Abstract
Scomberomorus brasiliensis is the most important fish species of the small-scale fishery off the southwestern Atlantic north of the La Plata estuary. For management purposes, this study evaluated their reproductive biology, size, age and growth along the Parana coast. Monthly samples (March 2018-June 2020) from the fishery comprised 933 specimens (413 males, 520 females), 210-779 mm fork length, corresponding to a size smaller than in the northern areas. It presented negative allometry (b = 2.69159, length-weight relationship). Specimens in all stages of maturity occurred during the study period, indicating spawning in the area from October to June, peaking from January to March. The gonad-length relationship was suitable to confirm this assessment. Individual fecundity varied between 34,484 and 390,786 oocytes. Maturity occurred at L50 = 446.46 mm, t50 = 1.4 years, and L100 = 588.79 mm, and t100 = 2.3 years. The growth parameters were L∞ = 771.68 mm, k = 0.65 year-1 and t0 = -0.102 years, with cohorts aged from 0.5 to 6.5 years. Scomberomorus brasiliensis along the Parana coast constitutes a self-sustaining group, not directly related to that from northeastern Brazil. This small-scale fishery is not currently negatively affecting stock level; it is essential to monitor these attributes to detect future changes or impacts.
Highlights
Scombridae fishes are important pelagic fishery resources worldwide, including large (> 600 mm) and medium-sized (200 to 600 mm) species (Fréon et al, 2005)
Scomberomorus brasiliensis samples were obtained from small-scale fishery landings at the Fishery Market of Matinhos (FMM), Paraná coast, southern Brazil (25°49’S, 48°32’W) (Figure 1)
These individuals either cannot occur at this latitude or are not accessed by the fishing activity. The former has support; otherwise, larger individuals would be common in other small-scale fisheries and in the industrial fishery that occurs in adjacent areas far from the coast, which has not happened either historically (Andriguetto et al, 2006; IBAMA, 2007) or recently (PMAP, 2020)
Summary
Scombridae fishes are important pelagic fishery resources worldwide, including large (> 600 mm) and medium-sized (200 to 600 mm) species (Fréon et al, 2005). Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and Brazilian Spanish mackerel are vernacular names for Scomberomorus spp., which is a Submitted: 20-October-2020 Approved: 10-January-2021 Associate Editor: Francesc Maynou medium-sized species (sensu Fréon et al, 2005) widely distributed in neritic and coastal areas, including the east coast of South America (Froese and Pauly, 2019). Distributed from North and Central America, to South America, the southern limits of distribution of these species are different, ~23°50’S for S. regalis, ~26°10’S for S. cavalla, and ~34°S for S. brasiliensis, which is the most abundant (Figueiredo and Menezes, 2000; Collette et al, 2011). Until the 1970s, S. brasiliensis was confused with S. maculatus (Mitchill, 1815), a species
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