Abstract

An analysis of archeological and historical data about fisheries in Cuba shows that the impact of aboriginal population on fisheries resources was not significant due to their low number and fishing technology. The interest for gold, the size of the population, the technological constraints for fishing and preserving fish catches and the food preferences of Spaniards all indicated that fishing was neither an important economic activity during the three next centuries after the arrival of Columbus. The dietary preferences for meat and salted cod and the slow population growth during the colonial period determined that most of the fisheries resources, with the exception of manatee and marine turtles, remained almost unfished for some centuries after the Conquest. Statistical and historical data revealed that fishing experienced a rapid growth since 1950 and this pattern seems to be a common feature in the Caribbean as well as in other part of the world. The pressures on marine life were more evident in the second half of the xx century when population growth, technological improvements and markets demands accelerated the fisheries sector as well as the urbanization in most of the Caribbean countries.

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