Tasks. The agreed work tasks included the following: To conduct an acoustic fishing survey for small pelagic fish on the shelf; to conduct bottom trawling experiments for demersal fish, deep water shrimp and langostinos; to test the availability of squid off the shelf with light and jigging. The hydrographic profiles run during the previous survey were to be repeated, and one new section to be set out off Salina Cruz.
Survey plan. The time available for the work between El Salvador and Salina Cruz in Mexico according to the original plan, allowed a mean rate of coverage of abt 20 nm between course tracks over the shelf with some more dense coverage of the inshore area, leaving abt 10 hrs per day for fishing. The acoustic survey was to be supplemented with a demersal trawling programme for swept area estimates and faunistic/biological stock studies. In the area of the slope off San Jose prelocated hauls were set out to check the abundance of langostino and deep water shrimps. Programmes for studying the distribution and abundance of small pelagics in shallow waters and of crystal shrimp at intermediate depths were to be conducted. A testing programme on the availability of oceanic squid using light and jigs was to be performed. In order to make the best use of the time, the daytime was allocated for work in inshore waters and on the shelf, whereas the work on the edge of the shelf and farther off was done during night.
Scientific staff. The following participated from the region;
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Guatemala: |
Fernando Roseals, Antonio Salaverria, Herman Kinn. |
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Mexico: |
Armando Arias, Miguel Cisneros. |
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From FAO: |
Luis Villegas. |
