The ecuadorian trawl fishery.

1974-1985

Item Type Journal Contribution

Authors McPadden, Ch.

Citation Boletín Científico y Técnico, 9(2). p. 7-24

Publisher INP (Ecuador)

Download date 15/03/2024 20:27:41

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/3149

 TRE ECUADORIAN TRAWL FISHERY 1974-1985

Instituto ~aeiohalde Pesm

@ aJU15911
-
+
Guayaquil +ador

&&act.- Interview data, length frequency data and species composition for the Gulf of Guayaquil between 1911 pd 1985 were
examined. data indicates a long term decline in lauding of some 1,000 mt. Ihe species most affected is Penaeus oecidentra#s
which has shown an overall decline in landings. Landing Penaacs v a m m e i have increased in over the same period. It is not clw
0 whether the dediue in catches during 1984 and 1985 w due adverse envlmmental conditions 01 overfhhing t the Pot and
postlarval fishery.

p R m m r Entre 1984 y 1915 se examinm datos de entrevistas, longitud-frecuencia y compo9ici6n & espeeies p8n1 d Golfo de
P Guayaquil. Los datos indim una d&aci6n a largo plazo de 1000 tm,la especie m b afectada es Petweus occidentolir y ha de&
nado en lae captruas totales de 10s desembarques. Mientras qua P. vannamei manifbsta un ipcremento para el mismo periodo. Lo mu-
0 sa & B d&aci6n en las capturas durante 19841985 no estsln bien &finidas, ya que puede ser &bid0 a condiciones dim66t0811ad-

0 versas o por una sobreptxca dada por las pesquerias tanto de flota, como de postlawas.

Until the early 1970's ecuadorian shrimp production, consisted mainly of sea harvested shrimp. Production during
this period average between 6,000 to 8,000 mt. of whole shrimp. Since then production has steadily increased due to
the expansion of the shrimp aquaculture industry which produces white shrimp of the species Penaeus wnnrmrei and
to a lesser extent Penaeus stylirostris.
1983 production peaked at an estimated 44,000 mt. of whole shrimp. This dramatic increase was p r i m d y
influenced by the increase in sea catches due to the effect of the El Nifio event throughout the year. S i then
production has decreased and remained at between 33,000 to 35,000 mt. of whole shrimp per annum.
Although the number of vessels fishing shrimp has not changed substantially during this period there has been an
increasi in fishing pressure on p o s t l a d shrimp stocks due to the increase in hecterage under production. Direccibn
General de Pesca figures estimate a total of 94,000 hectares of authorisations up December 1985.
Shrimp growers have relied almost entirley on wild caught postlawae to seed their growout pond and t h b has
resulted in the development of an extensive postlarval fishery in the saltwater creeks or esteros an dong the
ernadorb coastline. The current demand for odarvae is estimated to be in the region of 6.6 billon
estimated that a minimum of 2.5-5.6 billon (2f postlarvae were harvested t o produce the 1985 pond nivd shrimp
tl)
and it is
-
crop.
Poor catch rates in the offshore fishery and a postlarval scarcity on the Guayas coastline after the main breeding
period during 1984 and 1985 caused concern in the industry as to whether the decline was due to the heavy f i
pressure on stocks which eventually might lead to the collapse of the trawl and postlarval fisheries, As a result the
trawl fishery was closed from December 15th. 1985 to January 31th. 1986 during the breeding seamn for white
shrimp. It was prohibited to fish for poedervae from June 1st. to July 31th. 1986.
The lack of information on the fishery became apparent during this crisis period and as a result a joint Overseas
Development AdministrationlInstituto Nacional de Pesca t e c h p a l cooperation programme was established in 1985
to set up a data base on the trawl fishery and carry out research into the distribution, abundance and spa* of
the commercially important shrimp species. This programme combined with research b e i i carried out on postlarval
stocks and oceanographic research would provide the Instituto Nacional de Pesca with a base on which to manage
the shrimp fisheries.
The purpose of this paper is to review the trawl fishery using data available at the Instituto Nacional de Pe~esup to
1985 with emphasis on the most important group of the white species Penaeus occidentalis, Penaeus stylirorlrir,
Penaeus vannamei and outline further research and management lines.

