Germán Ponce Díaz

Analysis of sportfishing catch rates of striped marlin (Tetrapturus audax) at Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico, and their relation to sea surface temperature

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico, is the main sportfishing location for striped marlin, with a mean annual catch rate of 0.6 fish per fishing trip. In the present study, the interannual and seasonal variation of sportfishing catch rates from 1990 to 1999, and their relationship to mean monthly sea surface temperatures were analysed. Although interannual variation was not significant, the seasonal effect showed significant differences, with highest average catch rates in winter, and lowest catch rates in summer (0.9 and 0.3 respectively). An interannual significant difference with a decreasing tendency was in length analysis. Significant length and weight differences were found between males and females. Among females, the heaviest fish were recorded during spring. A significant relationship between catch rate and sea surface temperature (r = –0.62) was found, but no significant changes of catch rates could be measured during the 1992–1993 and 1997–1998 El Nino Southern Oscillation events, in spite of an apparent catch rate increase during the spring of 1998. Highest catch rates were recorded at between 22 and 24°C.

Composición taxonómica y relaciones zoogeográficas de los peces demersales de la costa occidental de Baja California Sur, México

Taxonomic composition and zoogeographic relations of demersal in the western coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The composition of demersal fish along the western coast of the State of Baja California Sur, Mexico, including the limit of the northern distribution of the ichthyofauna of the eastern tropi- cal Pacific, is presented. The survey was carried out on four oceanographic cruises between autumn 2004 and March 2006. Of 220 species in 132 genera and 73 families, 26.3% are species of wide distribution from San Diego County, USA to Panama and 21.7% are species restricted to the eastern tropical Pacific. Six species are new findings for the area or range expansions. The families with the most species are Paralichthyidae and Scorpaenidae, each with 16 species. The most frequent genus was Sebastes, with nine species. We present a table with common Spanish names, size range and status of each species inside the community. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (4): 1765-1783. Epub 2008 December 12.