Using local ecological knowledge of Fishers to infer the impact of climate variability in Galápagos’ small-scale fisheries

Marine Policy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 121 ◽  
pp. 104195
Author(s):  
Leticia Maria Cavole ◽  
Solange Andrade-Vera ◽  
José R. Marin Jarrin ◽  
Daniela Faggiani Dias ◽  
Octavio Aburto-Oropeza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Local Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals A Framework for Simulating Ecosystem Effects in Data-Poor Small-Scale Fisheries Using Science-Based and Local Ecological Knowledge-Based Models

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel J. Zetina-Rejón ◽  
Gladis A. López-Ibarra ◽  
Lorena Rocha-Tejeda ◽  
Alesa Flores-Guzmán ◽  
Inés López-Ercilla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Ecological Indicators ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Quantitative Models ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Qualitative Models ◽  
Species Removal

The constant demand for seafood products and the undeniable effects of fishing on marine ecosystems make it urgent to implement an ecosystem approach, even in data-poor scenarios such as small-scale fisheries. Understanding the impacts of fishing is essential for promoting management strategies that prevent irreversible damage to marine ecosystems. Thus, ecosystem quantitative science-based models have been frequently used to evaluate the effects of fishing, although fishers’ local ecological knowledge (LEK) can aid the implementation of qualitative models, particularly in data-poor conditions. Here, we present a framework for simulating and assessing the effects of fishing following two strategies: (1) for both types of models, we simulated species removal scenarios, and (2) for quantitative science-based models, we fitted time series to dynamically assessed impacts. The impacts were analyzed through ecological indicators commonly used for quantitative models, and because these indicators cannot be easily estimated for qualitative models, we propose the use of topological indicators in both types of models. The approach was applied to three case studies of small-scale finfish fisheries in northwestern Mexico. We found that the ecosystem response to species removal was different in each case study and that the target species can play an important role in ecosystems, but their removal does not generate abrupt changes in the ecosystem structure. The quantitative science-based models were able to reproduce the historical catch trends, which allowed us to reveal that changes in ecosystems are indeed influenced by fishing effort but also by underlying primary productivity. Furthermore, topological and ecological indicators showed similar trends in the quantitative models, which suggests that the former could be useful when data-poor conditions allow only qualitative models. This result confirms the relevance of the participation of fishers in generating qualitative models and their decisive role in the discussion of co-management strategies and risk scenarios in a better-informed manner.

scholarly journals Integrating science and citizen science: the dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) sustainable fishery of Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alpina Begossi ◽  
Svetlana V. Salivonchyk
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Local Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Dusky Grouper ◽  
Sustainable Fishery

AbstractWe followed landings of dusky grouper, Epinephelus marginatus, from 2013 to 2019. We observed 1,896 individuals of dusky grouper, Epinephelus marginatus, in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, from September 2013 to February 2019. The total weight of the catches was 6,065.57 kg, with an average of 1,442.50 kg/year and a std of 147.30 kg.We integrated fishers in our study through citizen science (CS): individuals were trained to monitor grouper gonads and supplied information on fishing spots and prices. After comparing catch curves (based on weight) and curve prices (in the Brazilian monetary currency of reals), our results showed that catches in the Copacabana fishery have been stable (the results of the Kruskal-Wallis test showed no significant difference for either the weight of the catches or the average prices of dusky groupers in the years compared). Copacabana has been a sustainable fishery when considering its catches of dusky grouper. This is a very important result for conservation and management, considering the importance of small-scale fisheries in terms of their low fishing efforts and their possible effects on vulnerable species, as well as their ecological and economic importance in developing countries. Citizen science, alomng with local ecological knowledge, helps integrate research and fisheries as well as researchers and fishers and allows for larger sampling efforts and management training for fishers.

scholarly journals The Endangered Coastal Fishers along the Coast of the Archipelago Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 5-35
Author(s):  
Kirsi Sonck-Rautio
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Local Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Great Cormorant ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Current State ◽  
Fishing Sector

The small-scale fisheries of the Finnish archipelago are in crisis. Three major problems were identified during an ethnographic study of the different stake- holders in the fishing sector: the grey seal, the great cormorant, and regulation of pikeperch harvesting. Within the framework of political ecology, develop- ments in the current state of the fisheries are examined and the policy-mak- ing processes are analysed. Additionally, the notion of knowledge and the role of both scientific knowledge and local ecological knowledge in the context of fisheries management and fisheries management science are discussed.

scholarly journals Impacts of small-scale fisheries on mangrove fish assemblages

2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Amorim Reis-Filho ◽  
Euan S Harvey ◽  
Tommaso Giarrizzo
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Fishing Pressure ◽  
Community Size ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Fishing Impacts ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The data requirements and resources needed to develop effective indicators of fishing impacts on target stocks may often be great, especially for mangrove fisheries where, for example, tidal cycles sequentially flood and drain the habitat as a result of natural processes. Here, we used underwater video systems to evaluate the impact of small-scale fisheries on mangrove fish assemblages at four levels of fishing pressure (low, medium, high, and no pressure). The lowest values of species richness and abundance were recorded in the areas fished most intensively. Conversely, the highest species richness and the occurrence of larger-bodied fish were recorded in areas of reduced fishing activity, which was surprisingly similar to the “no fishing” areas. The slopes of the community size spectra steepened in response to exploitation, while the relative abundance of medium-sized fish (16–25 cm) declined. Fishing for local or regional markets, rather than subsistence, also led to a decrease in the abundance of larger fish (>41 cm). The marked response of population parameters to fishing pressure reflected the impact of unregulated small-scale fisheries on areas of mangroves. Fishery management practices that ignore contemporary changes in these environments are likely to overestimate long-term yields, leading to overfishing. Thus, size-based approaches to evaluating fishing pressure were suitable for detecting negative responses from the mangrove fish assemblages. A next step will be to integrate size- and species-based ecological approaches that provide mechanisms to address pronounced decreases in specific species as a more profitable indicator of fishing impacts on mangrove fish assemblages. This approach will allow the development of effective conservation and management strategies.

