Pomacea patula catemacensis culture as a fish production strategy for aquaculture producers in Catemaco Veracruz

Abstract

In the structure of freshwater ecosystems, mollusks form an essential part and are closely related to the way of life of the inhabitants that are found on the banks of water bodies. Lake Catemaco is located within the five largest lakes in Mexico, with its own hydrological basin of 72.54 kilometers2, (Pérez y Torres 1992) presents an important fishing production for the region, and as expected it has endemic species with potential for development of aquaculture, it is a body of water from which different fishing resources are extracted, which in turn are used by local people (Lorán et al. 2013). Pomacea patula catemacensis (tegogolo), occupies the fourth place of importance in the fishing production in Catemaco Veracruz, being a reference of gastronomy in the region of  Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, however, there are no studies on the size of its populations, although it is known that in the last decade production has been decreasing, it is considered that little more than 60%, due to extractive fishing. Therefore, the production designs based on the captive management of the tegogolo should be considered as a strategy to balance their populations. To date, there are few techniques to achieve the domestication of P. patula catemacensis through the design of production systems, preventing the constant low population density and the danger of extinction (INEGI 2010). The results obtained allowed us to identify that according to the uses and customs, in the Catemaco region, P. patula catemacensis is being captured without strict control in this regard, so it is necessary to develop and study bio-techniques, and present strategies for the production of the mollusk,  to recover the populations in the body of water. It was concluded that the species P. patula catemacensis can be cultivated in enclosures that allow its control, with the support to producers through training programs for the establishment of crops and thus achieve sustainable use.