The Mayan octopus (Octopus maya) and the American octopus (O. americanus)
are the two species that support the octopus fishery on the Campeche
Bank. The large-scale fleet catches both species. However, landings are
recorded as American octopus in the official statistics, and this causes
a problem for the management of the fishery. The large-scale octopus
fishery on the Campeche Bank was studied using a model based on data
from interviews with skippers. A total of 180 valid interviews were
conducted in the base ports of Progreso and Yucalpeten (Yucatan),
representing 51.1% of the skippers in the fleet in 2019. This
information was used for the first time to estimate catch per unit
effort (CPUE) and total catches for each octopus species. The mean CPUE
ranged between 50 and 500 kg day-1, with minimums of 10 kg day-1. The mean estimated potential catches ranged from 5069 to 3456 t per year for O. maya and from 4113 to 2805 t per year for O. americanus. The relationship between official landings and estimated catches showed
a significant correlation (rxy=0.898). The total estimated catches were
on average 20% lower than the official landings of O. americanus. The origin of this discrepancy is discussed. |