scholarly journals FISHERMEN ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS: AN INTERPRETATIVE MODEL FOR SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Loto ◽  
Ronaldo Lobão ◽  
Edson Pereira Silva ◽  
Cassiano Monteiro-Neto
Keyword(s):  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Marine Biology ◽  
Complex Adaptive System ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Interpretative Model

Abstract The fishermen ecological knowledge (FEK) encompasses information on biology of species and climatic and oceanographic changes, all related with schools of fish and its capture. It incorporates a complex set of codes and signs, which are constantly updated and transmitted orally thorough generations. In this sense, FEK presents characteristics such as diversity and ability to learn from experience, which are in conformity with the definition of a complex adaptive system (CAS). Based on this assumption, this work proposes to structure and interpret FEK as a CAS. It is supported that such approach can promote the exchange of information among areas, which are other way considered incommensurable (anthropology, oceanography, marine biology, meteorology etc.), and also among formal sciences and the FEK. However, CAS is a structure designed with heuristic goals associated with mathematical modeling what is beyond the aims of this work, which uses CAS only as a structuring metaphor.

scholarly journals Borders as Crossroads: The Diverging Routes of Herbal Knowledge of Romanians Living on the Romanian and Ukrainian Sides of Bukovina

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Mattalia ◽  
Nataliya Stryamets ◽  
Anya Grygorovych ◽  
Andrea Pieroni ◽  
Renata Sõukand
Keyword(s):  
Local Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Small Region ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
The Body ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Medicinal Uses ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ethnomedicinal Knowledge

Cross-border and cross-cultural ethnomedicine are novel ways to address the evolution of local ecological knowledge. As is widely acknowledged, ethnomedicinal knowledge is not static, but evolves according to several factors, including changes in ecological availability and socioeconomic conditions, and yet the effect of the political context on medicinal knowledge remains largely underexplored. Bukovina, a small region of Eastern Europe that has been divided by a border since the 1940s and is currently part of both Romania and Ukraine, represents a unique case study in which to address the impact of political contexts on ethnomedicinal knowledge. The aim of this study was to compare plant-based medicinal uses among Romanians living on the two sides of the Romanian–Ukrainian border. In addition, we performed cross-cultural and cross-border analysis with published data on the ethnomedicine of the neighboring ethnolinguistic group of Hutsuls. We conducted 59 semistructured interviews with conveniently selected Romanians living in both Romanian and Ukrainian Bukovina. We elicited preparations for treating different ailments and disorders by naming each part of the body. We also asked about the sources of this medicinal knowledge. We documented the medicinal use of 108 plant taxa belonging to 45 families. Fifty-four taxa were common to both Romanian communities; 20 were only found among Romanians living in Romania and 34 only among Romanians living in Ukraine. However, the number of recorded uses was higher among Romanians living in Romania, revealing that they make consistent use of local medicinal plants, and Romanians living in Ukrainian Bukovina use more taxa but less consistently. Comparison with the data published in our study on neighboring Hutsuls shows that medicinal knowledge is more homogeneous among Hutsuls and Romanians living in Ukraine, yet many similar uses were found among Romanian communities across the border. We argue that the 50 years during which Ukrainian Bukovina was part of the USSR resulted in the integration of standard pan-Soviet elements as evidenced by several plant uses common among the groups living in Ukraine yet not among Hutsuls and Romanians living in Romania.

scholarly journals The shifting distribution of Mediterranean fishes: a spatio-temporal assessment based on Local Ecological Knowledge .

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Azzurro ◽  
Valerio Sbragaglia ◽  
Jacopo Cerri ◽  
Michel Bariche ◽  
Luca Bolognini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Local Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Spatio Temporal

A major problem worldwide is the rapid change in species abundance and distribution, which is rapidly restructuring the biological communities of many ecosystems under changing climates. Tracking these transformations in the marine environment is crucial but our understanding is often hampered by the absence of historical data and by the practical challenge of survey large geographical areas. Here we focus on the Mediterranean Sea, a region which is warming faster than the rest of the global ocean, tracing back the spatio-temporal dynamic of species, which are emerging the most in terms of increasing abundances and expanding distributions. To this aim, we accessed the Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) of small-scale and recreational fishers reconstructing the dynamics of fish perceived as ‘new’ or increasing in different fishing area. Over 500 fishers across 95 locations and 9 different countries were interviewed and semi-quantitative information on yearly changes in species abundance was collected. Overall, 75 species were mentioned by the respondents, being the most frequent citations related to warm-adapted species of both, native and exotic origin. Respondents belonging to the same biogeographic sectors described coherent spatio-temporal dynamics, and gradients along latitudinal and longitudinal axes were revealed. This information provides a more complete understanding of recent bio-geographical changes in the Mediterranean Sea and it also demonstrates that adequately structured LEK methodology might be applied successfully beyond the local scale, across national borders and jurisdictions. Acknowledging this potential through macro-regional coordination, could pave the ground for future large-scale aggregations of individual observations, increasing our potential for integrated monitoring and conservation planning at the regional or even global level.

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