Bathymetric distribution of continental slope fishery resources of southern Brazil

Abstract

This paper deals with the bathymetric distribution of continental slope fishery resources of the sou theast Brazil, between latitudes 23'- 26' 5, based on data from bottom liners fisheries (1986- 1995) in depths of 201 - 650 m. The main exploited species were the following, with corresponding participation in total catches: tilefish, Lopholatilus vilarii Ribeiro (59.2%); sandperch, Pseudopercis numida Ribeiro (20.9 %); and snowy grouper, Epinephelus niveatus (Valenciennes) (9.9%). The fish production and fishery effort tended to decrease with the increase of depth, the opposite occurring with the relative abundance (CPUE), at least until the 550 m isobath. As a whole, the CPUE average corresponded to 0.8 kg/hook-day. The three main species were caught until 650 m in depth. The largest catches of tilefish were made between 201 - 300 m in depth and its CPUE tended to increase with the depth increase of fishing grounds- its mean value was 0.5 kg/hookday.
The largest catches of sandperch and snowy grouper were made between 201 -250m in depth, and the CPUE mean values were 0.2 and 0.1 kg/hook-day, respectively. Only for the tilefish the data suggest migration to deeper waters, which may occurs during the winter.