The Southern red snapper, Lutjanus purpureus, is a valuable economic resource, especially in international market. However, no recent data are available on the reproductive biology of this species in Brazilian waters, in particular, the stock found on the Amazon reef. The present study evaluated the population structure and reproductive biology of L. purpureus, and the volume of the catch of juveniles taken by the local commercial fisheries. A total of 923 specimens were analyzed, of which, 577 were female and 346 male (sex ratio: 0.6:1; p < 0.05). The analysis of the gonadosomatic index (GSI) and the distribution of maturation stages indicated that the males and females are able to reproduce throughout the year, however the reproductive peak occurs simultaneously with the increase in the water discharge of the Amazon River. The spawning females were registered in the study area, indicating that L. purpureus does not perform long distance reproductive migrations, different from the previously proposed. The Fork length at first sexual maturation (FL50) was estimated to be 35.2 cm in the males and 32.1 cm in the females. The high frequency of juveniles (< FL50) captured by the commercial snapper fleet using longlines (33.67% of the total catch) and traps (42.1%) indicates the poor selectivity of the fishing gear used by the snapper fleet, which may contribute to the accelerated depletion of the L. purpureus stock. Although the results of this study show a catch percentage of juveniles >50%, it is still a significant percentage of juveniles that are being caught due to little or no guidance and enforcement of fishing gear to ensure compliance with current legislation. Considering the data presented in this study and the current situation of declining fish stocks of L. purpureus, an assessment is recommended for the inclusion of the species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which is currently a species categorized as “vulnerable” in the Brazilian Red List.

Elasmobranchs represent a well-defined group, composed of about 1,150 species inhabiting diverse aquatic environments. Currently, several of these species have been classified as threaten due to overexploitation. Therefore, we used DNA barcode to identify traded species of sharks and stingrays in the municipality of Bragança (Amazon coastal region), a major fishery landing site in northern Brazil. We collected a total of 127 samples labeled into 24 commercial nomenclatures over 1-year period. Twenty species were discriminated and 13 of them are recognized under some threatening status. In relation to sharks, Carcharhinidae showed the highest number of species, half of them classified as endangered, followed by hammerhead sharks (Sphyrnidae), with four species also regarded as threatened with extinction. The Rhinopteridae and Dasyatidae rays were the most abundant groups, with trade records of the following threatened species: Rhinoptera brasiliensis, Rhinoptera bonasus, Hypanus berthalutzae, and Fontitrygon geijskesi. It is noteworthy that threatened species of elasmobranchs have been frequently and regularly exploited because of inefficient fishery management policies. Therefore, effective inspection practices need to be incorporated in fisheries, including the use of DNA barcode to enable a reliable method of species authentication and to assure the proper commercialization.

Os espécimes de Macrodon ancylodon foram coletados no período de dezembro de 2010 a novembro de 2011, da costa do Amapá ao litoral do Pará, utilizando duas redes de arrasto simultaneamente para peixes e camarão, e realizadas seis amostragens diárias com duração média de 2h. Em laboratório os estômagos de M. ancylodon foram fixados em formalina à 4 %, retirados para pesagem e análise dos itens alimentares, sendo calculado a Frequência de Ocorrência (Fi), Índice de Análise Volumétrica (Vi), Índice de Importância Alimentar (IIA). Os itens de maior Fi e IIA foram os fragmentos de camarão (Fi= 29,72 e IIA= 742,92), fragmentos de peixe (Fi= 27,83 e IIA= 695,75), Penaeidae (Fi= 8,02 e IIA= 200,47) e Polychaetas (Fi= 6,84 e IIA= 170,99). Com os resultados de ANOVA (a= 5%) foi possível verificar alta significância estatística na relação peso total do indivíduo por zona pesqueira (p<0,01) sendo a Zona 2 (Foz do Amazonas) a de maior média deste fator, assim como a estação chuvosa (p<0,01) confirmado pelo teste de Tukey. Fragmentos de camarão foram os mais frequentes, no entanto, demonstraram menor peso. Por outro lado, os peixes foram menos frequentes, apresentando maior peso. Observa-se que a dieta da espécie é bastante diversificada, principalmente durante o período chuvoso. Esta variedade de componentes alimentares também é observada quanto às classes de tamanho, onde os indivíduos com 15,1 e 20 cm apresentaram uma dieta mais diversificada. O presente estudo constatou que a espécie possui hábitos carnívoros, com preferência primariamente por crustáceos, peixes e Polychaetas.

This manuscript record Penaeus monodon catch in January 2014 with artisanal trap (matapi) in Barreiras creek, Mosqueiro Island, Amazon estuary. This new record is inferred that the species is increasingly inhabiting the waters off the north coast of Brazil, with areas already within the continent.

