Analysis of the Swordfish Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758 Catches by the Pelagic Longline Fleets in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

Abstract

During the last 50 years, the increase in the efforts of the longline fleet in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) resulted in an increase in the capture of the swordfish Xiphias gladius. We analyzed a historical database of swordfish catches (1980–2020) reported by the industrial longline fleet to the Inter-American Tuna Tropical Commission (IATTC), which contains catch and effort data aggregated in monthly quadrants of 5° × 5° in the EPO. The swordfish catch reported by the international longline fleets was analyzed to evaluate the spatiotemporal variation of the catch and the different phases through which this important fishery has gone through. Different statistical models such as the Generalized Additive Mixed Model (GAMM) and the breaks for additive season and trend BFAST algorithm were used for the decomposition of the time series. Results indicated that the effort directed towards the swordfish increased in recent years and that the highest catches occurred by Peru. The adjusted GAMM explained 80% of the total temporal variation of the swordfish catch per unit effort CPUE and had a 90% prediction efficiency. The BFAST algorithm found three break points in the time series of the standardized CPUE, points associated with abrupt changes, thus defining four distinct periods, all of them statistically significant. According to the BFAST model, the current trend of swordfish CPUE is upward. It is recommended to take this finding with caution to obtain the sustainable exploitation of the swordfish fishery resource.