Estimating the biomass and fishing potential of the deep-water shrimp Plesionika edwardsii (Crustacea: Decapoda: Pandalidae) around the Macaronesian archipelagos

Abstract

After understanding the distribution of the Pandalidae species in the Macaronesian region and determining the maximum abundance of Plesionika edwardsii at depths between 200 and 350/400 m, several research cruises were performed under the PESCPROF (2003-2008) and MARPROF (2009-2012) projects. Research has mainly focused on P. edwardsii because it has shown moderate levels of fishing yield and abundances compatible with the development of a new fishery in the region. Cruises took place around the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores archipelagos onboard the R/Vs “Prof. Ignacio Lozano”, “Arquipélago” and several fishing vessels. A standardized fishing gear was used, so-called multiple semifloating shrimp traps (MSFST), each fishing line with 50-100 traps operating around 2.4 m above the seafloor.