Snappers, como os Lutjanidae são conhecidos, estão amplamente distribuídos ao longo do Atlântico Ocidental, especialmente espécies do gênero Lutjanus, o mais abundante para esta região. Representam importantes recursos pesqueiros, sendo bastante capturados pela pesca comercial. Para a costa do Brasil, Atlântico Sul Ocidental, as espécies mais capturadas são L. purpureus, L. analis, L. synagris, O. chrysurus e o L. vivanus. Este último é comumente capturado em conjunto com o pargo L. purpureus. O objetivo do trabalho foi reunir dados da Região Controle mitocondrial para essas cinco espécies a fim de discutir aspectos da estrutura genética de suas populações e testar sua eficiência como marcador espécie-específico. Analisamos uma região de 390 pb da porção 5’ para 827 snappers, sendo 107 da espécie L. analis, 240 de L. purpureus, 272 de L. synagris, 56 de L. vivanus e 152 de O. chrysurus. Observamos diferentes níveis de diversidade genética para as cinco espécies, além do intenso compartilhamento de haplótipos em cada uma, sugerindo ampla conectividade genética para a costa do Brasil. Acreditamos que os diferentes padrões de variação observados estão relacionados a história evolutiva das espécies, aliados as peculiaridades bioecológicas de cada uma, sendo um produto de eventos históricos. Por isso, acreditamos que a RC é bastante adequada para a detecção de perda de diversidade resultante de gargalos populacionais históricos, não sendo adequada para a diagnose de sobrepesca. Além disso, comprovamos sua utilidade como marcador espécie-específico, representando uma nova possibilidade de Barcode para Lutjanidae.

In recent years, the populations of many shark species have been depleted drastically around the world. In the present study, we analyzed the shark bycatch in the monthly landing data of the acoupa weakfish (Cynoscion acoupa) gillnet fisheries of the state of Pará, on the northern coast of Brazil, between January 1995 and December 2007. Based on 4,659 landings, we estimated that a total of 1,972.50 tons of shark were taken as bycatch during the study period. The acoupa weakfish fisheries operate on the Amazon Shelf, an important fishing ground, and we analyzed the shark landings in relation to the Amazon River Discharge anomaly (ARD) and the climatic variability in the Atlantic Ocean. We applied cross-correlation, cross-wavelet, wavelet coherence, and redundancy analysis techniques to the analysis of the data time series. The shark bycatch landings peaked between 1998 and 2000, a period associated with an increase in fishing effort by the acoupa weakfish fisheries, in particular during the dry season of the Amazon basin. The cross-correlation analysis indicated that shark landings were associated with Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs), the characteristics of the wind, and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), while the fishing effort of the acoupa weakfish fisheries was associated with the meridional wind component, the AMO, and the ARD. The cross-wavelet and coherence wavelet analyses indicated that environmental variability was linked systematically with shark landings and acoupa weakfish fishing effort. We observed a phase change in this signal between 1998 and 2000, due to a strong and persistent La Niña event. Despite the resistance from the fishing industry, development and deployment of devices designed to reduce bycatch should be incentivized in order to reduce the unintentional capture of endangered species such as sharks. The findings of the present study highlight the importance of a continuous and accurate fishery database, and the need for continuous fishery statistics to ensure adequate management practices. Adequate public fishery management policies must be implemented urgently to guarantee the survival of shark species, with the effective participation of all the actors involved in the process, including managers, researchers, and fishers.

Molecular genetic techniques are an effective monitoring tool, but high-quality DNA samples are usually required. In this study, we compared three different protocols of DNA extraction: NaCl (saline); phenol-chloroform and commercial kit (Promega)—from three biological tissues of five individuals of Lutjanus purpureus under two methods of storage. The evaluated items included DNA concentration and purity, processing time and cost, as well as the obtaining of functional sequences. The highest average values of DNA concentration were obtained using the saline procedure and the commercial kit. Pure DNA was only obtained using the saline protocol, evaluated by the ratio of 260/280. The saline and phenol-chloroform protocols were the least expensive methods. The commercial kit costs are counterbalanced by the short time required. The procedure based on phenol-chloroform presented the worst results regarding DNA yield and the time required to perform all steps. The saline and commercial kit protocols showed similar results concerning the amount and quality of extracted DNA. Therefore, the final choice should be based on the available financial resources and the available time for carrying out each procedure of DNA extraction.

Fish local knowledge is important to recognize species and contribute to conservation and management strategies. Thus, our aim was to provide diagnostic information for the rapid identification of Mugilidae species in Caeté-Taperaçu Extractive Reserve in Bragança (PA) in northern Brazil. A total of 28 fishers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Most of the interviewees have lived in their resident village since birth and have been involved in artisanal fishers for at least 12 years. Eight generic folk taxa were identified, including ‘tainha’, which was the vernacular name most used to define the Mugil genus. Each scientific species had at least two folk generic taxa and one species. Mugil curema, M. rubrioculus, and M. trichodon were all included in the same ethnospecies, ‘tainha chata’. Most of the scientific species were referred to at least once as the ethnospecies ‘caica’, this name was applied most often to Mugil brevirostris, which is the smallest species found in northern Brazil. The principal characteristics used by the fishers were morphological traits, however, some behavioral characteristics were also taken into account. These findings should contribute to the elaboration of ethnotaxonomic keys that facilitate the rapid identification of Mugil harvested by the region’s artisanal and industrial fisheries.