Coastal fisheries of Latin America and the Caribbean

38Coastal fisheries of Latin America and the CaribbeanSanta Cruz Province: The Bahía Laura Natural Reserve is a nominallyintangible reserve created to protect marine birds and mammals and subtidal kelpforests. There is, however, no control. Some beach seining for silversides takesplace within its boundaries. The National Park Monte León* and the Area forScientific Use of Deseada Island are under special protection because of large birdbreeding colonies. Some beach seiners and mussel gatherers operate within theirboundaries.Tierra del Fuego Province: The Reserve of the Atlantic Coast of Tierra del Fuegois part of a hemispheric network for the protection of coastal birds. It harboursmany colonies of marine birds and mammals, as well as populations of introducedbeavers. Economic activities within its boundaries include sheep ranching, oil/gas exploitation and sand/gravel mining. Artisanal fishers catch silversides andPatagonian blenny using beach seine. There are plans to extend the boundaries ofthe reserve to incorporate the adjacent sea. The National Park of Tierra del Fuegoincludes kelp forests and colonies of birds and mammals. Economic activitiesinclude tourism and the king crab fishery. The National Park Administrationis considering the extension of the park to incorporate the adjacent sea. Thereare projects for other protected areas that include the adjacent sea, including theProvincial Reserve of Isla de los Estados and a protected sector in the southeast ofthe Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (Península Mitre).5. ASSESSMENT OF FISHERIESQuantitative assessments have been conducted only for a handful of resources:Coastal demersal fishes, Buenos Aires Province: Biologically Acceptable Catches(BAC) of white croaker and stripped weakfish were determined by INIDEP usinga Schaefer’s dynamic biomass model (Ruarte and Aubone, 2003; Carozza et al.,2004). Reference points considered for the management of this fishery include:maximum sustainable yield (MSY), optimum biomass (B opt ) and replacement catch(C R ). An indicator of the state of the resource and the fishery is the proportion ofthe current biomass relative to carrying capacity (K) and to B opt . A risk analysis(Monte Carlo simulation) was conducted in the case of white croaker, consideringthe probability that next year biomass is above current biomass for different levelsof catch. For other species (flathead, flounders, rockfish, red porgy, sharks andrays), the analysis suggested precautionary harvest levels are based on the averagecatch over the preceding decade and/or direct biomass estimates (survey data),because there is not enough biological data to be used in assessment models.Pelagic fishes: Biomass of anchovy and mackerel has been assessed with hydroacousticsurveys conducted by INIDEP, and BACs have been determined withproduction models (Perrotta et al., 2003; Hansen and Garciarena, 2004a, 2004b).Hake, San Matías Gulf: Occasional snapshot assessments have been based onsurvey data (area swept). Thompson-Bell’s yield-per-recruit analysis was appliedusing bio-economic data (González and Morsán, 1998, 1999). Assessments areconducted by the provincial institute.* Created by National Law number 25.945 in 2004.