Connecting a Trophic Model and Local Ecological Knowledge to Improve Fisheries Management: The Case of Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica

Sánchez-Jiménez, Astrid; Fujitani, Marie; MacMillan, Douglas C.; Schlüter, Achim; Wolff, Matthias

doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00126

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This role has been evaluated for both the Gulf of Nicoya and Golfo Dulce by means of trophic models that estimated the impact on the system of the removal or addition of the biomass of groups or organisms or of detritus (Wolff, Hartmann, & Koch. 1996;Wolff, Chavarría, Koch, & Vargas, 1998;Alms & Wolff, 2019;Sánchez-Jiménez, Fujitani, MacMillan, Schluter, & Wolff, 2019). The historical data presented in this study, together with the recent reduction in fishing pressure and bottom damage, provide a unique framework for a future evaluation of the status of flatfish populations on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Flatfish (Pleuronectiformes) species richness and depth distribution in the Gulf of Nicoya, Golfo Dulce, and two adjacent areas on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

Vargas¹,

Ramírez²,

Marín³

et al. 2020

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Flatfish diversity and depth distribution in the Gulf of Nicoya, Golfo Dulce, and two adjacent areas on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Introduction. Information on flatfish diversity and depth distribution is scarce for the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Historical data is important to evaluate changes in ecosystems due to local, regional and global stressors. Objective. To provide information on the presence, depth distribution and lengths of flatfish species collected by trawl nets. Methods. Fish studies were conducted by trawling at four sites along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica by the survey vessels Skimmer (1979-1989), Nishin Maru (1987-1988) and Victor Hensen (1993-1994). The published lists of species were consulted, museum specimens were accessed, and a list of flatfishes assembled. Results. A total of 36 species were found at the four sites over a depth range of 8 to 359 m. The family Paralichthyidae included 13 species followed by the Cynoglossidae with 12 species. Achiridae had six and Bothidae had five. The most speciose genus was Symphurus with 12 species. Thirty-five species were collected at depths from 10 to 235 m in the Gulf of Nicoya and Golfo Dulce. The Gulf of Nicoya estuary yielded 27 species during the Skimmer expedition and over a depth range of 8 to 60 m, while 31 species were found there during the V. Hensen survey at depths from 10 to 228 m. The V. Hensen survey in Golfo Dulce (20 to 235 m) captured 19 species, and 17 in Coronado Bay (21 to 187 m). Off the Nicoya Peninsula (56 to 359 m) 13 species were collected by the Nishin Maru shrimp trawler. A total of 21 species (58 %) were found at depths greater than 100 m and were probably exposed the low oxygen concentrations characteristic of hypoxia. During the V. Hensen survey Symphurus chabanaudi and S. elongatus were captured more frequently in the Gulf of Nicoya, while S. leei was so in Golfo Dulce. Cluster analyses based on presence-absence data for the Gulf of Nicoya and Golfo Dulce revealed low station similarity indicating habitat partitioning among the species. The size (Total length) of 33 species measured from both the Gulf of Nicoya and Golfo Dulce ranged from 8 cm (Syacium cf longidorsale, Trinectes xanthurus) to 50 cm (S. ovale). Only 12 species were found with lenghts over 20 cm. Of the species collected, A. mazatlanus (30 cm) and S. ovale (50) appear to be length records for the region. Data on flatfish landings by the semi-industrial fishing fleet for the period 2000-2016 indicates that this group represents less than 1% of the total landings (shrimp and bycatch), with a minimum of 365 kg in 2001 and a maximum of 13.414 kg in 2013. Conclusions. The diversity of the flatfish fauna of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica appears relatively high but comparable to that found in other tropical regions. The number of trawling ships has declined significantly on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica after 2014. This reduced fishing impact on the populations provides a good opportunity for updating the trophic models available for both the Gulf of Nicoya and Golfo and their use as tools for better management of the ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Flatfish (Pleuronectiformes) species richness and depth distribution in the Gulf of Nicoya, Golfo Dulce, and two adjacent areas on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

Vargas¹,

Ramírez²,

Marín³

et al. 2020

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“…El enfoque ecosistémico ha sido propuesto como una alternativa al enfoque mono-especifico y busca un balance entre los servicios que presta el estuario y la salud del ecosistema (Jennings, 2004). En apoyo de ese enfoque, los cruceros del Skimmer y V. Hensen proporcionaron datos para la elaboración del primer modelo de Flujo Trófico del Golfo de Nicoya (FTGN), que permite estimar el impacto de la extracción, o adición, de componentes (biomasas de detritus, plancton, infauna, peces, crustáceos, moluscos, etc) al sistema (Wolff, Chavarría, Koch, & Vargas, 1998;Vargas, 2016) La utilidad de este modelo, para evaluar cambios en las pesquerías del Golfo de Nicoya en consulta con los usuarios del sistema, ha sido enfatizado recientemente por Sánchez-Jiménez, Fujitani, MacMillan, Schluter y Wolff (2019).…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Peces del Golfo de Nicoya, Pacífico, Costa Rica: actualización de las listas de los buques científicos Skimmer y Victor Hensen

