National Marine 
Fisheries Service 
NOAA 
Fishery Bulletin 
@& established in 1881 =< 
Spencer F. Baird 
First U.S. Commissioner 
of Fisheries and founder 
of Fishery Bulletin 
Abstract—The landings of the artis- 
anal elasmobranch fisheries of 3 com- 
munities located along the Pacific coast 
of Guatemala from May 2017 through 
March 2020 were evaluated. Twenty- 
one elasmobranch species were iden- 
tified in this study. Bottom longlines 
used for multispecific fishing captured 
ray species and represented 59% of 
the fishing effort. Gill nets captured 
small shark species and represented 
41% of the fishing effort. The most fre- 
quently caught species were the longtail 
stingray (Hypanus longus), scalloped 
hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini), and 
Pacific sharpnose shark (Rhizopriono- 
don longurio), accounting for 47.88%, 
33.26%, and 7.97% of landings during 
the monitoring period, respectively. 
The landings were mainly neonates 
and juveniles. Our findings indicate 
the presence of nursery areas on the 
continental shelf off Guatemala. This 
study included the first survey of com- 
mercial exploitation of ray species in 
the artisanal fisheries off the Pacific 
coast of Guatemala. It is imperative 
to protect shark nursery areas and to 
develop management strategies for ray 
species that are important to artisanal 
fisheries. 
Manuscript submitted 9 July 2020. 
Manuscript accepted 19 January 2021. 
Fish. Bull. 119:3-9 (2021). 
Online publication date: 2 March 2021. 
doi: 10.7755/FB.119.1.2 
The views and opinions expressed or 
implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
Characterization of the artisanal elasmobranch 
fisheries off the Pacific coast of Guatemala 
Cristopher G. Avalos Castillo (contact author)'? 
Omar Santana Morales? 
Email address for contact author: criss.ac.13@gmail.com 
" Fundacion Mundo Azul 
Carretera a Villa Canales 
km 21-22 Finca Moran 
01069 Villa Canales, Guatemala 
? Centro de Estudios del Mar y Acuicultura 
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala 
Ciudad Universitaria Zona 12 
Edificio M14 
01012 Guatemala City, Guatemala 
Despite the widespread consumption 
and commercialization of elasmobranch 
catches in Latin America, there are 
no consistent statistical records and 
few studies of the catches of elasmo- 
branch species in Guatemala or of prod- 
ucts made from captured individuals. 
Nonetheless, Hacohen-Domené et al. 
(2020) described an artisanal elasmo- 
branch fishery on the Caribbean coast 
of Guatemala and evaluated biological 
data from 688 Chondrichthyan species 
(24 shark, 6 ray, and 1 chimaera species) 
landed from January 2015 through July 
2017. They concluded that a high pro- 
portion of the specimens of shark spe- 
cies for which data were recorded were 
juveniles. Ruiz Alvarado and Mijangos 
Lopez (1999) first described the shark 
fisheries that operate off the Pacific 
coast of Guatemala and recorded 15 
landed species. The most recent study 
about sharks species, which included 
a monitoring program of 5 communi- 
ties along the Pacific coast, was car- 
ried out during 2006-2007 by Ixquiac 
Cabrera et al.', who found that the 
! Txquiac Cabrera, J., I. Franco Arenales, C. A. 
Tejeda Velasquez, M. R. Sanchez Rodas, and 
J. A. Sikahall Prado. 2009. Areas de crianza 
3 Facultad de Ciencias Marinas 
Universidad Autonoma de Baja California 
Carretera Ensenada-Tijuana 3917 
Fraccionamiento Playitas 
22860 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico 
“ ECOCIMATI A.C. 
Avenida del Puerto 2270 
Colonia Hidalgo 
22880 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico 
most captured species were the silky 
shark (Carcharhinus falciformis), scal- 
loped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewint), 
and whitenose shark (Nasolamia velox). 
Lastly, in the most recent study about 
ray species in 2006, Ixquiac Cabrera 
et al.” determined that the main species 
of Guatemala’s continental shelf are the 
golden cownose ray (Rhinoptera stein- 
dachneri), longtail stingray (Hypanus 
longus), and blotched stingray (Urotry- 
gon chilensis). 
The aim of this study was to continu- 
ously monitor the landings of artisanal 
fisheries of 3 Pacific coast communities 
in Guatemala from May 2017 through 
de tiburones en la plataforma continental 
del Pacifico de Guatemala: Herramienta 
para el manejo y aprovechamiento sostenido 
del recurso tiburén. Proyecto Fodecyt 
13-2006, 48 p. Cent. Estud. Mar Acuic., 
Univ. San Carlos Guatemala, Guatemala 
City, Guatemala. [In Spanish.] [Available 
from website.] 
Ixquiac Cabrera, M., I. Franco, J. Lemus, 
S. Méndez, and A. Lopez-Roulet. 2010. 
Identificacién, abundancia, distribucién 
espacial de batoideos (rayas) en el Pacifico 
guatemalteco. Proyecto Fodecyt 34-2006, 
41 p. Fondo Nac. Cienc. Tecnol., Cent. Estud. 
Mar Acuic., Organ. Conserv. el Medio Ambi- 
ente, Guatemala. [In Spanish.] [Available 
from website.] 
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