INTRODUCTION
Pelagic fishes are schools that inhabit mid-marine waters or near the sea surface. Cifuentes et al. (n/d) explain that the term “pelagic” derives from the Greek word pelagos, which means ocean, used to name one of the two great ecological divisions of the sea, the pelagic domain, the other being the bottom or benthic domain (Lopez et al., 2020). In Ecuador, small pelagic fish represent the most economically and socially important fishery resources. Therefore, knowing the conditions in which the fishery is carried out is vital for the identification of opportunities for improvement that are in tune with the objectives of conservation of this type of species and the assurance of responsible consumption, as has been the trend lately, which more than a fashion, is the answer to the imperious need to preserve the optimal environmental conditions for the reproduction and growth of these and many other species. However, some practices, such as illegal fishing, are detrimental to the above; according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), infractions that go against national laws or the conservation and management measures of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). Practices considered illegal fishing involve the following actions:
· Carried out by national or foreign vessels in waters under the jurisdiction of a State without the permission of that State or in contravention of its legislation;
· Carried out by vessels flying the flag of States that are parties to a competent regional fisheries management organization, but operate in contravention of conservation and management measures adopted by that organization and under which States are bound, or relevant provisions of international law
· In violation of national laws or international obligations, including those undertaken by cooperating States for a competent regional fisheries management organization.
·
The above, as well as many other aspects to evaluate around the small pelagic fishery not only in Ecuador but in other Latin American countries, are the subject of study by many researchers in the same community, so the present study is carried out in order to know the impact of the research carried out based on this practice, hoping to answer the question How has been the production and publication of research papers referring to the study of the Small Pelagic Fishery in Latin America during the period 2017-2021 according to the Scopus database?
To analyze from a bibliometric and bibliographic perspective, the production of research papers on the variable Fisheries, Pelagic Fishes indexed in the Scopus database by Latin American institutions during 2017-2021.
DEVELOPMENT
Quantitative analysis of the information provided by Scopus under a bibliometric approach on the scientific production related to the study of Pelagic Fishery and Pelagic Fishes is carried out. Also, from a qualitative perspective, examples of some research papers published in the area of the study mentioned above are analyzed from a bibliographic approach to describe the position of different authors on the proposed topic.
The search is performed through the tool provided by Scopus and the parameters referenced in Figure 1 are established.
Figure 1. Methodological design
Note. The figure shows the internal structure of the designated methodology, Source: own elaboration.
Phase 1: Data Collection
The data collection was carried out through the Scopus web page search tool, by which a total of 160 publications were identified. For this purpose, search filters were established consisting of:
· Published papers with study variables are related to the Pelagic Fishery and Pelagic Fishes study.
· Limited to Latin American countries.
· Without distinction of area of knowledge.
· Without distinction of type of publication.
Phase 2: Construction of analysis material
The information identified in the previous phase is organized. The classification will be made employing graphs, figures and tables based on data provided by Scopus.
· Word Co-occurrence.
· Year of publication
· Country of origin of the publication.
· Knowledge area.
Phase 3: Drafting conclusions and final document
After the analysis carried out in the previous phase, the study drafted the conclusions and prepared the final document.
Results
Figure 2. Word co-occurrence
Note. The Figure shows the co-occurrence of keywords within the publications identified in the Scopus database, Source: Own elaboration (2022); based on data provided by Scopus.
As shown in Figure 2, the keywords most frequently used in the research identified in Scopus were Pelagic Fishes, directly related to studies on the Pacific Ocean, Fisheries, Atlantic Ocean, Pelagic Fishery, Tuna, Conservation, Responsible Fishing, among others, which indicate the research intention of the authors cited here. This allows for confirming the relevance of the research works identified for developing the present analysis in compliance with its objective. One of the aspects studied in the research related to the small pelagic fishery was the conservation of natural resources, ecosystems, biodiversity and climate change, thus involving an environmental approach that goes hand in hand with responsible fishing practices.
Figure 3. Distribution of scientific production by year of publication.
