Title: Determination of the characteristics of the ground fish fishery of the Gulf of Paria, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.

Abstract: Introduction: Trawling is a fishing method that involves pulling fishing net through the water behind a boat. The net is called a trawl. Bottom trawling is an industrial fishing method that involves a large net with heavy weights dragged across the seafloor. This trawl net takes up everything in its path, both targeted fish and other non-targeted species which are called the incidental catch. Bottom trawls are used to catch shrimp, cod, sole and flounder. The target species for this sample was shrimp. During trawling, the benthos is under a severe destructive impact. The more intensive the fishing, the more negative the impact becomes (Petovic and Marcovic, 2013). Bottom trawling can lead to reduced biomass and production in marine benthic communities. Choi et al (2004) analysed fisheries data for the Scotian Shelf and found temporal declines in conditions of several demersal fish species and speculated that incidental removal of benthic biomass by bottom trawling had resulted in reduced prey availability to benthivores and correspondingly impaired feeding success. Hence, bottom traling can reduce the carrying capacity of benthic systems. Kaiser et al (2000) stated that bottom trawling is known to reduce benthic biomass and production. Since trawling involves a net being dragged through the ocean bottom, ground fish are also caught. Ground fish are fish that live on, in or near the bottom of the water. Typical saltwater gorund fish species include cod, flounder, halibut and sole. Demersal fish live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes. These fish occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. In coastal waters they are found near the continental slope or along the continental rise. Demersal fish are bottom feeders. Micropogonias furnieri, the whitemouth croaker is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean, in most of the Antilles and along the southern Caribbean coast and the Atlantic coast of South America from Costa Rica to Argentina. It is usually found up to about 60 metres depth in coastal waters over muddy and sandy bottoms and in the estuaries where their nurseries and feeding grounds are located. They form schools. Their feeding habits vary with ontogenic development and season. Juveniles feed on benthic migratory crustaceans and sessile boring molluscs while adults feed on benthic organisms and will occasionlally capture fish. They also undergo seasonal migrations. They can grow up to between 45-62 centimetres. Whitemouth croaker is an important food fish which is usually marketed fresh and salted. This fish is caught with bottom trawls, set nets, beach seines and on line gear.

The gonadosomatic index (GSI) is the ratio of fish gonad weight to body weight. GSI is particularly helpful in identifying days and seasons of spawning, as the ovaries of gravid females swiftly increase in size just prior to spawning. If it is possible to collect reasonable numbers of gonads each month from adults over a year, the spawning season for the fish can be determined. Seasons are determined by plotting monthly mean GSI values along the X (Month)-Y (GSI value) axis. Spawning times are shown when GSI values increase and peak. The GSI is determined by the following formula: Gonad weight/body weight X 100 = GSI Hepatosomatic Index (HSI) is defined as the ratio of liver weight to body weight. It provides an indication on status of energy reserve in an animal. HSI is calculated as follows: (Liver weight (g) / Fish weight (g)) 100. Definitions: Target catch: the catch of a species or species assemblage which is primarily sought in a fishery. Incidental catch: all non-target species By-catch: also called discards, portion of catch not utilised By-product: retained commercially important species in the incidental catch. Total length of fish: measured from the snout to longest lobe in the caudal fin. Standard length of fish: measured from snout to last vertebra on vertebral column. Site description: The waters of Trinidad are mainly estuarine in nature, especially the Gulf of Paria (Heileman and Ramsaroop, 1990). The Gulf of Paria is a semi-enclosed body of water between Trinidad and Venezuela. It is connected on the north and south by the Caribbean Sea and Columbus Channel respectively. Basically, the Gulf of Paria is a shallow sedimentary basin. The maximum depth is 30 metres and the substratum consists of fine mud with patches of shell debris and sand (Kenny and Bacon, 1981). The proximity of the Orinoco delta to the Gulf of Paria suggests that the waters of the Gulf are influenced by fluvial run-off from the Amazon and Orinoco systems. The intensity of these run-offs varies with the seasons (van Andel and Postma, 1954; Gade 1961). The rivers are thought to be important effectors of nutrient enhancing upwelling currents on the adjacent continental shelf and sources of primary and secondary productivity for Trinidads waters, especially in the Gulf (Forbes, 1983). Hence, Trinidad supports a more diverse and productive exploitable fish and invertebrate resource than most of the East Caribbean islands (Agard, et al. 1996), the Gulf of Paria being the most important fishing ground for shrimp and finfish in Trinidad.

