Prospective study of the fishery of the shrimp Plesionika narval (Fabricius, 1787) in the Northeastern Atlantic.

ABSTRACT

Several experimental surveys were carried out in the Northeastern Atlantic, Madeira archipelago from 1991 to 2008 to explore new fisheries resources. This study examined the selectivity of bottom and floating traps and the analysis of yield-per-recruit (YPR) and biomass-per-recruit (BPR) providing helpful insight to the management of the shrimp Plesionika narval. A total of 28,262 specimens were sampled and the analysis of length at first capture returned higher values when using floating traps indicating that these traps are more selective, exerting less pressure on the resource. The YPR and BPR analysis showed that the stock is under exploited for the studied area and suggests that the use of floating traps in the commercial fisheries of P. narval is recommended, which will allow a higher maximum allowable limit of exploitation and greater yield. The results suggest that P. narval has the potential to support a viable and sustainable fishery using floating traps.