The extensive oil spill (> 2,900 km) that occurred in the southwestern Atlantic (2019/2020) increased the vulnerability of the Brazilian coast, affecting marine and coastal protected areas (MPAs). In addition to supporting conservation, MPAs are sustainably used by local populations to help maintain ocean-dependent livelihoods. In this sense, we aim to assess the socioeconomic vulnerability of human communities in MPAs affected by this major oil spill. Using digital mapping, we assessed the socioeconomic vulnerability of 68 human communities living in or near 60 MPAs of different categories that were impacted by this spill. This is the first assessment of the vulnerability status of human populations under significant levels of poverty and social inequality, which are particularly dependent on healthy and effective Brazilian MPAs. More than 6,500 enterprises and institutions were mapped, including trade activities, services, tourism, and leisure venues. Most enterprises (34.4%) were involved in the food sector, related to the ocean economy, and, therefore, highly vulnerable to oil spills. Furthermore, the majority (79.3%) of the vulnerable activities are concentrated in multiple-use MPAs, with extractive reserves coming second and accounting for 18%. This result shows the high vulnerability of this tropical coast to oil accidents and the risks to food security for traditional communities. We also found a heterogeneous vulnerability indicator along the coast, with the most vulnerable regions having an undiversified economic matrix heavily dependent on activities such as fishing, family farming, tourism, accommodation, and the food sector. Thus, this study provides a tool to help prevent and mitigate economic losses and increases the understanding of the weaknesses of MPAs in the face of large-scale disasters, thus helping to build socioeconomic and ecological resilience.

BackgroundFishermen’s knowledge is a source of indispensable information in decision-making processes related to efforts to stimulate the management and conservation of fishing resources, especially in developing countries. This study analyzed the knowledge of fishermen from three municipal areas of Bahia in northeast Brazil regarding the behavior repertoire of sharks and the possible influence that these perceptions may have on the inclination to preserve these animals. This is a pioneering study on the ethnobiological aspects of elasmobranchs in Brazil.MethodsOpen, semi-structured interviews with shark fishing specialists were conducted between September 2011 and October 2012. The interviews addressed the fishermen’s profile, fishing techniques and knowledge about sharks, focusing on the behaviours exhibited by sharks. The data were analysed with quantitative approach and conducted with the use of descriptive statistical techniques.ResultsSixty-five fishermen were interviewed. They descend from the rafting subculture of Brazil’s northeast, which has historically been disregarded by public policies addressing the management and conservation of fishing resources. The fishing fleet involved in shark fishing includes rafts, fishing boats and lobster boats equipped with fishing lines, gillnets, longlines and “esperas”. The informers classified sharks’ behaviour repertoire into 19 ethological categories, related especially to feeding, reproduction, and social and migratory behaviours. Because they identify sharks as predators, the detailed recognition of the behaviours exhibited is crucial both for an efficient catch and to avoid accidents. Therefore, this knowledge is doubly adaptive as it contributes to safer, more lucrative fishing. A feeling of respect for sharks predominates, since informers recognize the ecological role of these animals in marine ecosystems, attributing them the status of leader (or “the man”) in the sea.ConclusionsThis work demonstrates the complexity and robustness of artisanal fishermen’s ichthyological knowledge of sharks. Therefore, we suggest that such knowledge should be considered to develop public policies for the control of the fishing activity, as well as to develop and consolidate the National Action Plan for the Conservation of Shark and Ray Species (PAN - Tubarões e Raias).