Methodology: Catch Composition: After mixing the total catch to distribute species evenly throughout, it was divided amongst the six benches. All the species of the catch were identified respectively among the six benches and; as far as possible using FAO species identification keys provided. Lists of species noting family and separating fin fish from shell fish were recorded. Shell fish were categorized accordingly and listed by family and species within each category. By-catch Ratios: The total catch was weighed and recorded, followed by the target species (shrimp) being separated from the catch and weighed. The species of shrimp in the target catch were listed and the weight of the balance of the catch was weighed and recorded; including the incidental catch. The total weight of all fin fish in the catch was obtained and recorded; and the species in the incidental catch was listed. The total weight of all shell fish (excluding shrimp) in the catch was weighed and recorded and a list of the species in the incidental catch was listed. Commercially important individuals in the incidental catch were separated from others. Those protected by legislation, for example, individuals not meeting standard lengths, would be considered part of the by-catch. The weight of the by-catch was obtained and recorded. The following ratios were then calculated: Target species to incidental catch Target species to by-product Target species to by-catch Target species plus by-product to by-catch By-product to by-catch in the incidental catches Fin fish to shell fish in the incidental catch

Morphometric Relationships of Whitemouth Croaker, Micropogonias furnieri: Whitemouth croakers were selected from the sample of catch. Each individual croaker was assigned a unique identifier and labelled in such a way that labels cannot be separated from the fish. All data was recorded under the respective unique identifier to ensure that data can be traced back to specific individuals. Each individual croaker was weighed to the nearest gram and; total, forked and standard lengths (cm) were measured and recorded. The dorsal wall of the abdomens of each croaker were carefully opened and searched for gonads which were examined and used to assign individuals to categories of immature, male or female. The gonads

were extracted entirely and carefully; weighed and recorded. The weight of each croaker was then plotted against its length on double-log paper; and the best straight line was fitted. The yintercept was read and the slope was calculated to produce the length-weight relationship Results: Table 1: Scientific name Penaeus schmitti Xiphopenaeus kroyeri Cetropomus ensiferens Micropogonias furnieri Batrachoides surinamensis Trichiurus lepturus Alosa mediocris Diapterus rhombeus Symphurus plagiusa Cynoscion jamaicensis Achirus achirus/docliuis Symphurus plagusia Clupidea Selene vouer Sphoeroides testudineus Bagre bagre Jenkinsia lamprotaenia Stromateidae Dasyatis americana Loligo sp. Paguroidea (family) Daidalidae (family) Callinectes sapides Common name White shrimp Sugar shrimp Snook Croaker Crapaud Cutlass fish Herring Blinch Black cheek tongue fish Salmon Sole fish Dusky cheek tongue fish Anchovy Moonshine Checkered puffer Coco sea catfish Silver side anchovy Butterfish Southern stingray Squid Hermit crab Mantis prawn Cirnic crab 5-arm starfish multi-arm starfish Conch Weight (grams) 1713 56 114 842 52 1860 950 124 287 385 174 359 71 5 12 177 234 143 383 53 10 15 301 3 27 25 8375

Turbin angulata

Table 2: Commercially important (excluding shrimp) Cutlass fish Croaker Snook Salmon Table 3: Fish Identifier B1G1MF1 B1G1MF2 B1G1MF3 B1G1MF4 B1G1MF5 B1G2MF6 B1G2MF7 B1G2MF8 B1G2MF9 B1G2MF10 Total Length Std. Length Weight Gonad Liver (cm) (cm) (g) Weight (g) Weight (g) Sex 12 9 24 0.01 0.01 not stated 10 7 9 0.01 0.01 not stated 13.2 10.1 28.9 0.625 0.135 not stated 8 6 8 0.08 0.03 not stated 8.3 5 8 0.01 0.01 immature 11.5 9 13 0.01 0.01 not stated 12 9.5 17.86 0.06 0.195 not stated 21 18 108 0.235 0.835 not stated 8 6.5 6 0.01 0.01 not stated 7.5 6 8 0.01 0.03 not stated Weight (grams) 366 grams 111 grams 114 grams 179 grams

Table 4: Fish Identifier B1G1MF1 B1G1MF2 B1G1MF3 B1G1MF4 B1G1MF5 B1G2MF6 B1G2MF7 B1G2MF8 B1G2MF9 B1G2MF10 Ratios: Target catch: incidental catch 2.04 grams: 7.65 grams Target catch: by-product 16 grams: 7 grams Target catch: by-catch 1.01 grams: 2.03 grams GSI HSI 0.042 0.042 0.11 0.11 2.16 0.47 1 0.375 0.125 0.125 0.077 0.77 0.34 1.09 0.22 0.77 0.17 0.17 0.125 0.375

Target catch + by-product: by-catch 5.1 grams: 7.1 grams By-product: by-catch in incidental catch 1.17 grams: 5.37 grams Fin fish: shell fish in incidental catch 29.67: 1.78

