Abstract

The population and fishery of the bivalve Atrina seminuda were studied during a year (February 2008-January 2009) in northeastern Venezuela. The population was sampled monthly by SCUBA diving using transects (10 m2) to estimate abundance and biological aspects. Also, information was collected from fishers and wholesalers to estimate catches. Monthly sex ratio was 1:1 during the study period and gametogenic activity was present year round with 2 main peaks (April and August-September). The estimated length at first reproduction was 10.3 cm for both sexes combined, and lower for males (9.7 cm) than for females (13.4 cm). Maximum average densities ((0.39 ind/m2) and biomass (39.2 gr/m2) were obtained at depths between 0.5 m and 5 m in the southeast of Coche island and west of Morro de Chacopata. There are approximately 60 fishers that use free diving to catch this resource. During fishing operations (2.7 ± 0.25 hours) each fisher catches an average of 166 ± 70 individuals that yield 2.4 ± 1.6 Kg-muscle. Maximum catch was registered in May 2008 and the minimum in January 2009. Length of catches ranged between 5.5 and 26.2 cm, with an average of 16.9 ± 2.1 cm. The fishery appears to be sustainable considering a) average length of capture greater than length at sexual maturity; b) exploitation by free diving which limits fishing to around 6 m depth; c) areas with high densities and biomass which are not currently exploited.

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