Abstract

Fishing tournaments are one of the most popular nautical activities celebrated in Puerto Rico. These are held year-round and they target from reef to pelagic species. Data on these fishing tournaments was gathered from 2000 - 2006 as a component of a larger project whose main goal is the characterization of recreational fisheries in the Island. A total of 247 fishing tournaments have been visited with a total of 94,819.88 kg of fish weighed. Since 2002, a steady increase in angler participation has been noted. The Catch per unit Effort (CPUE) for most of the targeted species has decreased over the years. Several trends in fishing preference have been changing over the last few years following an increase in enforcement and adoption of new fishing regulations pertaining to recreational fisheries in Puerto Rico. Due to quota regulations, larger size fish are now landed, and there has been a change from all landing to all tag and release billfish tournaments. A decrease in shore fishing tournaments has been noted over the past three years

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