Articulo

Composición, abundancia y distribución de las poblaciones de gasterópodos
de importancia comercial en La Guajira, Caribe colombiano
Ramón Nieto-Bernal1*, Luis Chasqui V.1*, Angélica María Rodríguez R.2, Erick Castro G.3 &
Diego L. Gil-Agudelo1
1.

Programa de Biodiversidad y Ecosistemas Marinos, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras, Cerro Punta de
Betín, Santa Marta, Colombia, A.A.1016; ramonnieto2000@yahoo.es, luis_chasqui@invemar.org.co,
dl_gil@yahoo.com
2. Programa de Maestría en Ciencias-Biología, Línea Biología Marina, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá
D.C., Colombia; amrodriguezri@unal.edu.co
3. Secretaria de Agricultura y Pesca, Gobernación Departamento Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa
Catalina, Colombia; ecastro@sanandres.gov.co
*Correspondencia
Recibido 30-I-2012.

Corregido 15-IX-2012.

Aceptado 11-X-2012.

Abstract: Composition, abundance and distribution of populations of commercially important gastropods
in La Guajira, Colombian Caribbean. In the continental Colombian Caribbean the conch resource exploitation and the status of snails populations has been poorly studied, which are reflected in the lack of fisheries
management.This study assesses composition, population density and distribution of the gastropods species
that make conch resource in La Guajira region. Underwater visual censuses for snails were performed between
September-November 2009 in 145 100x4m (400m2) transects, spanning a total area of 56 920m2 between
Riohacha and Cabo de la Vela. The study was complemented with the evaluation of composition,abundance
and size of gastropods conch found in the discarded-by-fishermen shell mounds in 13 beaches. In October 2010
another 40 transects were evaluated (16 000m2) from the Southern of Riohacha to the Camarones village (La
Guajira). We found a total of 9 911 snails belonging to 12 species, the most abundant being Strombus pugilis
with 8 912 individuals and an average density of 1 538.4±3 662.6 ind./ha ,followed by Vasum muricatum with
374 individuals and an average density of 51.8±91.2 ind./ha. Calculating the importance value index (IVI) for
both living organisms as the empty shells on beaches, shows that Turbinella angulata is the most used species
by artisanal fishermen in the region. Cassis madagascariensis and Cassis tuberosa are also important snail
resources in the region (as suggestedby the number of empty shells found in beaches), but its densities were
low. Strombus gigas, with only three living organisms found in the area, presented the lowest abundance ever
found in the Colombian Caribbean (0.52±3.6 ind./ha), showing that queen conch population in La Guajira cannot support commercial exploitation. The abundance of discarded S. gigas shells on beaches suggests resourceexploitation in the recent past. Results remarks the urgency of implementing management plans for snail fisheries in the region. Rev. Biol. Trop. 61 (2): 683-700. Epub 2013 June 01.
Key words: gastropod, resource snail, Turbinella angulata, Strombus gigas, La Guajira, Colombian Caribbean.

Se estima que más del 75% de los recursos
marinos del planeta se encuentran en estado de
sobre-explotación (FAO2005, Maguire et al.
2006). Un ejemplo de esto son los gasterópodos, que son utilizados principalmente como
fuente de proteínas para humanos, además de
ser usados mundialmente en la producción de
artesanías, accesorios de moda como botones

o aplicaciones en la formulación de lacas y
champú (Nash 1993).
En todas las latitudes existen actividades
pesqueras sobre el recurso caracol. En el Mar
deBering, por ejemplo, los caracoles de los
géneros Neptunea y Buccinum soportan una
alta presión pesquera desde principios de los
70´s (MacIntosh 1980). En el Oeste del Océano

Rev. Biol. Trop. (Int. J. Trop. Biol. ISSN-0034-7744) Vol. 61 (2): 683-700, June 2013

683

Índico, Este del Pacífico y el Sudeste Asiático,
el caracol verde (Turbo marmoratus), el caracol Trochus (Trochus niloticus) y los...