Record of Stomatopods and Decapods and crustaceans of commercial interest

Abstract

The Chilean oceanic islands are found in the south-eastern Pacific Ocean and include Easter Island, Salas y Gomez Island, the Desventuradas Islands (San Felix Island and San Ambrosio Island) and the Juan Fernandez Archipelago. They are all of volcanic origin and are the emerged peaks of seamounts that form part of the Salas y Gomez and Nazca ranges that rise up from the Nazca tectonic plate. The islands are all at a great distance from each other and from the South American continent, and their surrounding areas all have depths of around 4000 m to the ocean floor. The objective of this study is to update the records of Stomatopods and Decapods from these islands; from their surrounding waters and from the seamount ranges of which they are part. Given that there is little information on some of these sites and the records are disperse, a literature review is carried out, analysing different sources including both published reports and reports with limited circulation. To date, three families of Stomatopod with five species and 57 families of Decapod with 194 species have been recorded. Of this total, three species represent potential resources and only another three are exploited to differing degrees ( Jasus frontalis , Panulirus pascuensis and Chaceon chilensis ). Their more relevant aspects, including their exploitation status, are described.