Abstract

This investigation was done to assess the state of the Belize coral reef finfish fishery. Catch and effort data were taken from seven sites ranging in levels of exploitation from lightly to heavily exploited during a period of one year. A surplus production model was then fitted to the catch and effort data. The resulting plot showed no decrease in catch per unit of effort (CPUE) with increase in effort. This may be due to 1) violations of some of the assumptions of the model, or 2) effort levels in Belize which are as yet not large enough to affect the resulting CPUE. The annual yield per area estimated for the reef finfish fishery was 0.338 mt/km2. This is less than the yields of 0.45-4.53 mt/km2 which have been estimated for the Caribbean. The catch comprised primarily the valuable snappers and groupers. Although the catch composition and yield per area suggest that the Belize coral reef finfish fishery as a whole may be lightly to moderately exploited presently. catches of a single species, the commercially valuable Nassau grouper. have been declining. It is suggested that it is possible for a surplus production model to be fitted to a time series of catch and effort data for a single species.

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