Note. The Figure shows shows the scientific production distributed according to the year of publication, considering the period from 2017 to 2021, Source: Own elaboration (2022); based on data provided by Scopus.
The volume of scientific production registered in Scopus is characterized by a minimal variation in the number of annual records, especially between 2018 and 2020. During the year 2021, the maximum number of publications within the analyzed period was reached; 31 documents were reported in the Scopus database, coming from Latin American institutions. Among these is the article entitled “Empirical survey-based harvest control rules in a transboundary small pelagic fishery under changes in the recruitment regime: The case of anchoveta from northern Chile-southern Peru,” whose objective was to examine the performance of a survey-based harvest control rule in a transboundary small pelagic fishery under changes in the recruitment regime: The case of anchoveta from northern Chile-southern Peru (Canales & Cubillos, 2021), whose objective was to examine the performance of a harvest control rule for the Chilean fleet in the shared Chile-Peru anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) fishery (16°S-24°S), which is one of the most important stocks in the Humboldt marine ecosystem in the Southeast Pacific, Taking into account that the fishing practices of small pelagic fish are a complex task due to the great variability of environmental and biological processes, within which aspects such as climate, water quality, among others, can benefit or harm this activity due to the population of fish present within the space destined for their exploitation. Among the main contributions of this research, it is determined that using catch control rules would avoid increases in fishing mortality and facilitate management objectives.
Figure 4. Distribution of scientific production by country of origin.
Note. The figure shows how scientific production is distributed according to the nationality of the institutions to which the authors are affiliated, Source: Own elaboration (2022); based on data provided by Scopus.
Brazil was the Latin American country with the highest number of scientific publications registered in Scopus regarding the study of the small pelagic fishery, with a total of 50 documents, followed by Chile with 47, Mexico with 38 and Peru with 16. Ecuador ranked fifth within the Latin American community, with a total of 14 publications, including the article entitled “Change in demand towards sustainable fishing practices in the Darwin archipelago: an experimental application of discrete choice for Galapagos certified yellowfin tuna,” whose objective was to analyze preferences and trade-offs made by individuals through attributes when buying certified yellowfin tuna in the Galapagos. (Tanner et al., 2021), whose objective was to analyze the preferences and trade-offs made by individuals across attributes when purchasing certified fish in Galapagos. Among its main results, it was found that tourists are already more concerned about the responsible consumption of this type of fish, taking into account fishing techniques and restitution, environmental care, bycatch levels associated with its consumption, food safety, quality and whether it is of local origin, and would be willing to pay for these attributes. This supports the design of market-based mechanisms for sustainable fishing of yellowfin tuna in the Galapagos.
Figure 5. Co-citations between countries.
Nota. La figura muestra el flujo de trabajo colaborativo de diferentes países, Source: Own elaboration (2022); based on data provided by Scopus.
The Figure shows how international co-authored publications have been presented in identifying Latin American scientific production related to the analysis of small pelagic fisheries. Thus, there is evidence of collaboration between authors affiliated with Brazilian institutions and researchers from Uruguay, Portugal and the United Kingdom. According to the figure, Chile and Spain have shown co-citations among their researchers. Although Ecuador does not show a high frequency of co-authored research with institutions from other countries, there is evidence of scientific production with authors from Colombia, Peru and even Chile.
Figure 6. Distribution of scientific production by area of knowledge.
Note. The figure shows how the production of scientific publications is distributed according to the area of knowledge through which the different research methodologies are executed, Source: Own elaboration (2022); based on data provided by Scopus.
