GRADIENTE LATITUDINAL DA BETA DIVERSIDADE DA FAUNA ACOMPANHANTE DAS PESCARIAS INDUSTRIAIS DE CAMARÕES MARINHOS DA COSTA NORTE DO BRASIL

Industrial shrimp fisheries in northern Brazil use vessels equipped with trawls of low selectivity that capture considerable amounts of non-target bycatch species, and consequently, generate fauna biomass. In this study, we aimed to examine the composition and distribution of ichthyofaunal bycatches associated with pink shrimp industrial fishery between May 2010 and June 2011. Seven vessels were monitored for a period of151 travel days, during which trawls were towed 461 times. The northern coast was subdivided into the Para Continental Platform, Amazonas River Estuary (ARE), and Amapa Continental Platform (ACP). Perciformes was the most abundant order (68.91%); Sciaenidae, the most abundant family (55.89%); and Macrodon ancylodon , the most abundant species (23,48%). ARE and ACP are regions with high biological diversity and density of species and similar ichthyofauna. The similarities between ARE and ACP regions can be attributed to the Guiana Current, which carries most of the water drained from the rivers of the Amazon Basin along the coast of Amapa; it promotes the high productivity of these regions. Monitoring of shrimp trawl fishing in the northern coast of Brazil can contribute to the preservation of populations of endemic animal species such as Macrodon ancylodon and Stellifer rastrifer , which are frequently associated with shrimp bycatch and therefore, particularly affected by this type of fishing. Keywords: Farfantepenaeus subtilis ; fish; Sciaenidae; industrial fishing.