rP 80,900 hectfl.8 m p r per annum. 60.000 pls/fisct. 40'/0 mortality

-
c2) 18,222 tnt of pond &rimp/36 tol&/l b, 60°/o 7b0/0 nrortdity.
* O a n u Development Adminttmtion
Wonnation on total production, fleet size and shrimp exports has been mrde availrble through the Direcd6n Ge-
neral de Pcsca which b the government agency responsible for compiljhg m W s on the shrimp industry.
Data on w c h rates has been obtained by interviews with &imp &l skippers &ed out on a monthly blris.
Data on species composition, length frequency (trill4!ngrh, m e ~ ~ u r aoe d the end of the t e h n ) , catch eompoddon
by s p i e s weight has been obtained from frrcyry m p k s of the landed catch in Guayaquil &d out by Institute
Nacional de Pesca staff on a monthly basis. '
The c.p.u.e. hzs been calculated as the average catch per fbhirrg day of the total reported catch per f ~ i n trip. g
Ia has mt been possible to separate the different commercial shrimp types in the reported caech data Interview
data has been used as a general index of the d h i u t i o n of Wing effort.
Ram on production of the different commercial trip types hrs been obtained from an a n d y l of q d t y conrrol.
certificates (Certificados de Control de Calidad) held by the lnstiMo Notional de Pesca.
The data analysed is firom the f&uy in the Gulf of Guayaquil. Although the fdery o x h a dl along the
Ecuadorian coatline insufficient data was available to carry out M rnolysfs of the on whole fishery.

c d dwm&tioa ofthe fMery

According to Cobo and.M~oerch(1966) the offshore trawl fishery commenced in 1952, the catch during that paiod
was mnsumed locally. It was not until 1954 &at the fm shrimp were q e d to the United States. McPadden
(1985) giws information on the fleet size and total landings from 1954 to 1984. The fleet expanded from 30
vessels in 1954 to some 249 reghered vessels operating in 1985.
The bulk of the vessels operate out of Guayaquil into f a i n g grounds in rhe G u l f Guayaquil. A md fleet of
@me 52 vessels based at Posorja at the mouth of the Gulf of Guayaquil operate a day Fbhery into grounds between
Puna and Playas concentrating on PomaddTiti shrimp. Other important centers for the trawl fishery ore Emd-
in the north were s o w 26 vessels are permanently based m d w k h i s also fished by vcssels from Guayaquil. The
MmtrJPalmare stretch of the coast is fisfred by v e a b frap Cuayaquil end Manta is used as a landing and r d u d b g
port. No up t o date data b a d a b l e on landings by aress, however, &ma, F e e - m dMwfn (1976) estimated that
66OIo of the crrtch was l a d e d in G~ueyqujI,24Oh in E s i n d & s and tbe ma in Mmta and Bahfa de Cdquca.
The majority of t h e v e d s are 50-70 feet in length with engines ranging fmm 220 hp. to 440 hp. Most of the
vesse!ls are fitted with refrigerated seawater tanks and spend 15 to 22 days at sea per trip. Some of the d e r
vessels, mainly those which fish PomadalTiti carry ice and can spend up to 4 days at sea. AU vessek f i l double
rigged otter trawls with mesh sizes of 2 ins. h i h e main body of the net and 1.5 iw in the cod end.
The bulk of the production (see table la,b,c,) is white shrimp, which formed approximately 90,3010 of the
production in 1985. White shrim are generally fished in shallow waters at 5 to 15 fathoms.
J
Red and brown shrimp form 1 . W I o of the production in 1985 with Red shrimp being the most imporurn
of the two. This species, Penaeus Lrevlrostrtr is fished in depths of 20 fBthoms and greater and form^ an important
fsllbPck for the fleet H times when white shrimp are scarce. In recent years there has been an increase in landings
of this species.
PomPdalTiti formed 4.34OIo of the production in 1985 and as previously mentioned is an important fishery for
the Posorja b d fleet. Its production has remained relatively stable over the years. Cabo and Loesch (1966) m d
that production of FomdalTiti was 1352 mt in 1984.
Tiger shrimp are aught in the shallow waters in the mouth of the Gulf of G u a y ~ u iand l also form an important
p m of the Posorja fleet landings. Most of the production goes for internal consumption and very little is exported.
Carapochudo shrimp, a species of red shrimp found in relatively deep water forms an important fishery for the
fleer operatisg in the Esmeraldas area and production from,,@ fishery has been increasing in recent yaw.
The deepwetter shrimp fishery has developed over the past 5 years. This fishery has not been studied in any detril
and little is known of its future potential for expamion. ----

