Interdisciplinary science and fishers’ local ecological knowledge of sawfishes in the Yucatán Peninsula

Abstract

Our knowledge of sawfishes remains scant for Latin America. Pristis pristis (largetooth sawfish) and Pristis pectinata (smalltooth sawfish) are critically endangered. In the Yucatán Peninsula (YP), P. pristis and P. pectinata inhabit coastal landscapes. A total of 290 surveys of fishers’ local ecological knowledge (LEK), including a geospatial component, were collected; 74 literature sources and available archaeological data for the region were reviewed. Interdisciplinary results show the following: the common past presence of sawfishes, their cultural significance for coastal societies, and the contemporary absence of sawfishes in coastal areas where they existed historically; sightings of juveniles were only documented by elder fishers, and only two recent narratives mention sawfishes caught incidentally 5 years ago. Geospatial results provide evidence for 52 geographic sites where sawfishes were common in the YP. Results support the development of research methodologies to study human–nature interactions integrating LEK. This matters in the YP, where sociocultural values and landscapes have changed rapidly through increasing tourism development and human overcrowding. The results can help conservation managers understand the past presence and contemporary loss of sawfishes, and their habitat, and contribute to understanding the defaunation of megafauna in the YP through time. This is critical for tourism and fishery ecosystem services on which communities of the YP rely for their economies.