Fishers’ Knowledge and Seahorse Conservation in Brazil

Many species of seahorses and pipefishes (family Syngnathidae) are traded for medicinal purposes and aquaria; some are also sold as souvenirs or curiosities. Brazil is one of the main suppliers of seahorses for the international aquarium trade, nevertheless, little is known about the magnitude of that trade in the country. With regards to pipefishes, virtually nothing is known about their captures for ornamental purposes in Brazil. The present study assesses the magnitude of captures and trade of seahorses and pipefishes, based on data obtained through a collaborative monitoring program established with the main retailer of marine ornamental organisms in the State of Bahia. The syngnathid fishery is conducted in shallow waters never exceeding 7 m, generally by breathhold diving. Both seahorses and pipefishes are mostly caught by hand, and only rarely hand-nets or plastic bags are used. From January/1997 to June/2005, 152 fishers recorded their daily catches of syngnathids. Two species of seahorses, Hippocampus reidi and H. cf. erectus (9,793 specimens captured from 1997 to 2005) and three species of pipefishes, Cosmocampus albirostris, Micrognathus sp. and Syngnathus sp. (143 specimens captured from 1999 to 2005) were traded. H. reidi was the most heavily exploited species.

Journal of Ethnobiology, 2023

The Pacific seahorse (Hippocampus ingens) is an important cultural and economic resource for coastal communities in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. However, the conservation of this species is threatened by overfishing, habitat loss, and lack of awareness about its ecological importance. In this study, we examine the local ecological knowledge and use of the Pacific seahorse by residents of Sinaloa. Through ethnographic interviews and participant observation, we document the traditional knowledge and practices associated with this species, including its habitat, behavior, and uses. We find that local ecological knowledge has played a crucial role in the management and conservation of the Pacific seahorse, and that community-based approaches are necessary to address the conservation challenges facing this species. Our study provides important insights into the role of traditional ecological knowledge in marine conservation and highlights the need for more collaborative and participatory approaches to marine management and conservation in Sinaloa and other coastal regions.

Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 2008

This study was carried out to fill the gaps that remain under Hippocampus reidi biology. Analysis of variations of sex ratio, density, breeding season, distribution and home range of a population of the endangered Brazilian seahorse H. reidi from a rocky shore on Araçatiba beach, Ilha Grande, Brazil were carried out. Araçatiba beach is a tourist Environmental Protected Area, suffering antropic pressure. A fixed population of H. reidi was studied, where al lthe individuals were visually tagged and sex, reproductive state and location on site were identified from December 2002 to November 2004. A total of 20 individuals were visually tagged with a mean density of 0.18 m-2. Sex ratios were skewed, with more females than males. All the males brooded during 13 months and presented smaller home range than the females during the breeding season. The highest densities were found on shallowest areas.

Anais Da Academia Brasileira De Ciencias, 2023

This study compares local ecological knowledge (LEK) of fishers from the Southwest Atlantic Ocean (SWAO), Brazil, related to the franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei). We conducted 330 ethnographic interviews in ten fishing communities in southern and southeastern Brazil between 2012 and 2018. Boolean or Classic Logic was used to identify 95 fishers who were able to recognize the franciscana dolphin accordingly to the taxonomic entity P. blainvillei: 23 in northern Espírito Santo state, one in southern Espírito Santo, 20 in northern Rio de Janeiro state, and 51 in northern Paraná state. Among these 95 fishers, 87.4% (n = 83) reported incidental captures in fishing nets. Among these, 52 (54.7%) did not know any solution to this problem. Interviews revealed that the fishers usually discard carcasses in the sea after fat and muscle tissue are removed so that they can be used as bait for shark fishing or as food. In Southeastern Brazil, fishers LEK related to their ability to identify franciscana dolphin varied from 'no identification' and 'extremely low identification' to 'partial' and 'good identification,' while in southern Brazil, fishers mainly presented a 'good identification' of the dolphins. We propose comanagement actions to conserve the franciscana dolphin in the SWAO.

Neotropical Ichthyology, 2012

We analyzed fishermen's local ecological knowledge (LEK) about the feeding habits, trophic interactions, habitats, fishing grounds, migration, and reproduction of nine coastal fishes in Búzios Island, southeastern Brazilian coast. We interviewed 39 fishermen using standardized questionnaires. Fishermen's LEK on habitat use and trophic interactions for the studied fishes agreed with the scientific literature, allowing the organization of reef and pelagic food webs. The interviewed fishermen mentioned that submerged rock formations would be important habitats for some large commercial fishes, such as Seriola spp., Caranx latus and Epinephelus marginatus. In some instances there was no scientific data to be compared with fishermen's LEK, and thus this kind of knowledge would be the only available source of information, such as for reproduction and migration of most of the studied fishes. We suggest herein ways to apply fishermen's LEK to develop and improve fisheries management measures, such as zoning of marine space, marine protected areas, and closed fishing seasons. Fishermen's LEK may be an important and feasible support to fisheries management and co-management.

