Interannual Variability in Mantle Length Structure, Recruitment, and Sex Ratio of Jumbo Squid,Dosidicus gigas, in the Central Gulf of California, Mexico

Abstract

Changes in the number and abundance of the cohorts of jumbo squid are a demographic response associated with high variability in recruitment, and have implications for availability and accessibility to the fishing fleets. In this study, we analyzed the interannual changes in the size structure, recruitment, and sex ratio of jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas in the central Gulf of California, Mexico. Data were analyzed for the 2000 to 2009 fishing seasons (from March to November). The biological data were collected biweekly at the port of Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur, during each fishing season. We recorded mantle length and mantle weight, and sex (male or female) was identified from morphochromatic properties of fresh gonads. We concluded that the mantle length structure of jumbo squid changed between 1 cohort and 3 cohorts from 2000 to 2009. In the study zone, the presence of 2 cohorts is common. The species shows positive allometric growth, and the females are more abundant than the males in the region. The comparison between the most important fishing grounds in the central Gulf of California (Santa Rosalia and Guaymas) showed similar patterns, such as the number of cohorts, sex ratios, growth pattern, and migration pattern identified between both coasts. We believe that this could be evidence of one population that is widely distributed in the central Gulf of California.