We analyze the invisibility of fisheries and inadequacy of fishers' participation in the process of hydropower development in the Amazon, focusing on gaps between legally mandated and actual outcomes. Using Ostrom's institutional design principles for assessing common-pool resource management, we selected five case studies from Brazilian Amazonian watersheds to conduct an exploratory comparative case-study analysis. We identify similar problems across basins, including deficiencies in the dam licensing process; critical data gaps; inadequate stakeholder participation; violation of human rights; neglect of fishers' knowledge; lack of organization and representation by fishers' groups; and lack of governmental structure and capacity to manage dam construction activities or support fishers after dam construction. Fishers have generally been marginalized or excluded from decision-making regarding planning, construction, mitigation, compensation, and monitoring of the social-ecological impacts of hydroelectric dams. Addressing these deficiencies will require concerted investments and efforts by dam developers, government agencies and civil society, and the promotion of inter-sectorial dialogue and cross-scale participatory planning and decision-making that includes fishers and their associations.

No abstract

We examined responses from shore fish assemblages and bottom channel fish assemblages before and after 2 cascade run‐of‐river dams in the Madeira River, in the Amazon. Those dams were installed in a river corridor where historical factors, represented by the presence of the Teotônio and Jirau falls, were the best predictors of the fish fauna assemblage composition. Jirau and Santo Antônio were the first dams constructed with Kaplan horizontal bulb turbines in the Amazon. These bulb turbines have the ability to operate by forming small reservoirs known as run‐of‐river, which should minimize impacts on fish assemblages. Overall, there were major short‐term impacts in shore fish assemblages by increasing species richness, abundance, and biomass in experimental catches. Shore fish assemblages dissimilarities before and after the dams' closure were also noticed and were related to an increase in water temperature and dissolved oxygen. However, the historical factor represented by Teotônio Fall is still the best predictor of fish assemblage dissimilarities, combined with effects of dams' closure. Bottom channel fish assemblage dissimilarities can be explained only by dams closure and are related especially to changes in fish species abundance inside the reservoirs. Our study revealed an increase in native opportunistic fish species and changes in fish assemblage structure at local scale. Kaplan horizontal bulb turbines employed in run‐of‐river dams seem to be less deleterious than vertical axis turbines typically used in accumulation reservoirs, and should be preferred in the face of burgeoning new hydroelectricity development plans for rivers across the Amazon basin.

Volunteer angler data programs can help to address challenges in collecting recreational fisheries data. However, recruiting and retaining participants can be difficult. This study surveyed participants in the Angler Action Program to identify motivations and barriers to participation. Results showed that participants were most motivated by the desire to improve fisheries data, contribute to original research, and benefit scientists as well as to improve fisheries for the enjoyment of all. Individual benefits (except those related to learning) or subjective norms (“peer pressure”) were not important motivations. Participating anglers shared motivations in common with citizen scientists in other fields. Satisfaction with fisheries management and science was similar between participants and nonparticipants, indicating that dissatisfaction with either was not a major motivation. The biggest barrier to participation for nonparticipants (i.e., those who enrolled in the program but never entered data) was lack of knowledge about the program, and a decrease in fishing; the time it takes to enter data, software difficulties, and forgetting were also cited. Outreach and feedback addressing participants’ main motivations—for example, by providing data syntheses and illustrating the value of the data to science and management—may offer the most effective avenues for recruiting and retaining participants.

No abstract