Size Structure and CPUE of Hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii) Western Coast, Baja California, México

Jorge Flores Olivares, Alfredo Emmanuel Vázquez Olivares, and Antonio Murillo Olmeda

Departamento de Posgrado e Investigación, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Mazatlán, México

Abstract: In order to evaluate the relative abundance of the myxinid (Eptatretus stoutii), the present work compares the size structure and the catches during the years 2010, 2011 and 2021 obtained in the development fishery for E. stoutii. The historical databases of the 2010 and 2011 seasons were analyzed; they were processed until obtaining the size structure and catch per unit effort in terms of catch per trap, to later compare it with the catches of 2021. The sizes of 1619 mixinids captured in the period of 2010, 2011 and 2021 were determined. The majority of the fish (66%) measured between 35 and 52 cm, while 6% was greater than 52 cm and 28% less than 35 cm. It was determined that the best catches were obtained in 2011 with 32,965 kg, using 31,680 traps. In 2021, a catch of 9,150 kg has been obtained with an effort of 19,604 traps, resulting in a higher yield than in previous years with 2,143 kg/trap compared to 0.702 and 1,041 kg/trap obtained in 2010 and 2011 respectively. This suggests a possible increase in the number of organisms vulnerable to fishing.

Key words: Hagfish, Eptatretus stoutii, trapping, fishing yield