Condition of the international fisheries, catch and effort trends, and fishery data gaps for dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) from 1950 to 2018 in the Western Central Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

We conducted a scientific literature review, and a comprehensive analysis based on international fisheries databases, for dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) from the Western Central Atlantic Ocean (WCA) from 1950 to 2018. This analysis updated the dolphinfish catch and efforts trends in comparison to those calculated in Mahon (1999), the first regional catch review for the species that was conducted with data from the 1950s through the mid-1990s. Results showed that the commercial pelagic longline effort doubled within, and quadrupled outside, of national jurisdictions. Commercial landings increased nearly three-fold, but 23 nations still do not report explicit dolphinfish landings to the FAO yet are known to catch dolphinfish. In the WCA, the US Atlantic recreational fishery represents the largest reporting sector by two-fold. When combined with reported commercial landings for 2016, total direct dolphinfish catch was 14,110 metric tons, of which 62 % was estimated to be recreational catch. Since the first regional fishery analysis of dolphinfish, the uncertainty of the status of the fishery has increased with several nations reporting higher landings of unidentified marine fish species. Also, new burgeoning social (e.g., FAD programs) and environmental processes (e.g., Sargassum blooms) lead to the presumption that higher amounts of juvenile dolphinfish are caught throughout the region. First reports of consequential amounts of dolphinfish bycatch have been documented in the pelagic longline fisheries, as well as the first modeled and anecdotal evidence of stock decline has been suggested. Results stress the immediate need for WCA nations to adopt a precautionary approach for proper fishery management of dolphinfish throughout the WCA, not only to increase spawning biomass but also for overall stock health and its conservation.