Assessing the sustainability of yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus) harvest

Abstract

Sustainable wildlife management is necessary to guarantee the viability of source populations; but it is rarely practiced in the tropics. The yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus) has long been harvested for its leather. Since 2002 its harvest has operated under a management program in northeastern Argentina, which relies on adaptive management practices, that limit the minimum body length permitted for harvesting, the number of active hunters and the length of hunting seasons. Here we investigated the effects of yellow anaconda harvest on its demography based on 2002–2019 data and show that exploitation levels are sustainable. The gradual reduction in annual hunting effort, due to a decrease in the number of hunters and hunting season duration, reduced the total number of anacondas harvested. Conversely, captures per unit effort increased across the study period. The body size of anacondas was not influenced by the harvesting, and more females than males were caught. We also found that a decrease in mean temperature positively influenced anaconda harvest and the capture of giant individuals. Because sustainable use is a powerful tool for conservation, and anacondas are widespread in South America, these discoveries are highly applicable to other species and regions.

Sexual dimorphism and reproductive biology of commercially harvested oriental rat snakes (Ptyas mucosa: Colubridae) from West Java

“…In South America, sustainability issues have been examined for taxa such as tegu lizards (Tupinambis spp. : Fitzgerald 1994;Mieres and Fitzgerald 2006) and yellow anaconda (Euectes notaeus) (Camera et al 2020). In Indonesia, repeated surveys at processing facilities suggest that the harvest has not caused any shift in monitored parameters of reticulated pythons (Malayopython reticulatus) but has been associated with a reduction in body condition, size at maturation and reproductive frequency in female blood pythons (Python brongersmai) (Natusch et al 2019(Natusch et al , 2020.…”

Disentangling the Anacondas: Revealing a New Green Species and Rethinking Yellows

“…On the other hand, the conservation status of anacondas throughout their range is largely unexplored, although Eunectes species are protected from international trade by CITES's Appendix 2 [51][52][53]. Eunectes species are often persecuted by humans and used for commercial trade [51,[54][55][56][57][58]. All anaconda species are potentially collected locally, nationally, and internationally for medicinal and clothing purposes [51,59].…”

“…Eunectes species are often persecuted by humans and used for commercial trade [51,[54][55][56][57][58]. All anaconda species are potentially collected locally, nationally, and internationally for medicinal and clothing purposes [51,59].…”

“…Eunectes notaeus is locally threatened by agricultural development and hydroelectric dams. It is also collected for the pet trade and harvested for its skin [58,63]. Eunectes beniensis is also listed as "least concern" throughout its range [64].…”