Nueve décadas de explotación de sardina Sardinella aurita en Venezuela, revisión crítica

• Gómez Gaspar, Alfredo ^[1]
  1. [1] Museo Marino de Margarita
• Localización: Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras, ISSN-e 2590-4671, ISSN 0122-9761, Vol. 51, Nº. 1, 2022, págs. 171-192
• Idioma: español
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Nine decades of sardine exploitation Sardinella aurita in Venezuela, critical revision
• Enlaces
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• Resumen
  • español

    La sardina Sardinella aurita es el recurso pesquero más importante de Venezuela, iniciándose su pesca y enlatado en la isla de Margarita. La revisión crítica realizada ha estimado la pesca en 90 años de 4 386 758 ton y las causas de su continuidad pesquera. Durante dicho lapso, se han promulgado tres ordenanzas de manejo, la primera, después de 40 años de funcionamiento de las fábricas enlatadoras. Se identificaron cuatro periodos de actividad sardinera, el primero entre 1927 y 1973 sin regulación pesquera y otros tres (1974-2005, 2006-2013 y 2014-2017) cuando se aplicaron las ordenanzas. En cada uno se estimó captura, promedio anual, artes operativas, captura por unidad de esfuerzo e investigaciones relevantes. La regulación vigente se fundamentó en la notable disminución de las capturas desde 2005,por lo que, en 2013, se impone una veda y se establece en 19 cm la talla mínima de captura. La regulación ha sido inefectiva porque luego de siete años, las capturas no recuperaron niveles previos, aunado al incomprensible aumento de las artes de pesca (357 faenan en 2017). Finalmente, la pesca artesanal con chinchorro playero y la talla media de madurez de la especie explica la permanencia de la pesquería, la cual peligra por uso intensivo de cercos de argolla (purse seine), que deben restringirse.

  • English

    ABSTRACT In Venezuela the sardine Sardinella aurita is the most important fishing resource, on Margarita island it began its fishing (1927) and canned (1934). Due to the current importance of sardines as a direct food, we consider it convenient to comment on their exploitation. In nine decades of fishery only three sardine management ordinances have been ruled, it seems that the continuity of the sardine fishery is the consequence of an effective management, but it has not been, because the first management of the resource (ending 1973) appeared 40 years after the operation of canneries and authorized the capture of juvenile sardines with minimum size of 15 cm (LT) the disposition was in force for 32 years. This work comments on the fishing activity during its 90 years, which is subdivided into four periods, the first 1927-1973 without any fishing regulations and other three periods (1974-2005; 2006-2013 and 2014-2017) when each management ordinance is applied. The decrease of captures of the resource and to avoid its collapse is the foundation of the last management (2013) that increases the size of capture to 19 cm and establishes fishing prohibition (3 months); but after applying seven years, this regulation is ineffective because catches do not recover levels of the beginning of the century; it is also incomprehensible to increase the operational fishing gears. In the 90 years of exploitation (1927-1917) a total catch of 4,386,758 t is estimated, but considering an official underestimation of 31% as in the 1970’s, the quantity would increase to 5,746,653 t, a modest volume. The artisanal fishery using beach seine (chinchorro) and the mean length of maturity of S. aurita (<17 cm TL), explains fishery during 90 years in Venezuela, but its continuity is threatened by the intensive use of purse seine (“machines”). The sardine has ample national consumption and in population segments it is the animal protein that they can acquire.