Considering the knowledge gap regarding elasmobranch species landings, this study aimed to report elasmobranch catches from artisanal fisheries to obtain baseline data in this regard. Samplings were carried out from 2016 to 2019 at three artisanal fishing colonies located in Rio de Janeiro, Tamoios, in Cabo Frio, Itaipu, in Niterói, and Copacabana, in the metropolitan rgeion of Rio de Janeiro, A trust relationship was built with the fishers, enabling ample data collection. A total of twenty-two species from twelve families were identified at all sample sites, comprising 10 sharks and 12 rays. Although Tamoios, in Cabo Frio, is home to an upwelling phenomenon, the highest richness concerning oceanic elasmobranchs was observed at Copacabana,, which is a part of Guanabara Bay, reinforcing the significant biodiversity of this bay and the importance of its recovery for elasmobranch management and conservation strategies. In addition, many specimens belonging to different species sampled at this site were juvenile, while three spinner shark females (Carcharinus brevipinna) with mature oocytes were also noted (indicating a possible strategic reproduction and juvenile settlement site for several of the landed species. The presence of many species presenting different vulnerability degrees regarding conservation and endemism, especially for the South Atlantic, reinforces the importance of this type of assessment. In addition, four keystone elasmobranch species previously observed throughout the Southeastern coast of Brazil are reported herein, , further indicating the importance of future assessments concerning elasmobranch fisheries monitoring in Brazil. In addition, artisanal fishing colonies may also act as research collaborators, as they display the potential to enable fishing strategies that allow the population, including researchers, to access a considerable portion of the elasmobranch diversity present throughout the coast of Rio de Janeiro. ResumoConsiderando a lacuna de conhecimento em relação aos desembarques de espécies de elasmobrânquios, este estudo teve como objetivo relatar as capturas de elasmobrânquios através da pesca artesanal para obter dados de base a esse respeito. As amostragens foram realizadas de 2016 a 2019 em três colônias depesca artesanal localizadas no Rio de Janeiro, Tamoios, em Cabo Frio, Itaipu, em Niterói e Copacabana, na região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro. Um total de vinte e três espé cies de doze famílias foi identifi cado em todos os locais da amostra, incluindo 10 tubarões e 12 raias. Embora Tamoios, emCabo Frio, sofra os efeitos de um fenômeno de ressurgência, a maior riqueza relativa a elasmobrânquios oceânicas foi observada em Copacabana, que faz parte da Baía de Guanabara, reforçando a biodiversidade signifi cativa dessa baía e a importância de sua recuperação para estratégias de manejo e conservação de elasmobrânquios. Além disso, muitos espécimes pertencentes a diferentes espécies amostradas neste local eram juvenis, como tubarões martelo (Sphyrna lewini), tigre (Galeocerdo cuvier), mako Isurus oxyrinchus), seis fêmeas de cações frango (Rhizoprionodon lalandii) contendo embriões ou oocitos e três fêmeas de tubarão-rotador (Carcharinus brevipinna) com oócitos maduros, indicando um possível local estratégico de reprodução e assentamento juvenil para várias espécies desembarcadas. A presença de muitas espécies apresentando diferentes graus de vulnerabilidade em relação à conservação e endemismo, especialmente para o Atlântico Sul, reforça a importância desse tipo de avaliação. Além disso, quatro de seis espécies-chave de elasmobrânquios, ou seja, espécies que apresentam um impacto extremamente alto em um ecossistema específi co em relação à sua população e críticas para a estrutura e função gerais de um ecossistema, anteriormente observadas na costa sudeste do Brasil, são relatadas aqui, a saber Galeocerdo cuvier, Sphyrna lewini, S. zygaena e Zapteryx brevirostris, indicando ainda a importância de futuras avaliações sobre o monitoramento da pesca de elasmobrânquias no Brasil.Palavras-chave: Biodiversidade; Tubarões e raias; Pesca artesanal.

In Brazil, despite the existence of a federal law prohibiting the capture and harassment of marine mammals, the use of fat as fishing bait has been reported. However, the processes of obtaining and using bait have not been described for southern Bahia state. The objective of this study was to learn how these processes occur in populations of fishermen along the southern coast of the state and how to minimize the negative impacts on the cetacean population. Semi-structured interviews about shark fishing and use of cetaceans as bait were conducted with 65 shark fishers from Ilhéus, Una, and Canavieiras municipalities in Brazil. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with percentage distributions. Fishermen emphasized the adipose tissue of dolphins, whales, and porpoises as preferred bait for catching sharks. Of our sample, 81.5% of fishers knew about the use of fat as bait and 56.9% knew someone who had caught cetaceans. Regarding beached whales, 67.7% reported knowing of their use and 20% had used them. This study shows the interrelation of people’s use of two zoological groups: cetaceans as bait, which represents a threat to the group, and sharks for commercialization, a group in which 75% of species are endangered. It shows the ecological impacts of these interactions. Protection measures will only be effective when they approach the local culture in an integrated manner by considering traditional customs that have developed from centuries of exploitation.

Hundreds of thousands of cetaceans die each year due to commercial fishing catches, which is the main threat to global populations of these animals. Mortality by fishing gets disastrous proportions mainly in developing countries, for which effective fisheries management programs, as well as monitoring, environmental education or analysis of the catches impact on cetacean populations are scarce. The aim of this study was to record and describe the intentional catching of dolphins by artisanal fishermen in southern Bahia, Brazil, a region located in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean. In 2012, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 65 commercial fishermen from 13 communities in the region. Catches have been occurring for a long time by the use of harpoons and the pieces of dead animals are used as bait in longline shark fishing, whose fins have a high sale value. Although 81.5 % (n = 53) of respondents know the dolphins use, 24.2 % (n = 16) reported having used them as bait and only eight (12.1 %) of them admitted to have already killed these marine mammals. It is urgent that these catches are monitored in order to provide baseline information for future conservation actions.