Due to the nature of the proposed topic, it is coherent to affirm that the area of knowledge with the greatest support in the construction of bibliographic material referring to the analysis of the small pelagic fishery was Agriculture and Biological Sciences with a total of 128 publications, followed by Environmental Sciences with a total of 83 scientific documents indexed in Scopus. The above allows inferring that everything related to environmental conservation and responsible practices within the fishery in Latin America has taken great importance in recent years due to the deterioration of ecosystems by a traditional fishing system that did not take into account for many years the preservation of aspects such as pollution of water bodies, overexploitation, indiscriminate fishing, among others. Among the primary research papers published under the theories of Environmental Sciences, we found the article entitled “Considerations for the evaluation of the management strategy for small pelagic fish,” whose purpose was to summarize the current State of the art (Siple et al., 2021), whose purpose was to summarize the current status of the Management Strategy Evaluation for small pelagic fishes worldwide. This was based on the description of small pelagic fishes (e.g., anchovy, herring and sardine) and their contribution to maintaining biodiversity and environmental balance. The authors drew on expert input from ecologists and modelers to draw attention to sources of uncertainty in the processing and observation of small pelagic species, providing examples of geographic regions where these species are ecologically, economically and culturally important.
CONCLUSIONS
Thanks to the bibliometric analysis proposed for the development of this article, it is possible to conclude that within the Latin American scientific community, authors affiliated with Brazilian institutions have made the most significant contribution to the generation of new knowledge related to the analysis of small pelagic fishery, with a total of 50 documents indexed in the Scopus database, which allows inferring that the study of this practice in that country is even in experimental phases, where research has strengthened the practices of fishing and consumption of this type of fish. On the other hand, these studies were supported mainly by areas of knowledge such as Environmental Sciences, Agriculture and Biological Sciences, which indicates how they have been working in recent years concerning responsible fishing systems in attention to environmental conditions and preservation of these species.
Therefore, it is also possible to confirm the trend in research on topics related to the one proposed in this document by Ecuadorian authors, who, together with researchers from Chile and Peru, have determined the importance of generating new knowledge associated with responsible fishing practices in order to preserve the ideal conditions in the water for the conservation of these species and their responsible consumption. Thanks to these studies, it is possible to determine the importance of scientific research associated with the analysis of small pelagic fishery, so knowing the current status of the literature published on the same topic is a priority for all stakeholders that frame this practice so it is expected to encourage the scientific community to increase their efforts in the analysis of current fishing conditions and evaluate possible opportunities for improvement, always aligned with strategies for environmental care.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
Canales, C. M., & Cubillos, L. A. (2021). Empirical survey-based harvest control rules in a transboundary small pelagic fishery under recruitment regime shifts: The case of the northern Chilean-southern Peruvian anchovy. Marine Policy.
FAO, Organizacion de las Naciones Unidad para la Agricultura y la Alimentacion. (2009). Acuerdo sobre Medidas del Estado rector del puerto para prevenir, desalentar y eliminar la pesca ilegal, no declarado y no regulado (MERP).
López, L. H., Vera, R. J., & Galarza, B. I. (2020). Factores amenazantes del desarrollo sostenible de peces pelágicos en Ecuador desde una óptica gerencial. . Dominio de las Ciencias, 6(1), , 583-600.
Siple, M. C., Koehn, L. E., Johnson, K. F., Punt, A. E., Canales, T. M., Carpi, P., . . . Licandeo, R. (2021). Considerations for management strategy evaluation for small pelagic fishes. Fish and Fisheries, 1167 - 1186.
Tanner, M. K., Olivares-Arenas, M., Puebla, L., & Marin Jarrin, J. R. (2021). Shifting demand to sustainable fishing practices in Darwin’s Archipelago: a discrete choice experiment application for Galapagos’ certified Yellow-fin tuna. Marine Policy.
