Newport Festivals Foundation

We conducted a scientific literature review and a comprehensive analysis of data based on international fisheries of wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) to determine catch trends and data gaps among jurisdictions in the Western Central Atlantic Ocean (WCA). This is the first regional catch review for wahoo in the WCA. Based on FAO catch records from 1950 to 2021, reported commercial landings increased nearly fivefold, but 18 nations still do not report commercial wahoo landings to the FAO, yet are known to catch the species. When recreational landings were combined with reported commercial landings for 2019, total direct wahoo catch was 3,547 metric tons, of which 57% was estimated to be recreational. When compared to dolphinfish catch, wahoo was nearly four times lower for the region, but several nations report more substantial wahoo fisheries than dolphinfish fisheries. Despite the importance of the recreational wahoo sector throughout the region, artisanal landings are estimated to be higher according to catch reconstruction data. Similar to dolphinfish, the presence of fish aggregating devices (FADs) in different parts of the WCA, as well as environmental processes (e.g., Sargassum blooms), lead to the presumption that higher amounts of juvenile wahoo may be caught throughout the region, and anecdotal evidence of stock decline has been suggested. Results stress the immediate need for WCA nations to adopt a precautionary approach for proper fishery management of wahoo throughout the WCA, to increase spawning biomass thus strengthening a foundation of long-term overall stock health and conservation.