Between June and September (beginning of the fishing period), 88% of the catch is obtained by the use of the artificial shelters ( pesqueros ) in the Gulf of Batabano, while from October to February, a mass migration occurs and 70% of the catch is obtained using traps joined by nets ( jaulones ). Fishing mortality rates, catchabilities and the selection curves of the fishing gears operated during both seasons for the period 1982-1993 were calculated. Taking into account that jaulon catchability is 2.33 times pesquero catchability, the optimum allocation of the fishing effort was assessed through a predictive age-based model.