Canales, T. M., Lima, M., Wiff, R., Contreras-Reyes, J. E., Cifuentes, U., & Montero, J. (2020). Endogenous, climate, and fishing influences on the population dynamics of small pelagic fish in the southern humboldt current ecosystem. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7 doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00082
Cardeñosa, D., Fields, A. T., Shea, S. K. H., Feldheim, K. A., & Chapman, D. D. (2021). Relative contribution to the shark fin trade of indo-pacific and eastern pacific pelagic thresher sharks. Animal Conservation, 24(3), 367-372. doi:10.1111/acv.12644
Carimán, P. J., & Reyes, P. R. (2019). Status of the biological and fishery knowledge of thyrsites atun in the southern hemisphere. [Estado del conocimiento biológico y pesquero de Thyrsites atun en el Hemisferio Sur] Revista De Biologia Marina y Oceanografia, 54(1), 11-20. doi:10.22370/rbmo.2019.54.1.1434
Carpio, A. J., Álvarez, Y., Serrano, R., Vergara, M. B., Quintero, E., Tortosa, F. S., & Rivas, M. L. (2022). By-catch of sea turtles in pacific artisanal fishery: Two points of view: From observer and fishers. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9 doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.936734
Carvalho, F., Castello, L., Ferreira, B., McDonald, G., & Power, M. (2021). Gear selectivity of functional traits in coral reef fisheries in brazil. Coral Reefs, 40(6), 1915-1929. doi:10.1007/s00338-021-02192-w
Castellanos-Jimenez, M. C., Polo-Silva, C. J., Sanjuan-Muñoz, A., & Delgado-Huertas, A. (2021). Trophic inferences of the gray triggerfish balistes capriscus based on stable isotopes analyses, in the colombian caribbean. Journal of Sea Research, 178 doi:10.1016/j.seares.2021.102140
Castro, C., Waerebeek, K. V., Cárdenas, D., & Alava, J. J. (2020). Marine mammals used as bait for improvised fish aggregating devices in marine waters of ecuador, eastern tropical pacific. Endangered Species Research, 41, 289-302. doi:10.3354/ESR01015
Castro-Gutiérrez, J., Cabrera-Castro, R., Czerwinski, I. A., & Báez, J. C. (2022). Effect of climatic oscillations on small pelagic fisheries and its economic profit in the gulf of cadiz. International Journal of Biometeorology, 66(3), 613-626. doi:10.1007/s00484-021-02223-9
Cerutti-Pereyra, F., Moity, N., Dureuil, M., Ramírez-González, J., Reyes, H., Budd, K., . . . Salinas-de-León, P. (2020). Artisanal longline fishing the galapagos islands –effects on vulnerable megafauna in a UNESCO world heritage site. Ocean and Coastal Management, 183 doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.104995
Charles, W. D., Hazin, H., & Travassos, P. (2020). Interactions between cetaceans and the tuna/swordfish pelagic longline fishery in the tropical western atlantic ocean. Fisheries Research, 226 doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105530
Clarke, T. M., Reygondeau, G., Wabnitz, C., Robertson, R., Ixquiac-Cabrera, M., López, M., . . . Cheung, W. W. L. (2021). Climate change impacts on living marine resources in the eastern tropical pacific. Diversity and Distributions, 27(1), 65-81. doi:10.1111/ddi.13181
Coletto, J. L., Botta, S., Fischer, L. G., Newsome, S. D., & Madureira, L. S. P. (2021). Isotope-based inferences of skipjack tuna feeding ecology and movement in the southwestern atlantic ocean. Marine Environmental Research, 165 doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105246
Correia, A. T., Moura, A., Triay-Portella, R., Santos, P. T., Pinto, E., Almeida, A. A., . . . Muniz, A. A. (2021). Population structure of the chub mackerel (scomber colias) in the NE atlantic inferred from otolith elemental and isotopic signatures. Fisheries Research, 234 doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105785
Costa, M. P. V., Cruz, D. R. S., Monteiro, L. S., Evora, K. S. M., & Cardoso, L. G. (2020). Reproductive biology of the mackerel scad decapterus macarellus from cabo verde and the implications for its fishery management. African Journal of Marine Science, 42(1), 35-42. doi:10.2989/1814232X.2020.1721328
