round scads often are included in estimates for clupeoids because they often form mixed schools with them.

The only estimates for the Area were made by Leak (1977) for the northeastern Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast. He estimated, from egg and larvae surveys, a biomass from 100 OOO to 200 OOO t with a potential yield to a fishery between 70 OOO and 85 OOO t.

(b) Bigeye Scad Bigeye scad, Selar crumenophthalmus, also called goggle-eye, occur throughout the Are;:--They are more abundant along the continental margins but occur frequently, and at times abundantly, in the Antilles. The only reported landings from the WECAF Project Area, in 1976, were 300 t from Grenada and 2 617 t from Venezuela. Cervig6n (1966) repor­ ted it to be very abundant, at times along the Venezuelan coast, espe­ cially around Isla Blanquilla.

No biological information about the species in the Western Atlantic is available; however, the same species occurs in Hawaii and some studies have been conducted there. Bigeye scad are rela­ tively fast growing, reaching a 9 ·in (22.9 cm) length at the end of the first year and are sexually mature, and 12 ·in (30.5 cm) long at the end of the second year (Gosline and Brock 1960). The maximum reported size in Hawaii was 15 in (38.l cm) long, weighing 2 1/4 lb (1.0 kg). - 23 -

Bigeye scad occur along the edge of the shelf, usually along current boundaries or upwellings, where the concentrations of plankto­ nic crustaceans and fish larvae and juveniles abound.

(c) Rough Scad Rough scad, Trachurus lathami, occur in the Area but no landings are reported. Berry and Cohen (1972) concluded it to be the only species of Trachurus in the western Atlantic. Rough scad, ranging from Massachusetts to Argentina, occur mainly near the continents with few reported from the Caribbean Islands.

Very little information is available on the abundance, distribu­ tion, size, growth, life history, reproduction, or ecology of rough scad. Apparently there is great variation in the biological traits among the Trachurus, so that knowledge of other species in the genus is of little value. The horse mackerel, or "maasbanker", .'.!· trachurus, from the eastern Atlantic is larger and longer lived than the rough scad. The jack mackerel, .±'.· synnnetricus, from the eastern Pacific seems to be more similar. Jack mackerel attain a 10 in (25.4 cm) length and reach sexual maturity when 2 years old. Fully mature fish are 14 in (35.6 cm) long when 3 years old and few are older than 5 years.

Leak (1977) estimated the biomass to be 20 OOO to 50 OOO t with a potential fishing yield from 12 OOO to 14 OOO t annually. These estimates were based on the abundance of larvae in plankton collections from the northeastern Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coost, 1971-1973.

(d) Atlantic Bumper Bumper, Chloroscombrus chrysurus, occurs throughout the Project Area, principally along continental margins. There are no reported landings. Robins (1978) reported bumper as one of the more abundant fishes in the Gulf of Uraba. Leak (1977) did not give numerical es­ timates of abundance from the occurrence of larvae, but he did conclude that bumper was one of the more abundant fishes in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

With no more information than presently is available, nothing more can be determined about the distribution, abundance, or life history that would assist in stock assessment or fishery development for the WECAF Project Area.

7. Definition and Status of Stocks

The clupeoid and carangid resources of the WECAF Project Area are nominally designated by species or closely related groups of species. This designation is just adequate to determine the composition and use of the catch, and the biological characteristics of each species re­ garding size, growth, reproduction, and behaviour. It is not adequate for stock definition or assessment. Each zone and, for some species, localities within the zone, have separate stocks of fish. Atlantic menhaden and Gulf menhaden are separate species and stocks. Spanish sardine off western Florida and in northeastern Venezuela are probably separate stocks. Each island, or bay on the larger islands, may have a separate stock of dwarf her­ ring. Consequently, the size, distribution, and status of fishery re­ sources for development and exploitation depends on stock definition.

The only available information on any clupeoid and carangid stocks in the WECAF Project Area are for the Atlantic menhaden, Gulf menhaden, Atlantic thread herring, round herring, scaled sardine, Spanish sardine, round scad, and rough scad off the United States and Spanish sardine and anchoveta off northeastern Venezuela.

The Atlantic menhaden and Gulf menhaden are fully exploited with some incidental catches of Atlantic thread herring by the U.S. fish meal and oil indwtry. Spanish sardine support a fishery in Venezuela for canning with some of the catch, along with the anchoveta, for fish meal and oil.

