Between October 2004 and February 2005,
the monitoring of catches by artisanal fishermen was
carried out monthly in three places in the
REMACAM, which is located in northwestern
Ecuador in the Province of Esmeraldas on the border
with Colombia (Fig. 1). Sampling comprised 73
effective days as follows: 29 days in San Lorenzo,
22 in Tambillo and 22 in Palma Real. In the area,
fishing tasks start early in the morning (about 06:00)
and end late in the afternoon (about 18:30). In all
monitored catches, driftnets, whose mesh size ranged
from ¼ to 4 inches (mostly 2 ¾ inches) were used.