Cruz-Rivera, E., Ramírez, C. H., & Vasilieva, O. (2019). Catch-to-stock dependence: The case of small pelagic fishery with bounded harvesting effort. Natural Resource Modeling, 32(1) doi:10.1111/nrm.12193
Cuevas, M. J., Górski, K., Castro, L. R., Vivancos, A., & Reid, M. (2019). Otolith elemental composition reveals separate spawning areas of anchoveta, engraulis ringens, off central chile and northern patagonia. [Composición elemental de otolitos revela áreas de desove separadas de la anchoveta, Engraulis ringens, en Chile central y en el norte de la Patagonia] Scientia Marina, 83(4), 317-326. doi:10.3989/scimar.04918.28A
da Silva, T. E. F., Lessa, R., & Santana, F. M. (2021). Current knowledge on biology, fishing and conservation of the blue shark (prionace glauca). Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 16(1), 71-88. doi:10.3897/neotropical.16.e58691
Darquea, J. J., Ortiz-Alvarez, C., Córdova-Zavaleta, F., Medina, R., Bielli, A., Alfaro-Shigueto, J., & Mangel, J. C. (2020). Trialing net illumination as a bycatch mitigation measure for sea turtles in a small-scale gillnet fishery in ecuador. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research, 48(3), 446-455. doi:10.3856/vol48-issue3-fulltext-2428
De Carvalho-Souza, G. F., González-Ortegón, E., Baldó, F., Vilas, C., Drake, P., & Llope, M. (2018). Natural and anthropogenic effects on the early life stages of european anchovy in one of its essential fish habitats, the guadalquivir estuary. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2018, 67-79. doi:10.3354/meps12562
de Lira, M. G., de Nóbrega, M. F., & Lins Oiveira, J. E. (2017). The industrial pelagic longline fishery from rio grande do norte State, ne brazil. [Caracterização da pescaria industrial de espinhel-de- superfície no rio grande do norte] Boletim do Instituto De Pesca, 43(3), 446-458. doi:10.20950/1678-2305.2017v43n3p446
de Mesquita, G. C., Menezes, R., da Cunha-Neto, M. A., Dantas-Neto, A. B., & da Silva, G. B. (2021). Feeding strategy of pelagic fishes caught in aggregated schools and vulnerability to ingesting anthropogenic items in the western equatorial atlantic ocean. Environmental pollution, 282 doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117021
Dias, B. S., Frisk, M. G., & Jordaan, A. (2022). Contrasting fishing effort reduction and habitat connectivity as management strategies to promote alewife (alosa pseudoharengus) recovery using an ecosystem model. Limnology and Oceanography, 67(S1), S5-S22. doi:10.1002/lno.11871
Dias, B. S., Frisk, M. G., & Jordaan, A. (2019). Opening the tap: Increased riverine connectivity strengthens marine food web pathways. PLoS ONE, 14(5) doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0217008
Domingues, R. R., Bruels, C. C., Gadig, O. B. F., Chapman, D. D., Hilsdorf, A. W. S., & Shivji, M. S. (2019). Genetic connectivity and phylogeography of the night shark (carcharhinus signatus) in the western atlantic ocean: Implications for conservation management. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 29(1), 102-114. doi:10.1002/aqc.2961
Domingues, R. R., Mastrochirico-Filho, V. A., Mendes, N. J., Hashimoto, D. T., Coelho, R., Antunes, A., . . . Mendonça, F. F. (2022). Gene-associated markers as a genomic and transcriptomic resource for a highly migratory and apex predator shark (isurus oxyrinchus). Marine Biology, 169(9) doi:10.1007/s00227-022-04094-z
Duarte de Paula Costa, M., Magris, R. A., Muelbert, J. H., Vieira, J. P., Castello, J. P., Copertino, M. S., & Possingham, H. P. (2022). Spatial zoning to conserve fish species with complex life cycles in estuaries. Ocean and Coastal Management, 221 doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106115
Eddy, T. D., Lotze, H. K., Fulton, E. A., Coll, M., Ainsworth, C. H., de Araújo, J. N., . . . Townsend, H. (2017). Ecosystem effects of invertebrate fisheries. Fish and Fisheries, 18(1), 40-53. doi:10.1111/faf.12165
Ehemann, N. R., Abitia-Cardenas, L. A., Navia, A. F., Mejía-Falla, P. A., & Cruz-Escalona, V. H. (2019). Zeros as a result in diet studies, is this really bad? rhinoptera steindachneri as a case study. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 99(7), 1661-1666. doi:10.1017/S0025315419000511