Resumen del producto

The long larval period of spiny lobster may be a factor influencing the connectivity of stocks, where larvae may drift with the currents. We hypothetized that some evidence of this could be found by examining the age structure of the stocks exploited in the west Caribbean countries where main sea current pathways move from south to north. Age structure of stocks from ten countries exploiting spiny lobster was used to test connectivity links. Fifteen years of catch data were obtained from the FAO statistical records and were transformed into numbers per age class throughout these years by using population parameter values and simulation. We analyzed the correlation between total adults in a country and age I juveniles one year after in another, comparing data from pairs of countries. We found low but significant correlations in most cases. Higher values of R2 = 0.7 to 0.8 were found in the Dominican Republic as a source and Florida and Mexico as destinations, and between Haiti as a source for Cuba. Source-destination correlations at the level of R2 = 0.8 to 0.9 were found between Mexico with Cuba; Florida with Mexico, Belize with Mexico, Florida and Honduras; Haiti with Honduras, Belize, Mexico, Florida, and Dominican Republic; Colombia with Honduras, Belize, Mexico and Cuba; the Bahamas with Cuba; and Nicaragua with Colombia, Belize, Mexico, Cuba, and Haiti. A strong correlation (R2 > 0.9) was found between Honduras with Mexico and Cuba; Belize with Cuba; Nicaragua with Honduras; and in the Bahamas with Haiti, Honduras, Belize, Mexico, and Colombia. Our results provide evidence on the most likely patterns of connectivity amongst spiny lobster populations of the western Caribbean, reinforcing the recommendation that these fisheries should be managed by an international entity.

Palabras clave: Spiny lobster; Connectivity; Western Caribbean; correlations

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