Totd catch 8nd cat& per unit effort

Very little infonntttion exists on fleet operations, distribution of f i n g effort, total fishing effort d catch
statistics. In the absence on better data estimates of production have been made for the fisbay as a whale ushg
c.p.u.e. data for the Gulf of Guayaquil.
Tablc la,b,c, shows the total production figures for the different t y p e of shrimp. The nkthods of estimating the
f ~ r and a data sources are listed at the end of the die. No dm from quality control cecam was airsilrrWc
for the perlod of 1974 to 1978 and consequently figures obtained from the Direction General de Pesca w a c used
for these years. The estimates for sea produced shrimp have been dculated from c.p.u.e. data from the Gulf of
Guayaquil allowing a standard 22 days fishing p a month and the number of vessels registered per annum. These
estimates are probably higher than is the real case, how- they srt useful in demonstrating trends in the fdccg
in a g e n d qannm, as only limited effort data and no relative c.p.u.e. data by shrimp type a d k s a fs avsilablq.
Of grerrtest interest k the white &rhq n&@ which appaus to haw wnrincd rdativdy scsblc- betwaar l V 4
and 1977. After this the production decreased by approximately 1000 mt and again remaincd relatively stable until
 1983 when it rose dramatically during the El Niiio period. The estimated white sea catch during 1984 was
low and this low figure results from the high exports of red and brown shrimp during this year. It is likely that
some of the red and brown shrimp exported this year were shrimp held back during 1983 when production was high. - -
The figures have been recalculated allowing for the same production in 1984 and 1985 of red and brown shrimp.
The overall production of white shrimp appears to have decreased during 1984 and 1985 and is less than 50°/o of
the 1974-1977 annual production.
The composition of the white shrimp production for each species has been estimated in table l c using weight data
from factory samples of the landed catch. Between 1974 and 1977 the overall quantity of P. occidentalis and P.
styliroanis remained relatively stable. There was a gradual increase in the amount of P. vannamei until 1977 when
the weight in factory samples increased by 40°/o over the 1974 figure.
Between 1978 and 1983 there was a gradual decrease in the amounts of P. occidentalis and P. styliroxtris landed
and a corresponding increase in the quantity of P. vannamei. By 1982 the amount of P. vannamei landed was almost
treble the amount in 1974 and landings of P. occidentalis had decreased by more than half the original 1974 value.
P. stylirostnk began to decline in 1977 and continued to decline to reach a similar level as in the 1974 landings.
1983 was an exeptional year due to the effects of the El Niiio phenomenon and landings of all three species
increased dramatically during this year P. vannamei and P. stylirostris landings were both some 1000 mt. higher than
P. occidentalis the which in earlier years dominated the catch .
The low catch rates and consequent low production in 1984 and 1985 mean a further decrease in landings of white
shrimp.
During 1985 the amount of P. vannamei decreased by 24OIo and P. stylirosnis by 3Z0/o of pre El Niiio figures
P.occidentalis figures decreased by 4S0/o during the same period. The overall production of P. vannamei during
1984 and 1985 appears to have remained stable whereas the other two species declined in the landed catch.
Figure 1 shows the average daily catch rate per month from 1980 ta June 1986. It has not been possible to allow
for differences in fishing power in the various types of fishing vessel nor has it been possible to separate out the
different commercial types from the reported catch.
Prior to 1983 catches peaked between May to July-August period corresponding to the main recruitment season
into the fishery. The 1982, 1984 and 1985 recruitment peaks are not well defined and there appears to have been
a general decline in c.p.u.e. over that period exept for 1983. Data for 1986 indicate that the c.p.u.e. inaeased after
the Dec-Feb. closure and &though initially higher than that for the past t h o ye& it&&lining to a level similar t o
that of those years.
Species composition of white shrimp cntches

