Commercial Fishery Statistics Program Status March 15th, 2016NOAA/FIN Meeting

San Antonio, TX

By Daniel Matos-Caraballo

Biologist III/CFSP Principal InvestigatorDNER/Fisheries Research Laboratory

Congratulations to the DNER Fisheries Research Laboratory!!

Puerto Rico’s Fishery is small scale, artisanal, multigear and multispecies

Year 2010The Puerto Rico’s Commonwealth lay

off 27,000 employees

The CFSP was reduced to four personsto collect data from 92 fishing centers, receive, edit, and enter approximately

100,000 records yearly.

Result: In year 2012 the CFSP had a delay of year and a half in the data

entry process.At the end of this year we received

funds from NOAA Fisheries and contracted four biologists and one

statistic clerks that were able to help in the data collection and the data entry

process.

December 2015 - The landings data entry is on time.

I want to thanks NOAA Fisheries for providing the Funds, the DNER Secretary who supported the

personnel contracted and the CFSP personnel.

What we know from the Commercial Landings Data….

1,100 Active Commercial Fishers

400 Full Time Fishers (80% Divers and Deep Water Snapper Fishers)

700 Part Time Fishers

Puerto Rico’s Commercial Fishers Highligt Numbers

• 1.5 Millions Pounds reported.

• $7 Millions wholesale.• $21 Millions retail sales.

That means Puerto Rico’s Small Scale Commercial fishery remains to be a

good business..

Puerto Rico’s Commercial Landings Reported from 1971-2014.

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

8,000,000

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Landings

in

Pounds

Puerto Rico's Comercial Landings Reported 1971-2014

Durante los 1970During the 1970’s was reported that 70% of the total catch was caught by fish and lobster pots.

During the last four years fish and lobster traps reported just 15% of the total catch.

AnzuelosHook and Line Reported 42%

Nets Reported 12%

SCUBA Divers Reported 31% of the Total Catch.

Top 20 Species Reported in Puerto Rico’s Commercial Fishery during 2014.

Species or Family Pounds Percentage1 LOBSTERS,SPINY 252,578 15.962 CONCH,QUEEN 197,151 12.463 SNAPPER,SILK 129,807 8.204 SNAPPER,QUEEN 121,798 7.705 SNAPPER,YELLOWTAIL 118,061 7.466 SNAPPER,LANE 88,271 5.587 DOLPHINFISH 75,936 4.808 TRIGGERFISH,QUEEN 50,804 3.219 HOGFISH 37,862 2.39

10 BALLYHOO 37,830 2.3911 PARROTFISHES,UNSPECIFIED 37,028 2.3412 GROUPER,RED HIND 32,716 2.0713 BOXFISH,UNSPECIFIED 27,823 1.7614 OCTOPUS,UNSPECIFIED 27,660 1.7515 SNAPPER,MUTTON 27,154 1.7216 TUNA,BLACKFIN 26,469 1.6717 SNAPPER,UNSPECIFIED 26,157 1.6518 MACKEREL,KING 20,662 1.3119 HERRING,SARDINELLA 20,041 1.2720 JACK,BAR 19,330 1.22

Future Goals• To Obtain Funds to keep the five contractors

working in the CFSP. • To Obtain Funds to Study the Octopus Biology and

Socioeconoic Fishery. • To Obtain Funds to do a New Commercial Fishery

Census.• To Improve Landings Data Collection Quality from

Commercial Fishers- Established “Commercial Fishers Education Program”.

• To Obtain Funds to Develop and Establish a Telephone Application to Report the Commercial Landings.

Conclusión: La pesca en Puerto Rico tiene futuro si continuamos apoyando los planes de administración

pesquera.