Historical biomass, fishing mortality, and recruitment trends of the Campeche Bank red grouper (Epinephelus morio)

This study describes the historical evolution of the biomass, fishing mortality per age group, annual recruitment, and catchability of the Campeche Bank red grouper population. This fishery is based on three fleets (the Mexican Minor, the Mexican Major or Industrial, and the Cuban) with different capacities, areas of operation, and targeting of different age groups. During the last 10 years, the Minor fleet expanded, resulting in some overlapping with the other fleets areas. The biomass of the population of the red grouper in the Campeche Bank has decreased between 1986 and 2000. This decrease is evident from the commercial landings (from 14,410 to 9797 t) and in CPUE from independent research surveys (from 3.8 to 1.5 kg/100 hooks). The size of the spawning stock has decreased 25% since the beginning of the period, as well as the recruitment (from 24 to 11 million, 1-2 years old), while the catchability coefficient has increased (from 0.2 to 0.4).