Zamora

López-Sánchez

Ramirez-Coghi

2019

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Introducción: Desde mediados del siglo XX el estuario del Golfo de Nicoya (10o N – 85o W) ha sido la fuente principal de numerosos recursos pesqueros, como los moluscos, crustáceos y peces. En estuario está actualmente bajo impactos crecientes locales, regionales y globales. Las expediciones a bordo de los buques científicos Skimmer (1979-1980) y Víctor Hensen (1993-1994) aportaron datos multidisciplinarios en apoyo de políticas de manejo. Sin embargo, actualmente se necesita información actualizada. Objetivos: Actualizar las listas publicadas de peces colectados en ambas expediciones y sugerir nuevas áreas de investigación para una futura evaluación del estado del ecosistema. Métodos: En el buque Skimmer las capturas de peces cubrieron un ámbito de profundidad de 10 a 50 m, con una red tipo otter. En el buque V. Hensen las capturas se hicieron entre 10 y 240 m de profundidad, con redes tipo otter y beam. En ambos cruceros se hizo a bordo la identificación de las especies y la medición de sus longitudes totales. Para actualizar las listas de especies se procedió a la verificación de los nombres vigentes con base en literatura reciente y la página World Register of Marine Species (WORMS). Agregamos a la lista los nombres de las especies identificadas en años recientes para el estuario y catalogados en la Colección Ictiológica del Museo de Zoología, Universidad de Costa Rica. Resultados: El total de especies identificadas es 275 para ambos buques, de las que 13 corresponden a peces cartilaginosos y 262 a peces óseos. Diecisiete especies fueron identificadas después de la publicación de las listas originales y Gymnothorax phalarus fue descrita con base en material del V. Hensen. Las especies presentes en más del 50 % de las 20 estaciones del Skimmer, fueron: Prionotus horrens (16), Sphoeroides trichocephalus (14), Syacium ovale (13) y Synodus scituliceps (13). En las 12 estaciones del V. Hensen, fueron: Porichthys margaritatus (9), S. scituliceps (8), Bollmannia chlamydes (6), Symphurus callopterus (6) y S. evermanni (6). Los cinco peces de mayor longitud capturados por ambos buques, fueron: la raya látigo Hypanus longus (117 cm), el congrio Cynoponticus coniceps (103 cm), el bagre Sciades dowii (87 cm), la raya Narcine brancroftii (80 cm) y la corvina reina Cynoscion albus (75 cm). La longitud total máxima promedio de 137 especies medidas en el Skimmer fue de 26 cm y de 29 cm para las 164 medidas en el V. Hensen. Conclusiones: En vista del incremento del número de usuarios de los recursos estuarinos, es urgente una nueva evaluación multidisciplinaria del ecosistema en apoyo a la propuesta de nuevas políticas de manejo. Los resultados facilitarían actualizar el Modelo Trófico del Golfo de Nicoya, una herramienta de manejo disponible desde 1998 y basada principalmente en datos obtenidos durante los cruceros del Skimmer y V. Hensen. Tensores del ecosistema, como la extracción de recursos, el ingreso de contaminantes y su posible relación con la disrupción endocrina, así como la presencia de barreras naturales como la hipoxia en la boca del estuario, deben ser incluidos en esa futura evaluación.

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“…Four artisanal fishing fleets with approximately 2000 licensed fishermen operate in the gulf with different boat sizes and gear types that target a variety of demersal and coastal species (BIOMARCC-SINAC-GIZ, 2013). Gillnets are prominently used and its usage further increased in the 2010s (Sánchez-Jiménez et al, 2019). Fishermen use small motorized boats (pangas).…”

Section: Fisheries and Time-series Data Usedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore our models can be used to directly engage stakeholders in the management plans, as it has been attempted by Sánchez-Jiménez et al (2019). The EwE software was used as an interactive communication tool with artisanal fishers in the Gulf of Nicoya, to facilitate discussions on changes in the fishing ecosystem over time.…”

Section: Management Outlook and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of Drivers of Change of the Gulf of Nicoya Ecosystem (Costa Rica)

Alms

Wolff

2020

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The Gulf of Nicoya is a large tropical estuary located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and accounts for the country's main fish production. It is increasingly impacted not only by its fisheries, but also by urbanization, tourism developments, the input of pollutants from urban centers and agriculture activities in the catchment areas of large rivers entering the gulf. Similar to other coastal ecosystems, the gulf is particularly sensitive to short-and long-term changes in the climate, such as the precipitation rate, Sea Surface Temperature, wind speed and current regimes. While the gulf has been studied for decades, until now no attempt has been made to combine the analysis of the impacts of fishing and environmental changes on the ecosystem. By following a holistic approach that uses fisheries and environmental time series data from collaborative research and simulation models, this study aims at identifying the main drivers of the observed changes in the Gulf of Nicoya ecosystem. While the model simulations indicate that variations in the catch of some target species (e.g., cephalopods and shrimps) are mainly driven by the fisheries' exploitation rates, several other species (e.g., corvina, snook, small pelagics, and crabs) are also substantially affected by climate variations, particularly during El Niño periods of high Sea Surface Temperature extremes and increased precipitation. During these periods, phytoplankton productivity and zooplankton biomass deceases with bottom-up effects on the entire food chain. Indicators of the environmental state of the system thus have to be considered along with regulations of the fishing pressure to form the basis for the development of appropriate management strategies.

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Connecting a Trophic Model and Local Ecological Knowledge to Improve Fisheries Management: The Case of Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica

Cited by 22 publications

References 33 publications

Flatfish (Pleuronectiformes) species richness and depth distribution in the Gulf of Nicoya, Golfo Dulce, and two adjacent areas on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

Flatfish (Pleuronectiformes) species richness and depth distribution in the Gulf of Nicoya, Golfo Dulce, and two adjacent areas on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

Peces del Golfo de Nicoya, Pacífico, Costa Rica: actualización de las listas de los buques científicos Skimmer y Victor Hensen

Identification of Drivers of Change of the Gulf of Nicoya Ecosystem (Costa Rica)

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