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Keywords Gulf of Mexico fisheries · Red snapper · Bluefin tuna · Pink shrimp ·
White shrimp · Oil spill effects on fisheries
25.1 Introduction
The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is one of the most productive and diverse large marine
ecosystems of the world contributing significantly to the overall fishery production
of the three bordering countries. Its high diversity of fishes and shellfishes has been
the basis of important commercial and recreational fisheries in the diverse ecosystems around the GoM. Species importance varies among the different regions, but
all rely upon inshore, coastal, benthic, demersal, and oceanic-pelagic species,
including snappers, groupers, drums, croakers, shrimps, blue crabs, stone crabs,
spiny lobster, octopus, oyster, menhaden, mackerels, dolphinfish, billfish, and tunas,
among others.
Total annual fishery landings of the three countries comprising the GoM
(Cuba, Mexico, USA) average approximately one million metric tons. Fishery
production is dominated by a few species that account for most of the landing
volume and value, including coastal and pelagic species, shelf demersal species,
and benthic species for crustaceans including shrimps (brown, pink, and white
shrimp), blue crabs, and mollusks including oysters. Shrimp fisheries are the
most valuable in both Mexico and the US GoM. The three countries have had
similar harvesting histories reaching historical maximum exploitation levels in
the 1980s–1990s, followed by a general decline in landings afterward.
Management regimes show differences in the three countries, although they
share a common situation: most of the stocks are fully exploited and some of
them are overfished. In US waters, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Council’s
Management Plans list three stocks as overfished. In the Southern Gulf of
Mexico, most of the principal stocks have been overfished since the beginning of
the current century (Díaz de León et al. 2004), and a high proportion of these
fishery resources are in decline. A similar situation has been reported in Cuba
where 74% of the stocks are overexploited and 5% collapsed with an increasing
trend in overexploitation (Baisre 2018). Total US landings in the Northern Gulf
are twice that of Mexican fishery production, and the countries’ landings are
considerably greater than Cuba’s GoM landings. Overall abundance in the
Northern GoM is higher than the other two regions (Tunnell Jr 2017; Murawski
et al. 2018a).
Besides its fishery importance, the large marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico
is also the basis of many important coincident economic activities. Among them the
oil industry plays a principal role as there is a very large historical development of
oil and gas exploitation facilities beginning in the 1930s. Related to this activity, the
GoM has been subjected to two mega oil spills along its history, one in the Southern
GoM (Ixtoc 1, 1979–1980) and more recently in the Northern GoM (Deepwater
25 Impacts of Deep Oil Spills on Fish and Fisheries
Keywords Gulf of Mexico fisheries · Red snapper · Bluefin tuna · Pink shrimp ·
White shrimp · Oil spill effects on fisheries
25.1 Introduction
The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is one of the most productive and diverse large marine
ecosystems of the world contributing significantly to the overall fishery production
of the three bordering countries. Its high diversity of fishes and shellfishes has been
the basis of important commercial and recreational fisheries in the diverse ecosystems around the GoM. Species importance varies among the different regions, but
all rely upon inshore, coastal, benthic, demersal, and oceanic-pelagic species,
including snappers, groupers, drums, croakers, shrimps, blue crabs, stone crabs,
spiny lobster, octopus, oyster, menhaden, mackerels, dolphinfish, billfish, and tunas,
among others.
Total annual fishery landings of the three countries comprising the GoM
(Cuba, Mexico, USA) average approximately one million metric tons. Fishery
production is dominated by a few species that account for most of the landing
volume and value, including coastal and pelagic species, shelf demersal species,
and benthic species for crustaceans including shrimps (brown, pink, and white
shrimp), blue crabs, and mollusks including oysters. Shrimp fisheries are the
most valuable in both Mexico and the US GoM. The three countries have had
similar harvesting histories reaching historical maximum exploitation levels in
the 1980s–1990s, followed by a general decline in landings afterward.
Management regimes show differences in the three countries, although they
share a common situation: most of the stocks are fully exploited and some of
them are overfished. In US waters, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Council’s
Management Plans list three stocks as overfished. In the Southern Gulf of
Mexico, most of the principal stocks have been overfished since the beginning of
the current century (Díaz de León et al. 2004), and a high proportion of these
fishery resources are in decline. A similar situation has been reported in Cuba
where 74% of the stocks are overexploited and 5% collapsed with an increasing
trend in overexploitation (Baisre 2018). Total US landings in the Northern Gulf
are twice that of Mexican fishery production, and the countries’ landings are
considerably greater than Cuba’s GoM landings. Overall abundance in the
Northern GoM is higher than the other two regions (Tunnell Jr 2017; Murawski
et al. 2018a).
Besides its fishery importance, the large marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico
is also the basis of many important coincident economic activities. Among them the
oil industry plays a principal role as there is a very large historical development of
oil and gas exploitation facilities beginning in the 1930s. Related to this activity, the
GoM has been subjected to two mega oil spills along its history, one in the Southern
GoM (Ixtoc 1, 1979–1980) and more recently in the Northern GoM (Deepwater
25 Impacts of Deep Oil Spills on Fish and Fisheries