Eugenio Alberto Aragón-Noriega

Dolphinfish are highly valued pelagic fish for both commercial and recreational fisheries. In Mexico, the species is reserved exclusively for sportfishing within 50 nautical miles of the coastline, making the country unique in enforcing such a rule. This regulation has generated a prolonged conflict between the commercial and artisanal sector, which seeks to amend the sustainable fishery law, and the sportfishing sector, which argues that permitting commercial harvest would significantly reduce availability for recreational fleets. The dispute has reached senior political levels, with members of Congress lobbied by both sides. Our objectives were to: (1) review dolphinfish life history traits and compare them with those of finfish legally harvested in Mexico; (2) identify knowledge gaps in the species’ biological information; and (3) provide recommendations for policymakers. Results show that dolphinfish display faster growth, earlier maturity, and greater dispersal capacity than most legally harvested teleost fish in Mexico. These traits suggest lower vulnerability to overfishing relative to other commercial species. As an initial step, we propose establishing a pilot program allowing limited legal harvest exclusively for artisanal coastal fisheries, generating data to support future assessments of population health in Mexican waters to inform adaptive, transparent, and evidence-based management decisions.

Los nemátodos fitoparásitos son organismos microscópicos que representan una de las amenazas más importantes para la agricultura mundial debido a los daños que ocasionan en las raíces de las plantas. En regiones agrícolas como Sinaloa, estos parásitos afectan cultivos de gran importancia económica como chile (Capsicum spp.), tomate (Solanum spp.), pepino (Cucumis spp.) y berenjena (Solanum spp.), disminuyendo la producción y calidad de los alimentos. El presente artículo describe qué son los nemátodos fitoparásitos, cómo infectan a las plantas, los principales daños que ocasionan y las condiciones ambientales que favorecen su desarrollo. Asimismo, se aborda la problemática de los nemátodos agalladores del género Meloidogyne, considerados uno de los grupos más dañinos para la agricultura. Finalmente, se destacan algunas estrategias de manejo sustentable enfocadas en disminuir el uso de agroquímicos y promover prácticas agrícolas más amigables con el ambiente.

A study on the growth patterns of Callinectes arcuatus was carried out in the Teacapan-Agua Brava Lagoon System, Sinaloa, Mexico, based on monthly sampling conducted from August 2023 to July 2024. A total of 881 individuals were examined, with carapace width (CW) ranging from 25 to 115 mm. The length-weight relationship showed an isometric growth ( ; 95% CI: 2.87-3.02). The sex ratio revealed no significant differences between females and males throughout most of the sampling period. Among the growth models evaluated, the Gompertz with an oscillatory component provided the best fit according to the Akaike Information Criterion, yielding an estimated asymptotic CW of 119.19 mm, a growth coefficient ( k ) of 0.57 year ⁻¹ , and a low oscillation amplitude ( ), with the minimum growth rate occurring in November. These findings contribute valuable biological information relevant to the management and sustainable exploitation of C. arcuatus in the region.

The slipper lobster Evibacus princeps occurs as part of the bycatch in industrial shrimp fisheries of the Mexican Pacific. Although biological information on this species is limited, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) currently classifies it as a subsistence resource with potential for exploitation. Accordingly, this study aimed to provide baseline information on selected biological aspects of E. princeps associated with industrial shrimp fishing in the Mexican Pacific. A total of 546 individuals were collected during the 2021–2022 fishing season. Female carapace length (CL) ranged from 23.96 to 139.23 mm, whereas males ranged from 16.19 to 124.75 mm CL. The size-frequency distribution of both sexes exhibited two distinct modes, suggesting that the study area may function as a permanent habitat for the species. Morphometric relationships among total length, carapace length, carapace width, and length of the third pair of pereiopods in females and the fifth pair in males were analyzed to evaluate allometric growth. Females showed positive allometric growth, growing proportionally wider than longer, from 20 to 85 mm CL. Beyond this size, they exhibited negative allometric growth. Males displayed positive allometric growth from 16 to 41 mm CL, after which negative allometric growth occurred. These findings provide baseline population information that may support future ecological, conservation, and fisheries-related studies of the species.

The length-weight relationship (LWR) of the Pacific white leg shrimp Penaeus vannamei was evaluated using data collected during two periods within the same year from twelve earthen ponds at two commercial aquaculture farms located near the mouth of the Gulf of California. The farms differed in water source: marine, estuarine-freshwater, and estuarine-hypersaline. Five alternative models were fitted to the LWR, with parameters estimated using maximum likelihood. Model selection was conducted using the Bayesian Information Criterion. The two-segment model was most frequently selected (18 cases), whereas cubic and quadratic models were selected three times each. No consistent pattern in the allometric coefficient was observed among water sources or cultivation periods. These results indicate that water source and operational conditions can influence allometric growth in cultured shrimp. Incorporating variability in allometric responses may improve assessments of growth dynamics and contribute to more effective and sustainable shrimp aquaculture management.

