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Fishery Bulletin 92(4), 1994 



doom and Meyers, in press). Area-based SPM's have 

 not been developed further for management of reef 

 fisheries, although more focussed studies have led 

 to interesting results in freshwater systems (Mar- 

 ten, 1979). 



Although both are within the Caribbean region, 

 the reef fisheries of Belize and Jamaica contrast 

 markedly. Belizean finfish stocks appear to be lightly 

 to moderately exploited, an assessment not based on 

 quantitative catch and effort data, which have never 

 been systematically collected, but upon the contin- 

 ued availability of prime commercial species (snap- 

 pers [Lutjanidae] and groupers [Serranidae]) that are 

 the basis of an export-oriented fishery. This assess- 

 ment is also based on the country's estimated low 

 consumption of seafood; Belize has a sparse popula- 

 tion (7.8 persons/km 2 totalling less than 200,000 per- 

 sons) and has traditionally relied little on seafood. 

 Conch (Strombus gigas) and lobster (Panulirus 

 argus) are the main focus of Belizean commercial 

 fisheries, followed by snapper and grouper, which are 

 fished primarily for export. 



In contrast, seafood is traditionally an important 

 part of the Jamaican diet; the country is densely 

 populated (216 persons/km 2 with a total population 

 of 2,362,000), and its coastal fisheries have been 

 heavily exploited for at least the past several decades 

 (Aiken and Haughton, 1987). Since 1970, catch rates 

 in the reef fisheries have markedly declined (Aiken 

 and Haughton, 1987; Haughton, 1988), and the catch 

 composition has shifted to commercially less valu- 

 able species (Koslow et al., 1988). Snappers, grou- 

 pers, and large parrotfishes (Scaridae) that were 

 abundant off Jamaica in the last century (Gosse, 1851 ) 

 have virtually disappeared from most reef areas. 



Our objective was to develop a SPM to manage the 

 reef fisheries of Jamaica and Belize. To improve upon 

 previous area-based SPM's, we carried out focussed 

 surveys of catch and effort to better quantify the 

 model in relation to some of its underlying assump- 

 tions. In particular, we assessed the productive area 

 underlying each fishery by estimating the propor- 

 tion of productive reef habitat in different parts of 

 the shelf and by localizing the fishing grounds used, 

 and we quantified annual fishing effort. By survey- 

 ing reef fisheries in these two countries, we hoped to 

 relate catch and effort over a range of exploitation 

 rates and develop a broadly applicable SPM. 



Methods 



Field study 



A two-phase survey was carried out in Belize and 

 along the south coast of Jamaica (Fig. 1, A and B). 

 First, a stratified systematic survey was carried out 



to determine the numbers of fishermen by region, 

 the types of vessels and gears in use, and the grounds 

 fished, and to obtain general information on effort, 

 catch, and seasonality in catch composition and abun- 

 dance. Validated lists of fishing vessels in the two 

 countries were obtained from the licensing registers 

 of fisheries departments and from surveys of land- 

 ing sites (20 active fishing beaches on the south coast 

 of Jamaica and 10 cooperatives and markets in 

 Belize). The lists were stratified by area and a sample 

 from each area was systematically selected. A ques- 

 tionnaire was administered to the selected fishermen 

 in Belize, but owing to difficulties in locating selected 

 fishermen in Jamaica, a number of fishermen were 

 chosen from those available on the fishing beaches. 



Based on this survey, the fishing grounds were 

 subdivided into seven areas in Belize and six in Ja- 

 maica. However, spawning aggregations fished in 

 several of the areas in Belize accounted for a signifi- 

 cant proportion of the fish landings and seemed likely 

 to draw fish from nearby areas. In calculating the 

 SPM, data from areas 4 and 5 (east and west Amber- 

 gris Cay) were pooled, as were data from areas 2, 3, 

 and 7 (Fig. IB). 



In the second phase of the survey, six landing sites 

 in Jamaica and five in Belize were visited to collect 

 data on effort and landings over an annual cycle. 

 Thus one site that was deemed representative was 

 selected from each area, except in Belize City (Gal- 

 lows Pt.) area, where two cooperatives were visited. 

 Sites were visited every two weeks in Belize between 

 July 1990 and August 1991 (except Placencia, which 

 was sampled from March through August 1991) and 

 in Jamaica from February through April and August 

 through November 1991. Sites were monitored for 

 the entire period during which fish were landed. As 

 each vessel landed its catch, overall weights were 

 recorded by family, and fishermen were interviewed 

 to ascertain the gears used, the effort by gear-type, 

 and the areas fished. In Jamaica, there were too 

 many vessels at some sites to monitor all landings. 

 In these instances, total effort and landings statis- 

 tics for the site were estimated by the proportion of 

 vessels actually surveyed: X T = XJF, where X T is the 

 total landings or effort for a site on a particular day, 

 X is the landings or effort recorded, and F is the 

 proportion of vessels surveyed. 



The effective area of the fishing grounds in each 

 area was estimated. The total area of the shelf was 

 estimated from charts both with a planimeter and 

 by weight, whereby the shelf area was traced from a 

 chart, cut out, weighed, and the weight related to 

 that of a unit area (e.g. 10 km 2 ). The extent of the 

 actual fishing grounds was determined from inter- 

 views conducted during the surveys. In Belize, the 



