Diversidad y abundancia del Bycatch de la flota palangrera en la caleta pesquera Las Piñas, Ecuador.

Abstract

This study assesses the diversity and abundance of bycatch generated by longline fishing in the Las Piñas fishing cove, Ecuador, during a six-month period. Eighteen fish species were identified, with Gymnothorax equatorialis predominating, representing 48.9% of the total. Shannon (H=1.85) and Simpson (1-D=0.73) diversity indices indicated low diversity and high dominance, reflecting an unbalanced community structure. Rarefaction analysis showed adequate sampling, although certain less represented groups might require additional efforts. Statistical models such as Lognormal and Zipf suggest that bycatch composition is influenced by both ecological and hierarchical processes. Co-occurrence networks revealed significant interactions between dominant species, while others showed patterns of independence. These results underline the need to implement more selective and adaptive fishing practices to reduce the ecological impact of bycatch.