ShrimpBook Ocean Cucalon

Cucalon, E. (1989) Oceanographic Characteristics Off the Coast of Ecuador.

A SUSTAINABLE SHRIMP MARICULTURE
INDUSTRY FOR ECUADOR
Edjttd by Stephen Olsen and Luis Arrlaga

OceanographicCharacteristicsOff the Coast of Ecuador
CaracterfsticasOceanogr6ficasfrente a la Costa del Ecuador
Emilio Cucal6n
Resumen
prevalecientes
En el presentetrabajoseresaltanlasprincipalescaracteristicas
frentea
oceanogriificas
la costadeEcuador,su variabilidadestacional
e interanual.Sepresentan
algunasevidenciasde como
variacionesineranueales
de bajafrecunciaen lasconcdionesocieanogrdficas
de la regi6n,El fendmenode el
Niflo, inducencambiossignificativosen la compsocipoy distribucidnde aguns de lasmdsimportantes

pesquer(as,
provocandoel descalabrode unasy foreciendoel desarrollode oEas. Asio por ejemplo,duranteel
desarrollodel riltimo fen6menodeEl Niflo en 1982-83,la pesquriadepecespelpagicosde granimportancia
japonicus),sardinas(Sardinops
comercialcomomacarela(Scomber
sagax,Estremeres
teres)y pincahagua
(Opisthonema
spp.)fue driisticamente
reducida,mientrasquela pesqueria
del carnar6nalcanz6nivlesnunca
antesregistrados.
Sedestacan,adem6s,otrostiposde variabilidadinteranualde caracteristicay frecuenciasdiferentesa
lasdeEl Nlflo, lascualespodriantambidnestarrelacinadas
ocnfluctuaciones
en algunaspesquierias.Tal es
el casodel "FrenteEcuatorial"queduranteel inviemo de 1985estuvom6sal nortede sulimite usual,
originandoquelasaguascosterassean2oC mdsfriasquelo esperado.En esteaflolascapturastotalesde los
pequeflos
pecespeldgicos(macarela,

sardinas)
superdel mill6n de toneladas,
constituyenasiun recorden
estaspesquerfas.

185

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Coastal Resources Center,

Graduate School of Oceanography,
University of Rhode Island
220 South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA 02882
Telephone: 401.874.6224
http://www.crc.uri.edu
Citation:
Cucalon, E. (1989) Oceanographic Characteristics Off the Coast of Ecuador.
In: Olsen, S. and Arriaga, L., editors. A Sustainable Shrimp
Mariculture Industryfor Ecuador. Narragansett, RI: Coastal Resources Center,
University of Rhode Island

Summary
The main seasonaland interannualvariationsin oceanogmphiccharacteristicsoff *re Ecuadorian
asto how low frequency
coastareprcsentedin thispaper.In addition,someevidenceis presented
inducesignificantchangesin
Nino)
region
conditionsof the

@.l
interannualvariationsin theoceanographic
some,andfavoringthe of
collapse
the
fisheries,
causing
important
the compositionanddistributionof
in 1982'83'
phenomenon
last
El
Niflo
the
of
development
during
*re
example,

For
others.
developmentof
japonicus),
sardines
suchasmackerel{scontber
tf," p"figi. iisheriesof greatcommercialirnportance,
weredrasticallyreduced,while the
giainips sagax,
Etruieus teres)andpinchagu (Opistlonema.spp.),
besidesthoseof El Niflo, which
variability
;h.t p fisnerj reactredrecordlevels. Ottrertinds-of inerannual
presented'
are
also
fisheries,
in
some
coolOf*e*isl be relatedto fluctuations

Introduction
their
countriesaroundthe world recognizethevltal necessityofincreasing
All the seacoast

.oiditio*inl_*:::9::::f::*19:*:*l:
rnowleoffJo"uffiffi;ilutionr ofo.*nographic
calteadministered'q9,Tp]f
tlrgr
t*;;
of
the
r";r;;urces
;'ffiHH#liri.
f^.1tlgl.1l^*

ru.;'#i;;;;";Giii"ro*ioid"uadorpresent'q*1,,"_ry!ily:,0^l,l**I::1
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of thecountrv'

ontheeconomv
impact
r"."t"tthathasanimportant
;;ffiffi;;;elifi;;;ffi".,.

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^|orantaricfins

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it is crucialthat
of fishandcrus[aceans,
orr-y speci_e9
ordisnibution

likewise;fffi;t",i;i;ilnd-r.

trJ#i:: il'#rffiffi;;;;;tJ.;-";;;;oine

riving
between
ofrhererationships
; pissiule
-^r^ri

^- ^Li-^

Lot."aan

lirrinc

conditions'
andenvironmental
resources

Study Area

situatedimmediatelyoff the coast
The studyzoneis an zreaof the eastemequatorial?acinc^lce1
is a transitionzonebetweenthe
from loN to 3o2Q'S-,
of Ecuador.This area,which extendslatitudinalli
asthe areaof theeastern
defined
is
Bight
Panama
ropical and subtropic.l;.git";;:" i; O" "otitt, irtl
(about
of Panama(about9oN) andPunlaSantaElena
ropical PacificOceantnult", betweentheIsthmus
1)'
andEcuadorto about8loW longitude@gure
2oS),andextendsfrom thecoastsof Panama,colombia
water' To the south',off
by warm (>25oC),low salinity(