In the early 1990s, ecological and fishery data from the Gulf of Nicoya (Pacific Ocean) were holistically analyzed, and a trophic model was constructed using the Ecopath modeling approach. The results indicated that this tropical estuary, which is a Costa Rican fishery hot spot, was already overexploited by shrimp trawlers and the longline fleet, and recent observations suggest further deteriorations in this system. To evaluate the ecosystem and socioeconomic changes in the Gulf of Nicoya over the last 20 years, the 1993 model was reconstructed with data from 2013 to compare both system states. Although the summary statistics of both states (i.e., 1993 and 2013) suggested that the system maintained its general functionality and even enabled the total harvest to increase by approximately 20%, a more detailed analysis of the levels of the functional groups suggested that the system was further degraded as follows: (1) most shrimp, eel, and catfish species decreased their share in the catches, with severe economic losses for the fishery; (2) of the species that substantially increased their share in the catches, most were short‐lived, low‐value species, such as small pelagic and small demersal fishes; and (3) catches of long‐lived, high‐trophic‐level fish, such as rays, sharks, mackerels, and barracudas, decreased. A picture emerged in which the advancing fishery of low‐trophic‐level species with low economic value enabled the total harvest to increase, while valuable shrimp resources and higher‐trophic‐level species were depleted. These developments caused a tremendous economic loss of approximately 50%.

中文翻译：

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尼科亚湾（哥斯达黎加）渔业系统：两个十年的变化

在1990年代初期，对来自尼科亚湾（太平洋）的生态和渔业数据进行了整体分析，并使用Ecopath建模方法构建了一个营养模型。结果表明，这个热带河口是哥斯达黎加渔业的热点，虾拖网渔船和延绳钓船队已经过度开发了该河口，最近的观察表明该系统进一步恶化。为了评估尼古亚湾过去20年的生态系统和社会经济变化，采用2013年的数据重建了1993年的模型，以比较两种系统状态。尽管两个州的摘要统计数据（即1993年和2013年）都表明该系统保持了其一般功能，甚至使总收成增加了约20％，对官能团水平的更详细分析表明，该系统进一步退化如下：（1）大多数虾，鳗鱼和cat鱼种类减少了其在渔获物中的份额，给渔业造成了严重的经济损失；（2）在捕捞量中所占比例大幅增加的物种中，大多数是短寿命，低价值物种，例如小型远洋鱼类和小型深海鱼类；（3）长寿命，高营养级别的鱼类（例如rays鱼，鲨鱼，鲭鱼和梭子鱼）的捕捞量减少。出现了一张图片，其中低营养价值低水平物种的先进渔业使总收成增加，而宝贵的虾类资源和高营养水平物种被消耗了。这些事态发展造成了大约50％的巨大经济损失。