Analysis of the trophy sport fishery for the speckled peacock bass in the Rio Negro River, Brazil

Abstract The middle portion of the Rio Negro River in Brazil near the equator supports a popular recreational sport fishery for speckled peacock bass,Cichla temensis(Humboldt). The objective of this study was to determine the effect of fishing mortality on this population. Fish were collected from sport‐fishing (n = 72) and commercial (n = 103) catches and otoliths were aged to estimate longevity, growth and natural mortality. Recreational anglers in this region seek to catch, then release, larger speckled peacock bass; and fish larger than 62 cm standard length (SL) (about 4.5 kg) served as a bench mark to assess the potential impact of subsistence and commercial harvest on the abundance of larger fish in the sport fishery. Time of opaque band formation on otoliths generally coincided with the dry season (November to April); these bands appeared to form once per year, but formation was highly variable. Speckled peacock bass grew to 62 cm SL on average in 6.4 years, but some fish obtained this size in 4–5 years. Maximum age was 9 years, but most fish were less than 7 years. Instantaneous annual natural mortality (M) estimated from maximum size, longevity and growth ranged from 0.19 to 0.44. Simulation modelling predicted that exploitation rates of fish >25 cm SL similar to the estimated natural mortality rates would reduce the abundance of fish >62 cm by 67–89% compared with no harvest. Even modest exploitation rates of 5% and 10% would result in approximately 30–50% reduction, respectively, of these larger fish. Abundance of large speckled peacock bass that sustains the sport fishery is susceptible to low rates of exploitation in this remote region of Brazil.