Discussion: In the trawl sample obtained, a large amount of it was incidental catch in addition to the targeted catch of shrimp. The total shrimp catch amounted to 1769 grams while 6606 grams were incidental catch. Some of the incidental catch were retained as commercially important or the by-product species. The species not retained as commercially important were discarded as by-catch. Discarded by-catch is a serious problem in the world fisheries. Species stocks are depleted while oceanic food webs and habitats are disrupted. In 2002, the United States marine fisheries discard to landings ratio was 0.28, one of the highest in the world. There have been efforts to reduce discards by changing fishing gear and fishing effort. The target:by-catch ratio obtained in this sample was 1.01: 2.03 grams. Since the Gulf of Paria is highly productive it supports valuable fisheries resources such as shrimp and fin fish. It has been found that landings and catch per unit of effort of shrimp and finfish from the Gulf have declined (Marcano et al, 1990; Novoa, 2000). It is also likely that the average size of individual fish landings have also decreased. While regulations exist in both Trinidad and Venezuela, they are not properly implements or enforced. Subsistence fishing took place in the Gulf up until the second half of the twentieth century, when commercial trawling was introduced. Fishing used to be conducted with hand lines and beach seines mainly for pelagic and demersal species. In 1945, an experimental fishery survey revealed the potential for a demersal trawl fishery after which rapid development of trawling took place. The destructive tendencies of trawling may be responsible for the decrease in individual sizes of fish population. In a study done by Maharaj and Recksiek, 1991, it was found that seasonality affected the bycatch ratios and during the dry season shrimp catches increased while crab and finfish decreased. The ratios were higher during the wet season except for September and October when there was peak abundance of P. schmitti. They also found the highest finfish catch rates occurred during August to December in the Gulf of Paria. Factors affecting by-catch ratios can be migration and changes in fishing depth. Furnell (1982) found that the largest quantities of shrimp were caught in deeper waters. Finfish catch rate fluctuations are typical of species caught by shrimp trawlers. Finfish has a non-random distribution which may be responsible for the catch rate (Keiser, 1976; Taylor, 1953). Discarded finfish may be food for other organisms, especially sea-birds (Saila, 1983). However, it is generally believed that most of the discards usually decompose and cause nutrients to be returned to the ecosystem (Cushing, 1981; Sheridan et al., 1984). Whitemouth croaker is a commercially important species retained in the incidental catch. It is a food fish that is commonly sold fresh or salted. This fish is a significant by-catch of shrimp

trawlers. It is possible that is shrimp landings increase then croaker landing would fall, as a result of the increased mortality imposed upon croaker as a by-catch and so a reduction in the amount of croaker harvestable by man. Most of the croakers selected for this experiment were juveniles, most likely immature as their gonads were too small to be clearly seen. Other internal organs, the liver in particular was small also. Gonadosomatic indices and hepatosomatic indices indicated that some fishes were in a bad condition. Those fishes that had indices of 1 or more were thought to be in a healthy condition. The results indicate that most fishes were in a bad condition. As these fishes were not fully grown this may not be a good indicator of the condition of the fishes health an ability to reproduce. A graph of total length (cm) vs. standard length (cm) was obtained for whitemouth croaker. The line produced was a straight line with a positive slope of 0.73. it shows a direct proportional relationship between the total length of fish and the standard length.

References: Mangal, Erin. Report on Commercial Fisheries Within the Gulf of Paria and the Impacts of Proposed Port Development Activities on Fisheries in the Claxton Bay Area. Prepared for Rapid Environmental Assessment (2003) Limited (December 2008). Petovic, Slavica and Markovic, Olivera, Degradation of Benthic Communities using Demersal Trawling. Agriculture and Forestry 59 (2003): 157-164. Shepard, Samuel, Brophy, Deirdre and Reid David G, Can bottom trawling indirectly diminish carrying capacity in a marine ecosystem? Marine Biology 157 (2010): 2375-2381. Harrington, Jennie M, Myers, Ransom A and Rosenberg, Andrew A, Wasted fishery resources: discarded by-catch in the USA. Fish and Fisheries 6 (2005): 350-361 Manickchand-Heileman, Sherry, Mendoza-Hill, Jeremy, Kong, Amoy Lum and Arocha, Freddy, A trophic model for exploring possible ecosystem impacts of fishing in the Gulf of Paria between Venezuela and Trinidad. Ecological Modelling 172 (2004): 307-322 Maharaj, Vishwanie and Recksiek, Conrad, The By-catch from the Artisanal Shrimp Trawl Fishery, Gulf of Paria, Trinidad. Department of Fisheries, Animal and Vetirinary Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston (1991).