California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit States. Most of the catch (80 %) is
from the Gulf of California, where coastal fishing generates 114,000 tons y
-1
:
31 % in Baja California Sur, 28 % in Sonora, 22 % in Sinaloa and 19 % in Baja
California. In general, 10 % of coastal catches are sharks and dogfish, 17 % bony
fish, 15 % mollusks, 6 % crustaceans and 52 % unidentified (Rodriguez-Valencia
and Cisneros-Mata 2006).
Echinoderms are affected directly by incidental catch when fishing with trawls
because of the significant bycatch effect. The number of species collected this way
is difficult to estimate because they are not recorded in catches. Discards from
trawling are dumped at sea and sink to the bottom where their decomposition
reduces the levels of oxygen and make the habitat less suitable for benthic
organisms. Invertebrates account for up to 90 of the numbers of animals discarded
and up to 73% of these are echinoderms (Pranovi et al. 2001).
2.5.3 Ornamental Species
Many species of echinoderms are popular in aquarium trade. Mexico is included in
the main exporters together with Indonesia, Singapore, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Philippines
and Vanuatu. One Caribbean sea star captured for souvenir industry is Oreaster
reticulatus. Other countries in the Caribbean, including Mexico, allow the
extraction of this species without apparent restrictions.
Little is known about the use of echinoderms as souvenirs or for aquariums. The
limited information available comes from the results of a survey of the Mexican
echinoderm trade. Currently an estimated 62 fisheries in Mexico collect an average
of 12,000 sea stars annually for the souvenir industry (Lunn et al. 2008).
2.5.4 Management and Conservation
Among the possible actions for conservation and management of marine resources,
one of the most important is the recognition of priority sites. Protected areas have
been advocated as one of the most important and effective tools for safeguarding
the world’s biodiversity. A major reason for this is that they protect species from
their greatest threat: habitat loss. In March 2007, Mexico had 61 Marine Protected
Areas with valid establishment decrees, occupying 13,336,390 ha or 58.5 % of its
total federal protected area (*42 % of its total marine exclusive economic zone)
(Ortiz-Lozano et al. 2009). It is noteworthy that most of the known species of
echinoderms are distributed in shallow water areas, and many of them are located
within protected sites.
Until now, no comprehensive work on the population dynamics of the different
exploited species have been made. There is no current information on the number
of possible species that might suggest its economic importance and its distribution
2 The Echinoderms of Mexico
45
from the Gulf of California, where coastal fishing generates 114,000 tons y
-1
:
31 % in Baja California Sur, 28 % in Sonora, 22 % in Sinaloa and 19 % in Baja
California. In general, 10 % of coastal catches are sharks and dogfish, 17 % bony
fish, 15 % mollusks, 6 % crustaceans and 52 % unidentified (Rodriguez-Valencia
and Cisneros-Mata 2006).
Echinoderms are affected directly by incidental catch when fishing with trawls
because of the significant bycatch effect. The number of species collected this way
is difficult to estimate because they are not recorded in catches. Discards from
trawling are dumped at sea and sink to the bottom where their decomposition
reduces the levels of oxygen and make the habitat less suitable for benthic
organisms. Invertebrates account for up to 90 of the numbers of animals discarded
and up to 73% of these are echinoderms (Pranovi et al. 2001).
2.5.3 Ornamental Species
Many species of echinoderms are popular in aquarium trade. Mexico is included in
the main exporters together with Indonesia, Singapore, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Philippines
and Vanuatu. One Caribbean sea star captured for souvenir industry is Oreaster
reticulatus. Other countries in the Caribbean, including Mexico, allow the
extraction of this species without apparent restrictions.
Little is known about the use of echinoderms as souvenirs or for aquariums. The
limited information available comes from the results of a survey of the Mexican
echinoderm trade. Currently an estimated 62 fisheries in Mexico collect an average
of 12,000 sea stars annually for the souvenir industry (Lunn et al. 2008).
2.5.4 Management and Conservation
Among the possible actions for conservation and management of marine resources,
one of the most important is the recognition of priority sites. Protected areas have
been advocated as one of the most important and effective tools for safeguarding
the world’s biodiversity. A major reason for this is that they protect species from
their greatest threat: habitat loss. In March 2007, Mexico had 61 Marine Protected
Areas with valid establishment decrees, occupying 13,336,390 ha or 58.5 % of its
total federal protected area (*42 % of its total marine exclusive economic zone)
(Ortiz-Lozano et al. 2009). It is noteworthy that most of the known species of
echinoderms are distributed in shallow water areas, and many of them are located
within protected sites.
Until now, no comprehensive work on the population dynamics of the different
exploited species have been made. There is no current information on the number
of possible species that might suggest its economic importance and its distribution
2 The Echinoderms of Mexico
45