This study contributes to the understanding of the population dynamics of the clam Megapitaria squalida, a species for which information on growth and age structure remains limited. To describe its growth, 1,116 intertidal clams were collected between November 2012 and November 2013 from Navachiste Bay, a coastal lagoon located in the Gulf of California. Age was estimated by counting growth rings on the shell surface. Ring periodicity was validated through edge analysis, considering the annual alternation of opaque and hyaline bands. Individual growth was evaluated using a multimodel approach that included six versions of the Schnute growth model, parameterized assuming normal, log-normal, and logistic error distributions. Model selection was based on the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). The results indicated annual deposition of growth rings. The hyaline edge was observed from June to October, reaching a frequency of 100% in clams collected in October. Six age classes were identified, with age classes 1 and 2 being the most abundant. A sigmoidal growth curve corresponding to Schnute model version 1 provided the best fit to the data. Models parameterized with a logistic error distribution yielded the lowest BIC values compared with those assuming normal and log-normal error distributions, indicating better relative performance among the models evaluated. External rings were readily distinguishable and may provide a practical and cost-effective method for age estimation. This study represents the first validation of growth-ring periodicity through edge analysis in M. squalida and provides evidence of the potential usefulness of the logistic probability density function for parameterizing individual growth models.

A mark–recapture experiment was conducted off Mazatlán in the entrance of the Gulf of California to evaluate the growth of juvenile spiny lobsters (Panulirus inflatus). A total of 40 post larvae of spiny lobster were captured, marked, and maintained in plastic cages for 180 days in seawater off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico (23°12′32.4″ N 106°25′33.2″ W). Carapace length (CL in mm) was measured. Growth was estimated using the Schnute model, which encompasses four primary cases. In this study, two additional variants equivalent to the von Bertalanffy and Logistic models were also incorporated. These six models were parametrized using normal and log-normal distributions of errors. The selection of the best distribution and best model was based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC). The AIC selected the normal distribution of error and sigmoid-shaped curve as best representative of the growth pattern of juvenile spiny lobster P. inflatus. By identifying the asymptotic sigmoidal curve as the best descriptor of juvenile growth, this study offers a reliable foundation for subsequent assessments of population dynamics, resource management, and aquaculture development of P. inflatus.

Parameterizing nonlinear models presents an ongoing challenge in fisheries and aquaculture research. While additive and multiplicative error structures have been traditionally applied, a more recent alternative—the observed error structure—is gaining increasing acceptance. This study aimed to analyze the variability of individual growth during the early developmental stages of totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi), shrimp (Penaeus vannamei), and pearl oyster (Pteria sterna). The observed variance was incorporated as a central component for parameterizing individual growth models. All three datasets were derived from controlled laboratory conditions. Information theory was applied to identify the most appropriate variance criterion (observed, additive, or multiplicative). The Schnute model, case 1, was utilized to estimate the growth curve for each species. Distinct growth patterns were observed: sigmoid in totoaba, rectilinear in shrimp, and exponential in pearl oyster. These findings indicate that incorporating observed variability at each age enhances the parameterization of individual growth models across diverse taxonomic groups, including fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.

Growth is the most influential aspect in demographic species analysis. Collecting data on ages and sizes (such as length and weight) is a fundamental step in growth modeling, particularly in fishery science. Residual analysis plays a crucial role in parameterizing the mathematical models chosen to describe the growth patterns of the species under investigation. Using optimal residual criteria is essential to improving model performance and accuracy. In the present study, the length-at-age data of the Gulf corvina (Cynoscion othonopterus) were evaluated with the Schnute model to obtain the best error type and to establish the most accurate growth pattern. Later, the observed, constant, depensatory, and compensatory variance approaches were tested using the logistic model. The Bayesian information criterion (BIC) was used as the goodness-of-fit test to obtain the best variance approach parametrizing the growth model. The BIC values selected the observed variance as the best approach to parametrize the logistic growth model. The conclusion is that the observed variance approach produces robust results—that is, the observed variance produced the most plausible fits. It is suggested that the observed error structure should be used to estimate individual growth.

The biometrics of the pereiopods of the blue spiny lobster, Panulirus inflatus associated with reproduction were studied in relationship to carapace length by an allometric linear model. To get a wide range of length in both sexes, field samplings were carried out on board of an artisanal commercial fishing boat at Mazatlán, Mexico. The data of third and fifth pereiopod length (TPL, FPL), abdominal and carapace length (AL and CL) were linearized, and the parameters of the linear model were fitted using the maximum likelihood method. The TPL, FPL and AL showed an isometric and allometric growth, depending on sex, and using the CL as a reference measurement. The differences in the TPL-CL, FPL-CL and AL-CL relationships between sexes were explained by the biological reproductive strategies of the species, but the model showed a greater explained variance over the male data than over those of the female in the species investigated, P. inflatus.