Size and relative condition index of the brown sea cucumber Isostichopus fuscus in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico

Abstract

ABSTRACT The brown sea cucumber Isostichopus fuscus is the most important commercial holothurian in the eastern Pacific, and its high market value caused overfishing and sharp declines of its populations and catches in several Latin American countries. In Mexico, the fishery has been intense in the northern Gulf of California since the 1990s, and it is currently under strong regulation. To evaluate the current status of the organisms, we measured the size, weight and estimated the relative condition index (Kn) of 702 specimens sampled in 86 rocky reefs of that region in 2016, at depths from 3 to 22 m. Mean length ± SD was 22.32 ± 5.23 cm, lower than average in the northern Gulf, but nevertheless, the average weight was 420.61 ± 192.48 g, among the highest recorded in the eastern Pacific; this is presumably due to the high primary production of the region that favors the presence of well-nourished organisms. The weight (W)-length (L) relationship was W = 3.27 L1.56, and condition index ranged from 0.045 to 2.13 (mean Kn = 0.96 ± 0.29), a figure that did not differ to that reported along the Mexican Pacific. There were differences in the value of Kn among sites, being higher in areas that are subject to the low fishing effort.