Abstract

The West Indian topshell, Cittarium pica, is one of the most valuable gastropods in the Caribbean. The lack of biological and ecological information of this resource is one of the problems for management efforts. Since no study addressing the population status or ecology of this species has been conducted in Puerto Rico, it was begin by collecting baseline data on distribution, abundance and fishing pressure over the resource. Fishermen were interviewed about fishing methodology, sites and general knowledge on the resource status. Ten sites per coastline were surveyed based on fishermen information. Ten transects were conducted at each site, collecting and measuring the individuals. It was found during the study that the West Indian topshell is not fish evenly or sale at the same scale throughout the Island. Sale prices ranged from $8.00 to $12.00 per pound. Variation on fishing pressure could be an effect of the resource availability. Amount of snails found during the surveys ranged from 7 to 1,073 individuals per site. The average amount of individuals found was 259. The results suggest that some areas might be overfished, while others might be fished occasionally. Difference on recruitment rate between areas exposed to high wave action versus calm areas is a factor to be considered in subsequent studies. The majority of the high wave action areas surveyed showed small amount of small individuals (18-24%), while low wave action areas showed greater amount of these (65%), suggesting that recruitment is better on quiet sites. The small amount of larger individuals on quiet sites could be due to overfishing, given that predation pressure is the same on both areas. A possible population dynamic scenario base on the results is presented as well as the implication to management regulations

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