Ichthyofauna composition (Actinopterygii: Teleostei) caught by Jalisco's small-scale fisheries in the Mexican Central Pacific coast

Abstract

We present the composition of the ichthyofauna (Actinopterygii: Teleostei) caught by small-scale fisheries off the coast of Jalisco in the Mexican Central Pacific, which has 170 species grouped into 15 orders, 52 families, and 113 genera. The families with the highest species richness were Carangidae (14.7%), Haemulidae (10.0%), Sciaenidae (9.4%), Serranidae (8.2%), Lutjanidae (5.8%), and Scombridae (5.8%). The relative abundance analysis indicated 13 relevant species in the artisanal fisheries of the coast of Jalisco, with six being the most representative (Lutjanus guttatus, L. peru, L. argentiiventris, Microlepidotus brevipinnis, Haemulon flaviguttatum, and Scomberomorus sierra). Fishers use the gill net (43.3%), the hand line (33.4%), and the harpoon (10.1%) as the main fishing gear in the catch off the coast of Jalisco. The zoogeographical analysis revealed a high affinity with the Mexican Province (24.9%), followed by the Panamic Province (23.4%), the Cortez Province (23.4%), Californian-Peruvian Province (15.6%), and the Galapagos Province (12.6%). The composition of the ichthyofauna recorded in the Jalisco coast by artisanal fisheries was most likely linked to the heterogeneity of the continental shelf bottom, variation in primary productivity, temperature, salinity, and the dynamics of marine currents in the Mexican Central Pacific. Therefore, this information will serve as a basis for future comparisons with other studies that allow the sustainable management of fishery resources in Mexican Pacific coastal fisheries.