Hermit crabs associated to the shrimp bottom-trawl fishery along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Central America

Studies of the bycatch associated to the shrimp trawling fishery in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica do not assess small organisms (< 10 cm TL) and non-dominant species (< 0.1% of total catch). There is a void in assessing the maintenance of the ecology and ecosystem on which the fishery depends. Furthermore, the Constitutional Court of Costa Rica prohibited the renewal of existing and the issuing of new shrimp bottom-trawl licenses, indicating the necessity of more scientific information on the impacts of this fishery. We present the results of a 23-month study of the shrimp bottom-trawl fishery performed between 50 and 350 m deep in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. A total of 109 hermit crabs were collected (six species and two families). Paguristes cf. holmesi was the most common species. Zone II presented the highest species richness and abundance. Most specimens (81.8 %) were caught in shallower waters (50-149 m). More than 45% of the trawls presented hermit crabs. It is imperative to further assess the trawling effects on non-commercial benthic fauna and changes on predator-prey relationships before issuing new shrimp licenses