When Does this Fish Spawn? Fishermen’s Local Knowledge of Migration and Reproduction of Brazilian Coastal Fishes

Abstract

Fishermen's local knowledge of fishing resources may be an important source of information to improve artisanal tropical fisheries management, such as those found in Brazil, where most data on fish biology is lacking. We aim to study the local ecological knowledge that Brazilian coastal fishers have about reproductive aspects (season, places and migration) of 13 coastal fish species of commercial importance. We selected fishermen with more than 30 years of fishing practice and we interviewed a total of 67 fishermen: 29 from the southeastern coast, from the communities of Puruba, Almada, Picinguaba and Bertioga, and 38 from the northeastern coast, from the communities of Valença, Arembepe and Porto Sauípe. In the interviews, we used standardized questionnaires and showed photos of fish species. Our results indicate some general patterns in fishes' reproduction according to fishermen knowledge: fish species spawn in open ocean, near reefs or in coastal rivers (estuaries); some fishes reproduce during the summer and others in winter, while some have more defined spawning months. The main fish migratory patterns mentioned by interviewees were: long migrations along the coast, usually in the South to North direction, short migrations among reefs, fishes that do not migrate, migrations between the shore and open ocean and migrations between the sea and coastal rivers. Fishermen's knowledge differed among fish species: most fishermen did not know spawning places or seasons of large pelagic fishes, which raised concerns of their possible depletion. We compared such ethnoichthyological information with available scientific data, indicating promising insights about reproduction and migration of Brazilian coastal fishes. Data gathered from local fishermen may provide inexpensive and prompt information, potentially applicable to fisheries management. Our approach might be useful to several other small-scale fisheries, especially the tropical ones, where there is a high diversity of target species and a low biological and ecological knowledge about these species.

A method for assessing fishers’ ecological knowledge as a practical tool for ecosystem-based fisheries management: Seeking consensus in Southeastern Brazil

“…The pre-established criteria adopted for the selection of key fishers, following advice offered in Bergmann et al (2005) and Silvano et al (2006), were: (a) Willingness to participate in the research, (b) Experience in fishing, (c) Working regime on fishing (or dedication to fishing activity), (d) Fisher's age.…”

“…Regarding spatial issues, the key fishers pointed to their fishing areas and the main places of occurrence of juveniles and mature females of the target species. The species were identified by their common names and images of the species were presented to fishers to confirm their recognition (Silvano et al, 2006;Silvano and Valbo-Joergensen, 2008). With respect to temporal matters, seasonal calendars (Berkes et al, 2006) in table form were used and completed with FEK information about seasonality of occurrence of the species in different stages of life (young and mature females).…”

“…Many use open or semi-structured interviews. The interviews can be applied to the maximum number of respondents as possible (Begossi and Figueiredo, 1995;Paz and Begossi, 1996;Silvano and Begossi, 2005;Silvano et al, 2006, to a few select ones or to a group of interviewees (Huntington, 1998(Huntington, , 2000. According to , the choice of the approach will depend on the research objectives, which seems critical since it will influence directly the quality of the results.…”

Trophic relationships between people and resources: fish consumption in an artisanal fishers neighborhood in Southern Brazil

“…Traditional knowledge is built from historical and synchronic experience with a given environment, and contributes with information about subjects ranging from fish behavior and ecology (Silvano et al 2006;Poizat and Baran 1997) to fisheries management (Schafer and Reis 2008; Berkes et al 2001). The knowledge regarding the preferences and dietary restrictions in relation to fish availability also becomes important, in order to verify and understand consumption patterns and the relationship between fish resources and the community (Hanazaki and Begossi 2006).…”

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“…These insights are used for subsistence, economic gain, and recreation (Matthews, 1928;McClanahan and Cinner, 2008). Such local knowledge undoubtedly informed earlier fishing strategies in the Georgia Bight and can be used to develop current and historical conservation management plans (Murray, Neis, and Johnsen, 2006;Silvano et al, 2006;McClanahan and Cinner, 2008).…”