Diagnosis of artisanal fishing activity in Tela Bay

Abstract

The following article details the principle characteristics that the artisanal fisheries of the Bay of Tela present. This activity is one of the most significant for the communities in the area for the great advantages that it presents (independence, nutrition and food security) and because of the lack of sources of income, fishing is a permanent source of income for fishermen and their families. The main objective was to elaborate fishing management and conservation tools for the Bay of Tela, including the Site of Wildlife Importance Bay of Tela , the National Park Punta Izopo and the National Park Jeannette Kawas. For the socieconomic analyses of the fisheries communities various methodologies were employed, such as: fisheries census and socioeconomic surveys, this tools allowed to understand the current problematic that this community’s face.

For the biological samples, three representative communities of the area were considered: the garífuna communities of Tornabe, Miami and Tela. The data collection was done in the time period of time between February 2015- Abril 2016. With the purpose of evaluating the fishery resources, ecological considerations, population dynamics and fishing effort were considered. The artisanal fisheries in Tela are in a crucial state, this is because there is still a percentage of species that belong to high levels of the trophic chain, however if the fishery resources are continued to be exploited, the exploitation of first order carnivores and herbivores will increase, affecting the ecosystem’s health and the fishery.

Revista Portal de la Ciencia, No. 12, junio 2017; 36-50