There is a small directed bait fishery along the U.S. Gulf Coast for Spanish sardine, scaled sardine, Atlantic thread herring, and round scad. The catch statistics are insufficient for estimating stock size. Houde (1977 a,b,c) and Leak (1977) estimated the biomass and potential yield from egg and larvae collections from the plankton off Western Florida (1971-1973). The estimated potential yields, in tons, were as follows:

Round herring 50 OOO to 250 OOO Atlantic thread herring 60 OOO to 120 OOO Scaled sardine 46 OOO to 92 OOO Round scad 70 OOO to 85 OOO Rough scad 12 OOO to 14 OOO

There are no estimates of abundance or stock size for the other three menhaden, dwarf herring, bigeye scad, bumper, blue runner, or any of the anchovies. Except for the northeastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida, there are no estimates for Atlantic thread herring, round herring, scaled sardil1e, round scad, and rough scad for the WECAF Pro­ ject Area.

Because so little information is available, no furtheD definition of stocks, their distribution, or their size can be concluded until more is known. - 25 -

8. Acknowledgements

I am very greatful to many persons that helped me in numerous ways to make this report possible. I am especially thankful to :-Iarvey R. Bullis, Jr., Southeast Fisheries Center (NMFS) for making arrangements for me to accept the assignment with UNDP/FAO WECAF Project, providing access to cruise results and observations, and ad­ vising and assisting me in the preparation of the report.

Special acknowlegement and thanks go to T.R. Rice, Director, for freeing me from my regular duties and providing me with support ser­ vices of the Beaufort Laboratory (NMFS). Ann B. Hall, Librarian, helped search the literature and prepared the listings of published and unpublished reports. Margaret L. Rose and Beverly W. Harvey, typists, after many drafts and revisions, prepared the final report.

I called upon so many individuals for information and assistance that the following list is only some of those that contributed: Paul S. Strusaker, Fishery Consultant, Honolulu, Hawaii; Donald S. Erdman, Assistant Director, Commercial Fisheries Laboratory, Puerto Rico; Juan L. de Obarrio, Executive Director, Direcci6n General de Recursos Marinos, Panama; Warren F. Rathjen, Chief, Fisheries Development North­ east Region (NMFS); Milan Kravanja, Chief, Dennis M. Weidner and Richard S. Green, Foreign Affairs Specialists, International Fisheries Analysis (NMFS), Washington, D.C.; Robert S. Wolf, Fishery Biologist, Executive Support Staff, Richard B. Roe, Chief, Marine Mammals and Endangered Species, and Donald A. Wickham, Program Analyst, Central Headquarters (NMFS), Washington, D.C.; Charles M. Roithmayr, Joseph A. Benigno and Lt. Dean Mericas, Fishery Biologists and Marilyn M. Nelson, Secretary, Southeast Fisheries Center, Pascagoula (Miss.) Laboratory; Lynn M. Pulos, Editor, William W. Fox, Jr., Frederick H. Berry and Luis R. Rivas, Fishery Biologists, Donald P. Wagner, Administrative Assistant and Julie Josiek, Librarian, Southeast Fisheries Center (NMFS), Miami, Fla. ~ 26 ~

9. Bibliographic References

Aprieto, V.L., Early development of five canangid fishes of the Gulf of 1974 Mexico and the south Atlantic Coast of the United States. Fish. Bull. 72: 4-15-43.

Berry, F.H., Review and emendation of Family Clupeidae. Copeia, 720-30. 1964

A new species of carangid fish (Decapterus tabl) from the 1968 Western Atlantic. Contr. Mar. Sci. 13: 145-67.

Berry, F.H. and L. Cohen, Synopsis of the species of Trachurus 1972 (Pisces, Carangidae). Q.J. Fla. Acad. Sci. 35: 177-211.

Bohlke, J.E. and C.C. Chaplin, Fishes of the Bahamas and adjacent tropical 1968 waters. Livingston Publ. Co., Wynnewood, Pa., 771 p.

Brody, R.W., Fish poisoning in the eastern Caribbean. Proc. Gulf Caribb. 1972 Fish. Inst. 24: 100-16.

Bullis, H.R. Jr. and J.R. Thompson, Progress in exploratory fishing and 1967 gear research in region 2 fiscal year 1966. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Circ. 265, 14 p.

Bullis, H.R., J .S. Carpenter and C .M. Roithmayr, Untapped west-central 1971 Atlantic fisheries, p. 374-91. In S. Shapiro (ed.), Our changing fisheries, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

Cervig6n, M.F., Los peces marines de Venezuela. Est. Inv. Mar. Margarita, 1966 Fund. La Salle Cienc. Nat., Mono. No. 11, 436 p.

