| Fisheries play an important role in the socio-economic development of Sao Tome and Principe,although the exploited fishery resources have remained unknown due to extreme data-limiting conditions,which hinder sustainable and effective management.Fish has traditionally been seen as a crucial element in the food and nutritional security of the population,playing a significant role as a source of 85%of animal protein.However,the sustainable management of these resources has recently faced some challenges.This study aims mainly to analyse the dynamics and trends of the state of the fishing fleet caught in the marine waters of Sao Tome and Principe,using data collected from 2000 to 2020,to ensure and promote the creation of a system that includes and integrates the participation of fishing communities in the model of sustainable co-management of fisheries resources.Furthermore,we examined the biological parameters of some of the commercially important species caught by artisanal fishermen in the country’s south and possibly underexploited in STP to provide basic information on length,weight,and condition factors for the future management of these resources.The linear regressions presented for the species analysed were significant for all species(p<0.05),except for Lethrinus atlanticus(Valenciennes,1830),which showed a nonsignificant p-value,with R~2 values ranging from 0.732 to 0.979,rejecting H0 for all species.This shows a significant difference between average weight and length(size and width)within the same species or an appropriate and unrepresentative sample size.The intercept(a)of the LWR ranged from 0.0002 to 2.890,while the slope(b)ranged from 1.457 to 3.514.The overall results of the growth pattern showed that 83%of LWRs had negative allometry,14%had positive allometry and 3%were isometric.As for the total result of the growth by species and by sex,the most represented was negative allometry,with values of 53%for males and 42%for females,while isometric growth represents 6%of the total.The Welch t-test,used to evaluate the differences between the obtained LWRs and those reported in the literature,revealed that most of the LWRs(about 55%)reported in this study agree with those obtained previously by other authors in the coastal marine waters of the southern part of Sao Tome and Principe.The results obtained demonstrate the dynamic nature and importance of Sao Tome and Principe’s fishing industry for the nation’s economic development.According to indices of the abundance of fish stocks,exploitation levels have shown a reduction in recent years of artisanal catch efforts.Most of the main species analyzed face high risks of overfishing according to length-weight-based stock assessments using the updated parameters for snapper species with large maximum sizes.It is expected that the results obtained from this study,despite its limitations,may provide indicators of the status of threatened or overexploited fish stocks to encourage effective management measures and strategies throughout the Sao Tome and Principe fishing community and control fishing efforts to prevent collapse,ensuring the legitimacy and sustainability of fishing activities in Sao Tome and Principe. |
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