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The absence of historical data on endangered species poses a conservation and socio-environmental problem. Approximately one-third of all Elasmobranchs and Chimaeras are under some level of threat of extinction, with knowledge gaps for many species. This research aims to conduct a biliometric analysis of scientific production concerning Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) of Elasmobranchs and Chimaeras. Searches on the subject were carried out at the SciELO, Scopus and Web of Science databases. The retrieved publications were assessed and sorted by a list of inclusion criteria, totaling 120 articles. The findings indicate that studies on LEK applied to Chondrichthyes assessments have recently gained relevance. The studies were published in a wide variety of journals and by researchers from different countries. Most research focused on marine ecosystems and interviewed professional fishers. Of the 179 Elasmobranchs species studied, most are large sharks with conspicuous diagnostic characters, such as Galeocerdo cuvier, Isurus oxyrinchus and Sphyrna lewini, mainly in publications focused on fisheries. Studies addressing ethnoknowledge as a historical data collection source are undoubtedly paramount, and the need for further investments in this research field in countries with scarce data addressing other actors, themes and scarcely studied taxa, is clear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ray species have been globally threatened due to high fishing pressure and habitat loss. In southern Brazil fisheries, despite many ray species are protected by law and usually non-targeted species, they are captured along with commercially important species. However, as in all of Brazil, there is evidence that rays are consumed, that is, there is a demand for meat from these animals, which intensifies the risk of extinction. Marine ethnobiology is an alternative approach to better understand these organisms, considering the traditional empirical knowledge of fishers and local communities. Our objective is to evaluate the knowledge of local residents, fishers, and tourists about the occurrence, distribution, reproduction, and feeding of ray species and also ray consumption among them. We hypothesized that fishers and locals have a deeper ecological knowledge about rays than tourists, and fishers should know more than residents. Individual interviews were conducted for three consecutive days at Armação beach, Florianópolis, Brazil. We asked people about ray biology and ecology based on questionnaires. Each respondent was categorized into three groups: fishers, locals, and tourists; and ranked according to an index of ecological knowledge of rays. The fishers had greater knowledge about rays, followed by residents and tourists. Additionally, fishers and locals consume rays, even the trade is prohibited locally, evidencing the need for legal enforcement. The fishers' knowledge may be essential for management of fish stocks, contributing to sustainable fishing and species conservation. In contrast, the tourists' lack of knowledge evidences the need to raise awareness of these animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, Brazilian fisheries management has not considered the knowledge of fish taxonomy from within fishing communities. This study points out processes of recognition, classification and nomenclature of sharks achieved by fishermen from South Bahia, Brazil. Data were obtained through semistructured interviews visually stimulated by exhibiting images of 30 species of elasmobranch fishes. Regionally, elasmobranch species are inserted into the folk taxon called "leather fishes" and in a category known as "cação" (shark) family. In addition to hierarchical classification, the fishermen organize shark species by adopting an ethnodimorphic and sequential model based on ethnoontogeny. Ethnodiagnostic characteristics are mainly related to the morphology, ecology and even physiology of a species. A total of 144 epithets is recorded, with a mean value of 4.8 ethnospecies for each scientific correspondent. Richness of vernacular names impedes species-specific information gathering regarding shark landings if fisher knowledge is not considered and applied in the improvement of fisheries data. Thus, this study encourages the employment of fishermen as parataxonomists in order to assist in the identification of sharks to specific levels. This study further emphasizes the potential of using ethnotaxonomic knowledge of fishing communities in initiatives related to participative management of shark fisheries in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnoichthyology has been highlighting in several regions of the world, due to the collaboration of studies that seek to understand the traditional or local ecological knowledge about different uses and meanings of fish among different human groups. Therefore, we present a systematic review of the literature concerning the current situation of ethnoichthyological studies in Brazil. We examine the temporal and spatial citation trends in Brazil, as well as who are the research actors and the thematic areas covered in the articles. In all, 177 published articles related to the topic were found in Brazil. The number of published articles increased significantly in time, with most studies concentrated in the Northeast Region of the country (44.4%), especially in the state of Bahia (16.8%). The types of aquatic environments include both marine and freshwater, such as sea (46.3%) and rivers (70.2%). The articles mainly rely on the collaboration of artisanal fisherman (74.3%). The topic most frequently addressed in the studies was bio-ecological aspects of fish (33.8%). On the other hand, studies on morphological aspects (2.7%) represented the less frequently among the thematic areas. We concluded that ethnoichthyology is increasing significantly in Brazil. However, some issues needed to be better understand, especially the knowledge of the recreational fishermen, the morphological aspects of the fish species by local fishermen and there are few studies in South and Midwest in Brazil, which will indicate the future efforts to improve the species conservation and the resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]