Search

Bycatch and discards from small-scale fisheries (SSF) are usually ignored when compared with industrial fisheries, not only by policy-makers, but also by scientists. Therefore, SSF social, economic and ecological impacts are poorly known and especially in the context of incidental catches, regardless of whether they become bycatch or discards. Such neglect is worrisome due to the role that SSF play in food security and poverty alleviation, particularly in coastal and rural communities in developing countries. In this study, a combination of sampling data and the fishers' behavior (specifically the basis of their decision on where to fish) were used. Bayesian models were applied to understand which variables affect the bycatch per unit effort (BPUE) variation in the shrimp SSF of the southern coast of the state of Bahia (Brazil). Results highlighted how BPUE variability is affected by a set of factors as well as by the specific fisher behavior. In the case of the shrimp fishery assessed here, economic incentives do not influence the decision to land the bycatch, since landed values decrease when bycatch increases. Shadow subsistence values (i.e. non-market values assigned to the consumption value) and the employ of fish as currency added an economic livelihood component to the complex decision regarding bycatch. Mitigation measures for SSF management strategies should be implemented at multiple stages of the bycatch and discarding process, both in the selection of the fishing grounds and the local economic role of the incidentally caught species.

Parrotfishes may affect the structure of benthic communities and reef ecosystem functioning. Despite extensive studies worldwide, parrotfishes in the southwestern Atlantic are relatively understudied, limiting our ability to propose effective management strategies. We assessed abundance, biomass and size class distribution of parrotfish assemblages in northeastern Brazil and identified habitat preferences based on reef attributes. Outer-shelf reefs sustained larger individuals and higher biomasses for all species (except Sparisoma radians). In contrast, inner-shelf reefs supported higher abundances of small individuals. Even though most species occurred across all areas, their abundances, biomass and size-class distributions were variable and related to their respective feeding modes and reef attributes. Benthic cover, reef structural complexity, depth and distance from the coast affected the composition of parrotfish assemblages, but had different effects on each species. The endemic greenbeak parrotfish Scarus trispinosus was more abundant on calcareous substrates and higher-complexity reefs. Sc. zelindae and Sp. amplum were more common in deeper biogenic reefs further from the coast, which were characterized by high abundances of sponges, stony corals and cyanobacterial mats. Sp. axillare and Sp. radians were more abundant on reefs that had high cover of large-bladed macroalgae, while Sp. frondosum was ubiquitous across all studied reefs. Such heterogeneity in habitat use is suggestive of functional complementarity rather than functional redundancy among parrotfish assemblages. Conservation of Brazilian endemic parrotfishes requires protecting reefs with diverse attributes and a better understanding of habitat connectivity and the role of different habitats in parrotfish reproduction and life cycle.

Identifying vulnerable habitats is necessary to designing and prioritizing efcient marine protected areas (MPAs) to sustain the renewal of living marine resources. However, vulnerable habitats rarely become MPAs due to conficting interests such as fshing. We propose a spatial framework to help researchers and managers determine optimal conservation areas in a multi-species fshery, while also considering the economic relevance these species may have in a given society, even in data poor situations. We frst set diferent ecological criteria (i.e. species resilience, vulnerability and trophic level) to identify optimal areas for conservation and restoration eforts, which was based on a traditional conservationist approach. We then identifed the most economically relevant sites, where the bulk of fshery profts come from. We overlapped the ecologically and economically relevant areas using diferent thresholds. By ranking the level of overlap between the sites, representing diferent levels of conficts between traditional conservation and fshing interests, we suggest alternatives that could increase fshers’ acceptance of protected areas. The introduction of some fexibility in the way conservation targets are established could contribute to reaching a middle ground where biological concerns are integrated with economic demands from the fshing sector.

Several factors influence catches and the sustainability of fisheries, and such factors might be different depending on the scale on which fisheries work. We investigated the existence of possible subdivisions within small-scale fisheries (SSF) themselves, regarding their economic performance and relative social and environmental impacts to understand which categories of these two types of fleets are best positioned to support sustainability. By doing so, we investigated if it is a good strategy for SSF to aim to grow towards larger scales. We obtained economic and ecological data from landing samplings and information on technological efficiency of this fleet, using a northeastern Brazilian state as a case study. We defined a cut-off point to separate the SSF into two categories of boats, according to their size and gear. We compared their cpue and the factors affecting it within each category; we also compared economic (number of boats, number of landings, jobs, gears, catch, travel time and total time of the fishery, revenues, costs, profits, revenue per unit of effort, and profit per unit of effort) and ecological factors (vulnerability of species caught) between the two categories. We found that small boats spent less time fishing and employed comparatively more people per landed value and catch. The cpue and profits of small boats were also higher. Both large and small boats exploit species with the same overall vulnerability. Therefore, being smaller, even within the SSF category, seems to be a more advantageous social and economic strategy for guaranteeing higher catches and more employment opportunities per catch. These findings need to be taken into account when defining new policies, such as the distribution of subsidies that support or not the sustainable use of fishery resources.

High environmental microplastic pollution, and its largely unquantified impacts on organisms, are driving studies to assess their potential entry pathways into freshwaters. Recreational angling, where many anglers release manufactured baits into freshwater ecosystems, is a widespread activity with important socio-economic implications in Europe. It also represents a potential microplastic pathway into freshwaters that has yet to be quantified. Correspondingly, we analysed three different categories of industrially-produced baits ('groundbait', 'boilies' and 'pellets') for their microplastic contamination (particles 700 µm to 5 mm). From 160 samples, 28 microplastics were identified in groundbait and boilies, with a mean concentration of 17.4 (± 48.1 SD) MP kg-1 and 6.78 (± 29.8 SD) mg kg-1, yet no microplastics within this size range were recorded in the pellets. Microplastic concentrations significantly differed between bait categories and companies, but microplastic characteristics did not vary. There was no correlation between microplastic contamination and the number of bait ingredients, but it was positively correlated with C:N ratio, indicating a higher contamination in baits with higher proportion of plant-based ingredients. We thus reveal that bait microplastics introduced accidentally during manufacturing and/or those originating from contaminated raw ingredients might be transferred into freshwaters. However, further studies are needed to quantify the relative importance of this cryptic source of contamination and how it influences microplastic levels in wild fish.