“Which Fishes Do I Catch?” Predicting the Artisanal Fishers’ Local Knowledge About Target-Species in Brazil

Silva, André Bastos da; Barros, Roseli Farias Melo de; Souto, Wedson Medeiros Silva; Soares, Romildo Ribeiro; Alencar, Nélson Leal; Lopes, Clarissa Gomes Reis

doi:10.1007/s10745-019-00117-4

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Many studies have demonstrated the value and usefulness of fishers’ ecological knowledge to research and management (Braga & Rebêlo, 2017; da Silva et al ., 2019; Nunes et al ., 2019), showing agreement between information derived from interviews and what was found with scientific methods. In a study from Africa's Lake Tanganyika, Bulengela et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding of Arapaima sp.: integrating stomach contents and local ecological knowledge

Jacobi

Villamarı́n

Campos‐Silva

et al. 2020

Journal of Fish Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The giant arapaima (Arapaima sp.) has been described as a fish of change in Amazonia because of its important role in the conservation of floodplains, food security and income generation for rural communities. Nonetheless, despite the cultural, ecological and economic importance of arapaima, data on diet are scarce. Aiming to expand knowledge about arapaima diet in western Amazonia, scientific knowledge was integrated with the knowledge of local dwellers. During the low-water period (September 2018) and the falling-water period (June 2019), arapaima stomachs were collected from 11 floodplain lakes in the middle Juruá River. All fishes were measured [TL (total length)] and sexed. Food items from each stomach were categorized as fishes, invertebrates, plants and bone remains and weighed. Also, in the latter period, experienced local fishers were interviewed about arapaima feeding. This integrated approach revealed that young arapaima eat fish and invertebrates but adult arapaima eat fish of a wide range of species, which were mainly of low and intermediate trophic positions. This study reports the first case of cannibalism for arapaima and also shows that during the low-water period, many individuals had empty stomachs or only some small fish-bone remains and/or plant material. Arapaima sex and TL had no influence on the absence of prey in stomach contents. Overall, it can be concluded that local people had consistent ethnobiological knowledge of arapaima feeding ecology that could be useful within management projects in the region.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding of Arapaima sp.: integrating stomach contents and local ecological knowledge

Jacobi

Villamarı́n

Campos‐Silva

et al. 2020

Journal of Fish Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The Brazilian northeast is particularly rich in coastal and continental aquatic ecosystems, highlighting the Parnaíba river basin. In fact, this basin harbors approximately 150 species of fishes [38], and it is important for housing an expressive contingent of fishers who live under strong interaction and dependence on fisheries resources [39]. These characteristics highlight the Parnaíba basin as a suitable locus for cosmological studies in traditional communities, for example, knowing how the supernatural beings that inhabit the freshwater systems inserted in fishing communities interact with fishers and fishes and how this worldview can imply the management of fisheries in the region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water spirits within the fishers’ worldview: implications for fishing management in Northeast Brazil

Silva

Lopes

Figueiredo

et al. 2019

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundHistorically, aquatic environments are linked to the worldview of many local people, where there is an interconnection between the natural world, the supernatural, and the social organization. In this study, we provided a discussion on how the supernatural beings that inhabit the freshwater systems interact with artisanal fishers and fishing resources in the riverine community of Parnaíba River middle course, in Mid North of Northeast Brazil. We also provided the implications of these interactions on the fisher’s behaviors and how the acculturation process (e.g., introduction of new religions) can affect the fishers’ worldview.MethodThe selection of participants was done through intentional sampling. The content qualitative analysis was carried out to interpret the data from semi-structured interviews with 29 artisanal fishers.ResultsThe mythical representations that inhabit the aquatic environments in the surveyed area were as follows: Mãe d’ água, Cabeça de cuia, Muleque d’água, Visage, Piratinga, Sucuiuiu, and Luz e Arco-íris. These beings have distinctions regarding the form and attributions and can be associated with seasonality (temporal markers) and specific habitats (spatial markers). The respect and fear feeling of the mythical beings were striking among the fishers interviewed. For instance, we have record offering practices in order to obtain protection and success during the fisheries. These practices suggest that there may be local conservationist habits in fisheries management. However, the advancement of urbanization and the introduction of new religions that deny the existence of mythical entities are factors that can generate the acculturation process among the fishers.ConclusionsIt is therefore necessary to carry out more studies in the surveyed area in order to evaluate the existence of possible patterns in the relationship between fisher and mythical beings. This information could confirm the role of mythical beings as environmental regulators. Consequently, it could be considered in the conservationist policies of fishery resources, reinforcing the importance of local knowledge and cultural factors for fishing management approaches.

show abstract

Socio-ecological approach on the fishing and trade of rhino rays (Elasmobranchii: Rhinopristiformes) for their biological conservation in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

Haque¹,

Washim²,

D'Costa³

et al. 2021

Ocean & Coastal Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“Which Fishes Do I Catch?” Predicting the Artisanal Fishers’ Local Knowledge About Target-Species in Brazil

Cited by 4 publications

References 50 publications

Feeding of Arapaima sp.: integrating stomach contents and local ecological knowledge

Feeding of Arapaima sp.: integrating stomach contents and local ecological knowledge

Water spirits within the fishers’ worldview: implications for fishing management in Northeast Brazil

Socio-ecological approach on the fishing and trade of rhino rays (Elasmobranchii: Rhinopristiformes) for their biological conservation in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About