Biology and management options for flyingfish in the Eastern Caribbean

Flyingfish is the most important individual species group in the Martinican fishery, with 370 mt caught in 1987 (11,3 % of the total). The fishery operates on the west coast of the island, using gillnets and open boats powered by outboard engines. The fishery is seasonal, with virtually no flyingfish catch being landed between august and november, low catches in february and march and relatively high catches for the remainder of the year. In the Southern landing sites, fishermen saitch their activity between flyingfish and large pelagics. The flyingfish fishery is not limited by the resource, but marketing problems, which leads the fishermen to limit their own catch. As a result, a project has been implemented at a central landing site to improve the landed value of flyingfish through processing (filleting and smoking). (Résumé d'auteur)