Identification of Argentine fishing fleets operating in areas used by sea turtles in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean.

JONES S.,; PROSDOCIMI L. ; WILLIAMS J.

Simposio; 40th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation; 2022

ISTS

Bycatch of non-target species in fisheries is considered a serious problem worldwide for the conservation of marine megafauna, including sea turtles. It is estimated that at least 85,000 turtles are caught by fisheries worldwide each year, and the frequency depends on the temporal and spatial overlap of critical species habitat and fishing activities. Argentina is home to the southernmost foraging and development areas for three species of sea turtles (Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, and Dermochelys coriacea), which seasonally overlap with areas where intensive fishing occurs. Although the number of bycatch and the impact of fishing activity on these reptiles are unknown, there are sporadic reports caused by different fishing gears. The objective of this study is to characterize the fleets that operated in 2020 in the area between 34°- 41°S and 52°- 63°W, previously identified in the bibliography as an area of high-susceptibility to bycatch, and to assess their fishing effort. Information was obtained from landing declarations provided by the National Undersecretariat for Fisheries. The following data were collected: Number of vessels, length, type of operation, fleet category, and tons landed for each of the rectangles (latitude/longitude) with low, medium, and high susceptibility to bycatch in each of the seasons (summer, autumn, winter, and spring). It was found that in 2020 there were 188 vessels operating, with length ranges between 4 and 30 m, of which 182 belonged to fresh vessels (166 coastal fleet and 16 fresh high-seas vessels) and 6 belonged to freezer vessels. The reported catches in the study area were higher for the fresh vessels (31,030 tons), representing about 14% of the total landings in the ports of Buenos Aires province for the same type of operation. The results show that a large number of small and large scale vessels operate in areas of great importance for sea turtles. As well as that, they show the need to carry out systematic monitoring programs to quantify possible interactions with fishing fleets in order to evaluate possible mitigation measures that will benefit the conservation of these animals in the long term.