Humboldt (Southern)

Following a historical maximum in mid 1990s, total landings have since declined. This is the result of significant reductions in total allowable catch of horse mackerel and hake which sustain the main pelagic and demersal industrial fleets. These two species exhibited noticeable stock declines with no signs of recovery in late 1990s (horse mackerel) and early 2000s (Chilean hake), leading to an increase in the proportion of small pelagic fishes. These changes in the composition of the landings are reflected in the trend of some indicators. In the long-term period (1980-2005), significant declines occurred in total biomass and mean trophic level of landings (TL). In the short-term (1996-2005), there was a significant increase in fish size, while the decline in TL was still significant.