Chapoton, R.B., The furure of the Gulf menhaden, the United States' largest 1972 fishery. Proc. Gulf Carib. Fish. Inst. 24: 134-43. de Almeida, H.T., Sobre a produ9ao pesqueira de alguns currais-de-pesca do 1974 Ceara - Dados de 1971 a 1973. Bol. Cienc. Mar. 26, 9p.

Erdman, D.S., Spawning patterns of fishes from the northeastern Caribbean. 1976 Puerto Rico Dept. Agric., Agric. Fish. Contr., 8 (2): 1-36.

Fuss, C.M.,Jr., J.A. Kelly Jr., :rnd K.W. Prest, Jr., Gulf thread herring: 1969 aspects of the developing fishery and biological research. Proc. Gulf Caribb. Fish. Inst. 21: 111-25.

Gosline, W.A. and V.E. Brock, Handbook of Hawaiian fishes. Univ. Hawaii 1960 Press, 372 p.

Griffiths, R.C. and J.G. Simpson, An evaluation of the present levels of 1972 exploitation of the fishery resources of Venezuela • .E!2J. Invest. Desarro. Pesq., Ser. Ree. Explo. Pesq. 2(5): 51 p. - 27 -

Gulland, J.A., The fish resources of the ocean. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. 97, 1970 425 p.

Haugen, C.W., The presence of Etrumeus teres (Clupeidae) in Venezuelan 1969 waters. Hem, Soc. Cienc. Nat. La Salle 29 (83): 119-21.

Hildebrand, S.F., Family Clupeidae, p. 257-45Li.• In H.B. Bigelow (ed), 1963 Fishes of the western North Atlantic Part 3. Mem. Sears Found. Mar. Res. Yale Univ.

Houde, E.D., Abundance and potential for fisheries development of some 1976 sardine-like fishes in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Proc. Gulf Caribb. Fish. Inst., 28: 73-82.

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Summarized Infonviation on C1upeoid am! Carangid Resources in the Western Central Atlantic:

Species Species Group Catch of Habitat Use estimates Annual yield Maj or centers of Eventual (t) estimates abundance fishery potenti a 1

Atlantic Menhaden Nearshore waters of Fish meal (USA) 100,000 Fully exploitea Atlantic coast USA None North America. Gu1 f Menhaden Estuarine waters Fish meal (USA) 750,000 Fully exploited Gulf of Mexico None

Yellowfin Menhaden Nearshore waters Bait (Florida to 1,000 Small stocks Southeast Florida Small of North Ameri ea Veracruz) (est.) Finescale Menhaden Estuarine waters Gulf of Mexico

S.11. Atlantic Menhaden Nearshore waters Fish meal (Brazn) 2,000 Unknown Srazil Unknown of Brazil Estuarine waters.

Thread Herring Coastal waters of Fish meal 30-50,000 60-120 ,OOO t Gulf of Mexico, Large the Continents Bait {est.) (eggs/larvae survey Venezuela, Colombia, NE Gulf of Mexico) NE Brazil

Spanish Sardine Upwe11 ed waters Canning 40,000 ? 80,000 t Venezuela Gulf of Mexico Some along continental (Venezuela) 70,000 ? 62-125,000 t Venezuela margins Bait (USA) (Venezue 1a) (eggs/larvae survey NE Gulf of Mexico)

Scaled Sardi.ne Nearshore waters Bait, canning 500 45-90,000 t Gulf of Mexico Unknown (Cuba, Venezuela) (est.) (eggs/larvae survey w NE Gulf of Mexico) 0

Dwarf Herring Coastal waters Bait Unknown Great tempera 1 Caribbean Islands Small a round Caribbean Food variations locally Islands

Round Herring Deep waters along Canning None 50-250,000t ' Gulf of Mexico large the edge of the (eggs/larvae survey shelf NE Gu1f of Mexico)

Anchovies Coasta 1 waters Bait None Very large Unknown Large Food Great tempera 1 vari- at ions 1oca lly

Anchoveta Coasta·1 waters Bait 5,000 Unknown Mexico (Campeche) Unknown Fish meal (Venezuela) Colombia, Venezuela, Canning Gui anas, Brazil

Round Scad Cont l nenta 1 and Food 1,000 70-85,000 t Unknown Some islands margins (USA) (eggs/larvae survey NE Gulf of Mexico)

Bigeye Scad Continental and Food 3,000 Unknown Unknown Unknown islands margins (Venezuela)

Rough Scad Continental Food Unknown 12-14,000 t Unknown Unknown margins (eggs/larvae survey NE Gulf of Mexico - Florida) lmpresora de La Naci6n/lnac/