Resumen del producto

Dolphinfish, Coryphaena hippurus, are fast-swimming, predatory fish capable of long migrations through fishery areas over short time periods. This behavior – combined with their global subtropical to tropical distribution, high growth rates and early maturation age – makes dolphinfish an important recreational and commercial fish worldwide. Yet, the majority of studies on dolphinfish use catch data – rather than behavioral data – to gain insight into dolphinfish habitat use. This study uses fisheries independent electronic tagging in conjunction with fisheries dependent conventional tags to explore the diving and migratory behavior of dolphinfish throughout the ETP. Beginning in 2010, mature dolphinfish (fork lengths between 82 cm and 129 cm) were tagged with conventional (n = 132 tags) and electronic tags (n = 30 tags, miniPAT and mrPAT) off the coast of Baja California Sur and Chiapas. Total recapture rate for conventional tags was 3.8%, but was approximately 5 times greater in males (6.9%), than females (1.4%). Electronic tagging data was received for 15 tags, with times at liberty ranging from 3 to 74 days (28 ± 22 days). The average home range (spatial extent of habitat) for the six fish with deployments longer than 30 days was 23,260 km2 (minimum and maximum areas of approximately 12,000 and 41,000 km2, respectively). Estimated sustained swimming speeds (distance per time at liberty) ranged from .2 body lengths per second to 1 body length per second (0.49 ± 0.24 body lengths per second). Dolphinfish occupied both shallow and midwater marine environments, with diurnal diving behavior observed solely in 2013. Ongoing work is investigating seasonal movements and habitat use in the region, which are particularly important to understand as they influence stock structure and resource availability.

Palabras clave: dolfinfish; Tagging; Eastern Pacific Ocean

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