Abstract

Deepwater fisheries in the MesoAmerican countries of Mexico. Guatemala. Belize. and Honduras are currently unmanaged. despite their importance to local economies and livelihoods. As fishes that live in waters deeper than 100 meters tend to have conservative life history strategies. they are likely to be more vulnerable to overexploitation than their shallow water counterparts. even under relatively low levels of fishing mortality. Most of the deepwater fish species captured in the western Caribbean are data deficient. with little data available on the ecology. life history. distribution. or abundance of these species. Fisheries-independent and dependent sampling of deepwater fishes in Belize in Honduras has revealed that several snapper species are common in the deepwater fisheries of both countries. though the nearshore fishing grounds in Honduras may be overexploited and grouper populations are likely extirpated in some areas. Preliminary analysis indicates that fish abundance and average size is higher in Belize in comparison to Honduras. Fishing grounds that are naturally protected by unfavorable ocean conditions may offer some respite to deepwater fish populations. but fishing effort is expected to increase in deeper waters throughout the region due to high local and international demand for high quality fish fillet.

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