The annual species cornpoition of white shrimp catches is shown in Figs. 2a, b. From Fig. 2a, it can be seen that
P. occidentalis dominated the catches during the efly years in the Gulf of Guayaquil and has gradually declined
between then and 1983 when it formed only 20 lo of the numbers sampled. P. vannamei on the other hand
increased from 8OIo to approximately 40°10 during the same period. The of P. styliroxtris has remained
relatively stable bemeen 2S0/o to 40°/o of the shrimp sampled. Data for 1985 indicate that the percentage of
P. occidentalis has increased to 37OIo of the shrimp sampled. In the first 6 months of 1986 overall species
composition was 54°/o,290/o and 17O/o for P. occidentalis, P. stylirosiris and P. vannamei respectively.
Fig. 2b shows the annual compositions for areas between P. Santa Elena and Cabo San Francisco. P. vannrrmei
forms the bulk of the shrimp catches in this area with P. occidental& forming only 6O/o - 25OIo and P. stylirosMs
forming 20°/0 - 40°/o of the annual species composition.
Figure 3a-3h compare the monthly species composition for 1974,1976,1979 and 1981-1985. It can be seen in the
figs. 3ac. far fhe C;ulfof Cuayslquil in 1974, 1976 and 1979 that the bulk of the shrimp sampled were P. occidental&
(40°/o - 9O01o). 3.vannarnei fluctuated between 10°/o - 20°/o of the monthly samples. P. atylirostr& compositions
remained relatively sfable exceptduring 1976 when it domizised in the catches. A mild El NIiio phenomenon was
experienced during this year.
In 1981 and 1982 P. occidentalis still dominated in the catches but the composition of the samples showed wider
fluctuations than the previous years. In 1983 P. vannamei formed the highest percentage peaking from April to
August. A major El Niiio event occurred during this year.
Fig. % for 1984 shows P. occidentalis again as the predominant species in the Gulf of Guayaquil with P. vannamei
forming between 18°/o - 36Q10-of the monthly compo&tion, a level @her than in the 1974-1979. The species
composition during 1985 showed wide fluctuations and is..mkedly different f h m the smooth patterns sf the
species compositions prior to 1979 with both P. vannamei and P. occidentalis peaking in the samples. Througj~out
the 1981-1985 period the percentage of P. styZ&ostr& has been relatively stable fluctuating between approximately
-
20010 45010 of tbe monthly samples.
Data for the species composition of white shrimp catches taken in areas between Punta Santa Elena and Cabo San
Francisco in the north are also shown in figs. 3a - 3h. Fig. 3a for 1974 shows P. occidentalis as the predominant
species. From 1976 onwards P. vannumy( &_thedominant species in the area with P. ocddentalis forming the lowest
percentage except for the occassional nknthly sample. These fluctuations are likely to be the result of misrepotcing
of fishing areas during interviews and small numbers of vessels sampled rather than major changes in species
composition.
 -
-.s
I

3
11

vessels only two managed to make an overall profit. Operational costs were in the region of 550,000 s u c r q e r
month and a minimum catch of 1,424 pound5 of skimp,pm @ was .required to breakeven. The major operational
costs were repair, maintenance and fuel. Given lh? ~?.E~E&M in 1985
& w it is likely that only the best vessels
managed to cover their operational casts e a ~ a5p
h and.* &hery.was approachhg.its limits of economic viability.
Another important aspect of the shrimp trawl fishery which helps maintain irs economic viability is the shtimp by
catch. An extremely well organised collection and transport system eldsts between the trawlers and shore b.ased
merchants for the shrimp by oat~h;,Abxilyez(gas. com.) estimates that catch rates of up to 17.7 kg/h of marketable
fish can %&en by s h h p w&. He estimates rhe relarion between shrimp and saleable by catch to be in the region
) of 1:4.45 and represents earnings of 7,000 to 15,000 s u m s per day fishing.

