Review of marine recreational fisheries regulations in Argentina

The effects of recreational fishing on marine stocks and ecosystems have raised global concern in recent years. In Argentina, Southwest Atlantic, angling, netting and spearfishing of coastal bony fishes, sharks, rays and chimaeras are very popular pastime activities with more than 50 years of history. Despite the perceived traditional and economic relevance of these activities in the country, marine recreational fisheries were largely unregulated, and no official fisheries monitoring programs at the national level have been ever put in place. Except for a few particular systems for which some catch-and-effort data were collected by research institutions and non-governmental organizations, no comprehensive surveys aimed at describing the ecological, social or economic aspects of these fisheries have been made. Here, an updated review of the regulations in place for marine recreational fisheries along the Argentine coastline is presented. Of the five coastal provinces encompassing ca. 8400 km and about 20 latitude degrees (~36°S to 55°S) of coastline, only Buenos Airesprovince has a thorough legislation for its whole territory, which includes 15 protected areas. In the remaining provinces, the regulations for marine recreational fisheries are limited to a few protected areas (seven out of 37 coastal areas under provincial, national or shared jurisdiction). This lack of legislation encourages alleged recreational fishers to develop small-scale commercial fishing operations that are neither controlled nor monitored as such, contributing to the overexploitation of some key coastal stocks.Fil: Venerus, Leonardo Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Cedrola, Paula V.. Consejo Agrario Provincial de Santa Cruz; Argentin

Captura incidental de tiburones (Elasmobranchii) en la pesquería del langostino patagó- nico Pleoticus muelleri (Bate, 1888)

The double-beam trawl fishery for the Patagonian red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) is the main crustaceanfishery of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. The shark bycatch in 723 tows of this fishery was surveyed fromApril 2003 to October 2003. Six species of sharks were recorded: Squalus acanthias (n=321); Squalus mitsukurii(n=1); Squatina sp. (n=1); Schroederichthys bivius (n=327); Galeorhinus galeus (n=4) and Mustelus schmitti(n=13). Length-frequency structure, sex composition, spatial distribution and estimation of density and bycatchper unit of effort are given for the main species. The bycatch of sharks in this fishery was estimated in ~61 mt/year, equivalent to 0.15% of the shrimp total capture in 2003. S. acanthias contributed with 30.5 mt (50.15%)whilst S. bivius contributed with 22.6 mt (37.2%). Whereas the abundance for S. acanthias in Patagonian watersincreased by three fold between 1997 and 2001, the abundance of S. bivius in the same period have decreasedin the same amount. In addition, losses of important reproductive sites in southern Patagonia for S. bivius weredetected. These issues together with the results presented herein add the Patagonian red shrimp fishery to thepotential threats S. bivius is exposed to.El langostino patagónico (Pleoticus muelleri) es la especie objetivo de la principal pesquería de crustáceos del Atlântico Sudoccidental. Durante 2003, se censaron todos los tiburones de 723 lances durante las operaciones normales de pesca. Se registraron seis especies de tiburones: Squalus acan- thias (N=321), Squalus mitsukurii (N=1), Squatina sp. (N=1), Schroederichthys bivius (N=327), Galeorhinus galeus (N=4) y Mustelus schmitti (N=13). Para las dos especies mas frecuentes, se calcularon la distribución de frecuencia de tallas, la proporción de sexos, la distribución espacial, la densidad y la captura por unidad de esfuerzo. La captura de tiburones para 2003 se estimó en 61 tm (Squalus acanthias 30,5 tm y S. bivius 22,6 tm) equivalente al 0,15% de la captura total de langostino. Entre 1997 y 2001 la abundancia de S. bivius disminuyó, lo cual se suma a la pérdida de áreas de reproducción para la especie detectadas en la Patagonia sur. Este hecho, junto con los resultados presentados en este estudio, posicionaría a la pesquería del langostino patagónico como una potencial amenaza para S. bivius.Fil: Cedrola, Paula V.. Consejo Agrario Provincial; ArgentinaFil: González, Alberto M.. Subsecretaría de Pesca y Actividades Portuarias de Santa Cruz; ArgentinaFil: Chiaramonte, Gustavo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; ArgentinaFil: Pettovello, Alejandro D.. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional; Puerto Madryn; Argentin

Demographic structure of broadnose seven-gill shark, Notorynchus cepedianus, caught by anglers in southern Patagonia, Argentina

Between 2004 and 2007, tournament editions and the recreational fishery for the broadnose seven-gill shark, Notorynchus cepedianus, were monitored in Natural Reserves of Rı´a Deseado (RD, a breeding area for the Patagonian smooth hound) and Peninsula de San Julian (SJ), southern Patagonia, Argentina. Sharks’ catch composition by sex; total length (TL) and weight (W) were recorded. Reproductive status was assessed from the literature. Juvenile females dominated the catches in both areas during the 4-year period.Fil: Cedrola, Paula V.. Fundación Patagonia Natural Marcos Zar ; ArgentinaFil: Caille, Guillermo Martín. Fundación Patagonia Natural Marcos Zar ; ArgentinaFil: Chiaramonte, Gustavo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Pettovello, Alejandro D.. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco"; Argentin