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Threatened fish and fishers along the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Coast

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Abstract

Small-scale fisheries of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Coast (BAFC) depend on fish resources for food and income. Thus, if the catch diminishes or if fish species that are a target for fishers are overexploited or impacted, this could affect fishers’ livelihoods. The exclusion of threatened fish species from the catch is believed to be a threat to small-scale fisheries, which is likely to be the case along the BAFC. Many fish species are currently listed as threatened or vulnerable, whereas there is not enough biological information available to determine the status of the majority of the other species. Failure to protect the BAFC biodiversity might negatively impact fishers’ income and the regional economy of local small-scale fisheries. We collected data from 1986 to 2009 through 347 interviews and 24-h food recall surveys at seven southeastern coastal sites of the Atlantic Forest. We show that important species of consumed fish are currently threatened: of the 65 species mentioned by fishers as the most consumed fishes, 33% are decreasing and 54% have an unknown status. Thus, biological and ecological data for BAFC marine species are urgently needed, along with co-management, to promote fish conservation.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful for FAPESP Grants from 1996 to 2014 (#14/24994-8), FAPERJ (1989), CNPq (1990), and Productivity Scholarships CNPq to AB, NH, PFL and RAMS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAPESCA, NEPA, UNICAMP SP, Rua Albert Einstein 291, Campinas, SP, 13083-852, Brazil

    Alpina Begossi & Priscila F. M. Lopes

  2. ECOMAR UNISANTA, Santos, SP, Brazil

    Alpina Begossi

  3. Fisheries and Food Institute, Campinas, Brazil

    Alpina Begossi, Gustavo Hallwass, Natalia Hanazaki, Priscila F. M. Lopes & Renato A. M. Silvano

  4. Institute for Nature Management, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus

    Svetlana Salivonchyk

  5. Federal University of West of Pará, Campus Oriximiná, Oriximiná, PA, Brazil

    Gustavo Hallwass

  6. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil

    Natalia Hanazaki

  7. Departament of Ecology, Fishing Ecology, Management and Economics Group, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil

    Priscila F. M. Lopes

  8. Dep. Ecologia and PPG Ecologia UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Renato A. M. Silvano

Authors
  1. Alpina Begossi
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  2. Svetlana Salivonchyk
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  3. Gustavo Hallwass
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  4. Natalia Hanazaki
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  5. Priscila F. M. Lopes
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  6. Renato A. M. Silvano
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Correspondence to Alpina Begossi.

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Begossi, A., Salivonchyk, S., Hallwass, G. et al. Threatened fish and fishers along the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Coast. Ambio 46, 907–914 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-017-0931-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-017-0931-9

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