DISCUSSION

Loeseh and Cobo (1966) warking on the fishery in the early 1960's esximarea me maximum theoretical
production of wild caught white s h h p to be in the region of 1500 mt. to 1800 mt. per annum. Since then the
fishery-has expanded considerably and in the 70's reached h o s t twice this figure. Prom 1977 onwards production
has W H e d a d during 1984 and 1985 production was the lowest on record. The c.p.u.e. for 1986 picked up in the
mnths. just& &t closed season and has gmdually decreased to 1984-85 levels. The main decline appears to have
been in & e of the~two spmks
~ P. occidentalir &P. stylirostrk
"fhc &ZE q ~ ~ m n s e r ien thed trawl fishery indicate that there is little or no g r d ovcrfishhg. Although the
d g a a@&&km aimh rates is noam&I%ap reliable k does indicate a trend towards a 1% tenn decline inbproduction

absence of a&y pg@.fiiMe data on thd p~+stlawai fishery and &rze the overall stock recruitment relationship is
not kmwab%no@p@%el to say conclusively that the postlarval fishery is effecting stock levels.
The g r h a l inoitasE itl rhe amount of P. vanntzmi in the catches has been noted by other workers (Cobo and
Loesch, 1966; Barnid, 1980). This wend became most marked from 1977 onwards which roughly coincides with
the pedod %sfkreaaed production due to shrimp farming activities. It should be noted that these was a minor El
N38 m 1976, 'Phe m o u n t of P. vmnamei in the catches peaked during the 1983 El Nifio had has decreased slightly
since .d%en.Indications are that the amount of P. vannamei has remained relatively stable during 1984 d 1985.
It is worth noting that the fishing effort on postlarvae expanded from 1983 onwards to include fishing for postlarvae
on the beaches from Posorja north.
McPadden (1985) noted that the species composition of catches from areas to the nor& of the Gulf of Guayaquil
contained a much higher proportion af P. vannamei than catches from the Gulf of Guayaquil and preliminary
unpublished data from the cunient 0.D.A.lI.N.R research programme indicate that during the 1985-1986 virtually
no spawning of P. w.nmmei took piace in the Gulf of Guayaquil. McPadden (1985) postulated a northerly
movement of P. vannamei stocks from the Gulf of Guayaquil and that the main spawning areas for this species.were
from Pltnta Santa Elena northwards to Sua - Atacames in Emeraldas. P. vannmei might then be susepsible to
increases in fishing effort caused by the expansion of the coastal pos&trvd fishery.
The other possibility is that the El Niiio years of 1976 and 1983 have influenced the overall abundances of the
dominant species and that the increased abundance of P. vannamei can be accounted for by a species interaction
between it and P. occidental&. Current research being undenaken by the Instituto Nacional de Pesca on postlarval
-distribution and abundance in the Estero S&do should help clanify this.

a
The ~ t l ~ ld?ua$i&m
r t appears to be that the fishery has declined since 1983. In spite of very low catch rates in the
second half of 1985 there was good poselarval availability on the coast during the spawning season. The fishery
picked up after the closed season and appears to be maintaining itself at a level lower than pre 1983 levels. Although
the data available is not entirely reliable it indicates that the decrease. in production has resulted primarily from
decreased levels of P. occidental&and P. stylirostris.
The managrnent problems are complex. Almost all stages of the penaeid life cycle are targets of fishing activities
Apart from the trawl fishery there is an artisanal fkhq.wbkhls evolving . into a target fishery for adult
broodstock shrimp. Mature males and females are fished along the coast with trammel nets to supply broodstock for
shrimp hatcheries. Postlarvae are heavily fished in the esteros and along the coast. Each year this fishery becomes
more sophistirased-and has expanded to the use of canoes with double butterfly nets fishing postlarvae just offshore
during 1986. An extensive fixed or stake net fishery for juvenile shrimp exists in the eaeros of which very little is
.
known A recent survey in one of the esteros indicated that up to 2s0/o of the smaller branches were being actively
fished and almost all the larger creeks bad set stakes indicating that they were periodically fished.
In the long term a reduction in fishing effort by reduc~tionof .the fleet size through wastage would be
recommendable. Also although there is no direct evidence that the fishing fleets activities alone are causing a decline