Background: Although fishers' knowledge has been recently considered into management programmes, there is still the need to establish a better understanding of fishers' perceptions and cognition. Fishers can provide novel information on the biology and ecology of species, which can potentially be used in the management of fisheries. The knowledge fishers have and how they classify nature is empirically based. It is common, for example, to observe that fishers' taxonomy is often represented by the generic level, one of the hierarchical categories of folk classification that is somewhat analogous to the Linnean genus, as it groups organisms of a higher rank than the folk species.In this study we compiled the knowledge fishers have on local fish, such as their folk names, diet and habitat. Methods: Five coastal communities widely distributed along the Brazilian coast were studied: two from the northeast (Porto Sauípe and Itacimirim, in Bahia State, n of interviewees = 34), two from the southeast (Itaipu at Niterói and Copacabana at Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro State, n = 35) and one from the south coast (Pântano do Sul, in Santa Catarina State, n = 23). Fish pictures were randomly ordered and the same order was presented to all interviewees (n = 92), when they were then asked about the species name and classification and its habitat and diet preferences. Results: Fishers make clusters of fish species, usually hierarchically; fishers of the coast of Brazil use mostly primary lexemes (generic names) to name fish; and fishers did not differentiate between scientific species, since the same folk generic name included two different scientific species. Fishers provide information on species to which there is scarce or no information on diet and habitat, such as Rhinobatos percellens (chola guitarfish, arraia viola or cação viola), Sphoeroides dorsalis (marbled puffer, baiacu), Mycteroperca acutirostris (comb grouper, badejo) and Dasyatis guttata (longnose stingray, arraia, arraia manteiga). Conclusions: fishers' knowledge on fish diet and fish habitat can be strategic to management, since their knowledge concentrates on the fishery target species, which are the ones under higher fishing pressure. Besides, fishers showed to have knowledge on species still poorly known to science.

PeerJ

BackgroundThe use of ornamental fish as pets has important implications for the conservation of the species used in fish keeping, particularly in relation to overexploitation. Understanding ornamental fish keepers’ relationship with the hobby can provide important information for assessing the potential impacts of the activity. Here, we analyzed the profile of Brazilian ornamental fish keepers and evaluated their preferences and the implications of their choices.MethodsInformation was obtained by applying questionnaires to 906 ornamental fish keepers participating in fish keeping groups in a social network. The questionnaire contained questions about the species of fish kept (freshwater and marine), techniques used, socio-economic aspects, and associated conservation perspectives.ResultsMost ornamental fish keepers were young men (20–40 years old), with higher education and monthly income above US$ 530.00. Participants predominantly kept freshwater fish (86%), but marine fish only (...

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2015

Background: Data derived from studies of fishers' local ecological knowledge (LEK) can be invaluable to the proposal of new studies and more appropriate management strategies. This study analyzed the fisher's LEK about trophic relationships of fishes in the southeastern Brazilian coast, comparing fishers' LEK with scientific knowledge to provide new hypotheses. Methods: The initial contacts with fishers were made through informal visits in their residences, to explain the research goals, meet fishers and their families, check the number of resident fishers and ask for fishers' consent to participate in the research. After this initial contact, fishers were selected to be included in the interviews through the technique of snowball sampling. The fishers indicated by others who attended the criteria to be included in the research were interviewed by using a semi-structured standard questionnaire. Results: There were interviewed 26 artisanal fishers from three communities of the Ilhabela: Jabaquara, Fome and Serraria. The interviewed fishers showed a detailed knowledge about the trophic interactions of the studied coastal fishes, as fishers mentioned 17 food items for these fishes and six fish and three mammals as fish predators. The most mentioned food items were small fish, shrimps and crabs, while the most mentioned predators were large reef fishes. Fishers also mentioned some predators, such as sea otters, that have not been reported by the biological literature and are poorly known. Conclusions: The LEK of the studied fishers showed a high degree of concordance with the scientific literature regarding fish diet. This study evidenced the value of fishers' LEK to improve fisheries research and management, as well as the needy to increase the collaboration among managers, biologists and fishers.

E3S Web of Conferences, 2018

Seahorse (Hippocampus spp.) has a high economic value in Bintan Island that leads to its exploitation by coastal community intensively. This study was to assess local knowledge on seahorse ecology which was captured across shoreline near the coastal communities. The research was conducted in SebongPereh village Bintan Island. The data were collected by conducting depth interviews and focus group discussion on seahorse fishermen which was selected purposively. The results revealed local fishermen have ecological knowledge related to habitat types, behavior, and monthly variation in abundance, size and reproduction pattern. The result also showed that the existence of the seahorse during the catch season moves around, follow the condition of the seaweed and tidal of sea water. This local knowledge was used by fishermen as a strategy in determining the fishing time and catchment area of a seahorse. Through such local wisdom, local fishing communities established a local institution to manage conversation and sustainability use of seahorse in waters of SebongPereh village.

Biodiversidade Brasileira, 2022

In Brazil, there is the tourist attraction of interacting with seahorses, which occurs through raft rides, during which the animals are captured and displayed in glass containers to be photographed and filmed by tourists. Two federal protected marine areas where this activity takes place were monitored, Jericoacoara National Park (monitored area of 600 m 2), in the state of Ceará, and Environmental Protection Area (EPA) Delta do Parnaíba (monitored area of 547 m 2), in the state of Piauí. Between 2011 and 2015, in both PMAs, the active search for animals was carried out by snorkeling during low tide, and the only species found was Hippocampus reidi, with 1286 sightings of seahorses in the National Park and 602 in the EPA. Results such as the mean height at formation of the male brood pouch (11.35 and 11.52 cm at EPA and National Park, respectively), size at first sexual maturity (14.2 and 14.7 cm, respectively) and reproductive period throughout the year were very similar between the populations of the two protected areas. All sites in both PMAs suffered a significant reduction in seahorse population during the study, except for the site P2 in EPA where the seahorse numbers remained stable throughout the study.