On the cephalopod fishery off the southwest of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain)

Abstract

In the Canary Islands waters there exist an artisanal fishery composed of many benthic species developed by small boats (4 to 12 m length). The target species of the fishery are the seabreams. However, among the species landed, there are substantial quantities of cephalopods, specially Octopus vulgaris, Sepia officinalis and in lesser importance Loligo spp. In this paper we report fishing data of the cephalopods landed in the port of Mogán (Southwest of Gran Canaria) from 1989 to 1995. The landed catches of Octopus vulgaris increased continuosly from 1989 to 1994, rising from 7 to 26 mt; nevertheless, in 1995 the value fell to the level found in 1989. Fishing records of Sepia officinalis show a very similar pattern, increasing from 500 kg in 1989 to almost 2000 kg in 1994 though falling down 1995 to the level obtained in 1989. The catches on Loligo spp. decreased continuosly from 1989 to nowadays. In this paper we also describe the fishing methods and the seasonal variations of the catch records and fishing effort in relation to years and market strategies.