J
in population levels it would be prudent to reduce the fishing effort in the short term by the imposition of a closed

I
 om- m m s m m

+3irlrlW-rl
0
+ W
m N - 8 4 N O
 9 10 11. 12
estlmoted Estim4ted %timPted Eslimated Eaimrderl
ma catch maim -de~ =tddP r o a m av. monWy
Year No. of bt-r catch @I&)* U* @It.)* 'm(mt.1
vem& (CUU)
'

(POadlSso) * aw"-4

DATA SOURCES

COLUMN No.
9 G2.U.E. Data relaed to the number of vssaslr x 22 days fbhh&onth
10 Cd-9 b l s . 3-8
11 r o w 1-5 allow@ white shrimp aa 87010 of the sea catch
-
col. 9 ted and brown exports
12 row 1-5 e8tAmatea from ther Direcdb GeneraI & Pesca;
r o w 615 astimated by summing cab. 2-7 and oonverting
to whole sMmp +d. 8
 lWte I* F&maW a t e shrimp production by spedes (1974 19W> -
P@

B Wimatcd osia t e ~ lsa.

W.7.137.7W S/. Ma#W si. r ,ma i v s gj. (36991 w.+133.516

v d No. 1 152SNm. 1JS3 lbr.
. 518.711 + 2$27,ll6
VpplNo. 2 28.1S8lk Zf9.lh 8,7011111
7~95.793
725.618
m9.649
6.225@9
8.072.0911
672668 - 2958.661
v-m.3 16,lRlbr 13941bo.
4,209342 601.333 - 2J30,OM
vdNo.4
V d N a5
6S041br
S.102-
991 Ibr.
SlOIbr.
2.6E4.797
2.M6.367
383342
2MJ38 3.035&n 303923 - 1.870.463

Table 2.
E 4 '
6
31
PC
g!
30n.
#
S!
3
2 .t
n loo.
I I
JASO k O
as
Z 80 01 02 83 a4 06
HOWIBS 0 TOTAL-
w5TE ."".."..
 MaAlTRtY S W B S CObJPOWTION
toox ?TA. .
ELBNA CAB0 SAN FRANCISCO

sox-

--
30X-

E F M A M J J A S O N D L F M A M J - J A S O N D
Years.
 GULF OF CUAYAQUIL PTA. STA. Ern&-CAB0 S&

e F M A M J J &.oz@ N D
-- -C F '
- - - - -.x-s-%,
- - -- -

- -.
ow 00bS

60% mx
ZO;X 70%

wx em
W X BOX

SOX +Ox
30% SOX

20% 20%

lox 10%
0%
L P M A M J J A S O N D E F M A M J J A S O N D
 TAILLENGTH PREQUENCYP. OCQDENTAUS 1985

80 90 100 llO 120 130 140

Fig. 4. TAUL&NGTH (mm)
TAIL LENGTH F R W - P. $TYUlW&WM19U
 -.:
--.
-
>;%
TML~E~~XWFBBQWEWI~.
YANNAMB,MB~
GULP OF GUAYAQUU
pig. 7. a MALES r VCMAUS

.-.-- - - . - -
-- - -3A . 2 T . 3
.~. - ~
w .
~ -- f I T 3 - -. 1 ~ 3
--
~g'% ;:-. .. -.:?.z=7:.2.+% --=. - -:. -
7 - .
-
~

.- . . . Y-Z
-.- .--I
-< .
. .
. .