EVOLUTION AND DETERMINANT FACTORS IN THE ECOLOGICAL FISHPRINT OF WHITE SHRIMP (LITOPENAEUS OCCIDENTALIS) FISHERY IN COLOMBIAN PACIFIC

Abstract

The ecological fishprint is an adaptation of original ecological footprint concept to quantify the pressure of fishery on marine ecosystems. In a complementary role of other fishery indicators, this ecological fishprint try to show a more ecosystemic evaluation of the fishing impact in Colombian, with a first application on the white shrimp (L. occidentalis) fishery. For such purpose, the ecological fishprint was estimated from 1956 to 2010 including artisanal and industrial fleets, whereas an econometric model was fitted to assess the effect of some environmental, economic and fishing variables on the performance of the fishery. The results showed an increase in the fishprint during the studied period: 4.72 gha/ton white shrimp in 1956 to 66.43 gha/ton white shrimp in 2010, which shows an increase of more than 1300%. The fitted econometric model indicated the dynamic effect of previous period and the artisanal fishery rising prevalence on others variables to explicate fishprint. This research gives a new perspective on environmental impact of shrimp fishery on Colombian Pacific, emphasizing that fishery management and conservation measures should control the shrimp bycatch and the selectivity of the fishing gears used by both artisanal and industrial fleets.