Abstract

The southern king crab (SKC) (Lithodes santolla) represents an important fishery in South America, which in Chile has traditionally been developed south of 47 degrees S. Since 2010, the SKC fishery has increased its landing range in the Chilean inner sea from similar to 41 degrees S to similar to 47 degrees S and expanded its offshore fishing areas. In this study, we analyzed data from landings collected by the government (Sernapesca), and monitoring data collected by the Instituto de Fomento Pesquero (IFOP). We identified: (i) a first early phase of the SKC fishery with landings of around 200 t annually, and (ii) a second phase characterized by increased landings (similar to 1000 t annually), an increased number of boats and fishing trips, the offshore expansion of fishing zones, and a decreasing trend in yields. This second phase appears to have been driven mainly by the high price commanded by king crabs around the world (around US$ 18/kg FOB in 2011) and the resulting increased fishing effort (similar to 1000%). This male-only crab fishery is managed by "the 3S rule" (Sex, Season, and Size), and landing records consider a spatial stratification in the study area which separates inner sea and offshore areas. Monitoring is concentrated in the inner sea, where ovigerous females are between 16% and 46% of the female catches, with a size >7 cm of carapace length. Females show interannual variability in their clutch fullness. We propose improving the monitoring of this important fishery and revising management rules in order to establish a temporal reproductive refuge (e.g. to extend closed season). (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.