Landings and catches analysis of the main holocehpal of the Argentinean Sea (33° - 57°S): the elephant fish, Callorhinchus callorynchus (Holocephali: Callorhinchidae)

BERNASCONI J.F., ; DI GIÁCOMO E., ; COLLER M.,; PROSDOCIMI L., ; MONSALVO M., ; MARTINEZ-PULJAK G., ; NAVARRO G.,; BOVCON N., ; HOZBOR N., ; MASSA A.

João Pessoa

Congreso; Sharks International Conference; 2018

The holocephals species are generally caught as by-catch in several fisheries of the world where the teleost fishes and crustaceans are the target species. The elephant fish, Callorhinchus callorynchus, is the species of chimaera mainly caught as by-catch and exploited commercially in the Argentinean Sea. In this work, the reported landings evolution was analyzed considering logbooks data during 1989-2016. Furthermore, the type of fleet, ports of landings and most important fisheries regions for the elephant fish were detected for the last period. The vessel monitor system (VMS) data (2015/2016) was used to detect and validate the main areas where the catches of elephant fish are declared. The evolution of the reported landings observed was increasing, with annual fluctuations. The last period 2006-2016 had the highest level of landings [annual average: 2.000 t, and landings peaks in 2008 (2.690 t), 2009 (2.780 t) and 2015 (2.680 t)]. During the analyzed period (2006-2016) were detected three areas/regional fisheries where the elephant fish landings come from: 1-San Matías Gulf (SMG) (total 2006-2016 landings: 9.000t), 2-El Rincón and external zone (6.300 t), 3- Chubut coastal (3.300 t). These regions had the 85% of the total landings, followed by another three areas with lowest tons (13%: San Jorge Gulf 1.900 t, Argentinean-Uruguayan Common Fishery Zone 800 t (AUCFZ) and Grande Bay/San Julián 118 t).The maps generated with the VMS data showed the same three main areas of elephant fish catches. Regarding the landings ports, San Antonio Oeste (catches of SMG) and Mar del Plata (catches of El Rincón and AUCFZ) accumulate between 60-92 % of the annual landings according to the year evaluated and exchange the first position between years.The most important fleet that capture elephant fish during 2006-2016 were the Trawl coastal vessels (?Costeros?) and Trawl bigger vessel (?Fresqueros de altura?) with fresh fish, occupying the first and second place with 80-96% of the total annual landings. Finally, the fleet analysis landings by region showed: 1-GSM: ?Costeros? 58% (lenght 17-26m), ?Fresqueros de altura? 37% (24-38m) and Artisanal small vessels ?Rada/Ría? 5% (13-17m); 2-El Rincón: ?Fresqueros de altura? 81% (19-65m), ?Costeros? 17% (13-26m); 3-Chubut coastal: ?Fresqueros de altura? 58% (22-68m),?Costeros? 51% (12-26m) and ?Rada/Ría? 8% (8-19m) where the frequency of occurrence of bycatch by haul has been described between 24-64%. The results of these work allows to identify the fleet that interact with C. callorynchus and the priority areas/regional fisheries regarding research and management.