TENDÊNCIAS DA EXPLORAÇÃO PESQUEIRA NA COSTA DO RIO GRANDE DO NORTE
Pesca de pequena escala; Série temporal; Reconstrução dados; Conhecimento ecológico
Título 1º capítulo: Desembarques de pesca e reconstrução de dados com informação dos pescadores para auxiliar o manejo pesqueiro
Abstract
In data poor areas, fishers’ knowledge has been useful to complement current and past gaps of scientific data on several fishery topics. Here we verified whether coastal fishers’ information (N=82), from two communities in Brazilian NE, is supported by official landing data and if their knowledge could be reliably used to reconstruct catches and CPUE (Catch per unit of effort) for 1993, 2003 and 2013. The landing records confirmed fishers premise that catches did not change during 2003 to 2013 in both communities (C1: t=0.1; p= 0.2; C2: t = 1.6; p = 0.1). Fishers’ estimates for their average catch per species statistically agreed with the landing data for three species (bonito, coco sea catfish and sharks) of a total of 22 species. For other 13, the information provided by the fishers and by the landing data were similar, although statistically non-significant. Fishers overestimated the CPUE of species caught using lines or gillnets (excepted for Cynoscion jamaicensis, which was underestimated). On the other hand, fishers gave accurate abundance estimates that were congruent with the landing data for the 11 most important species (Spearman correlation: rs2013=0.8; rs2003=0.9; p =0.000). Hence, fishers were more able to perceive changes in fish abundance rather than changes in their effort, suggesting that information regarding CPUE should be more carefully interpreted, as there can be a slight over estimative for some species. In the future, we should address why fishers can give detailed information regarding their catch and effort for some species, but not for others.