Temporal Trends in Relative Abundance of Billfish and Other Large Pelagic Fish in Recreational Fisheries of Costa Rica

ABSTRACT Fishing tourism of sailfish and accompanying species represents a significant source of income for Costa Rica. However, little information is available regarding trends in the availability of these species to recreational fleets. We estimated temporal trends in catch per unit effort (CPUE) for sailfish, marlins, yellowfin tuna, and mahi mahi using recreational fisheries data from the central and south Pacific coast of Costa Rica during 2011–2023. The CPUE declined for sailfish but increased or remained stable for the other species. The decrease in CPUE for sailfish was correlated with an increase in commercial longline sailfish landings and, to a lesser extent, with sea surface temperature (SST). The increase in CPUE for the other species was positively correlated with SST and with commercial landings, except for tuna. Our results suggest that local commercial fisheries and environmental variability are affecting the availability of sailfish for the recreational fishery. We strongly suggest that our findings be included in national fisheries management initiatives.