Estimation of the Maximum Sustainable Yield and the Optimal Fishing Effort of the Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus, Rathbun 1896) of Laguna Madre, Tamaulipas, Mexico

The fishery of the blue crab ( Callinectes sapidus ) in Laguna Madre (LM), Tamaulipas, Mexico, with an average annual catch of 3307 tons, is of great importance economically and socially. The objective of this research was to estimate the carrying capacity ( K ), the catchability coefficient ( q ), the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) (tons), and the optimal fishing effort ( f MSY ) (traps). For this, a time series from 1998 to 2012 was used for the catch and number. The Fox (1970) and Schaefer (1954) models included in A Surplus-Production Model Incorporating Covariates (ASPIC) software were employed for this study. A set of statistical variability estimators and the Akaike ’ s, Bayesian, and Hannan-Quinn information criteria were used for the selection of models. The results obtained by the fox model were K = 54,000, q = 0.00008798, MSY = 2567 and f MSY = 146,900 traps, whereas for the Schaefer model, the results were K = 28,370, q = 0.00002425, MSY = 2008, and f MSY = 58,390. The model with the best adjustment was that of Schaefer. It is concluded that the fishing resource has been overexploited during the period 2003 – 2011, with an average annual surplus of 670 tons and 25,000 traps. It is recommended to consider the MSY and f MSY values of the Schaefer model for the National Fishing Charter (NFC).