Size structures of demersal catches in a multispecies multigear tropical fishery

Abstract

The overall size structure of catches was studied in the multispecific, multigear, demersal fishery of Martinique (Lesser Antilles). The results show that the fishery is presently based not only on small-sized sized species, but also on small-or medium-sized individuals of these species. Most of the catch is made up of species able to withstand its selectivity and effort, with larger species having been eliminated through overfishing. An exponential decrease of length frequencies for aggregated catches or samples was observed in the 2 years sampled, and could be due to some inherent size structure of the fish community. Such integrated analyses are useful complements to single-species assessment approaches inadequate to describe the dynamics of highly multispecific resources such as reef fish communities.