Assessing captures of recreational spearfishing in Abrolhos reefs, Brazil, through social media

Abstract

Recreational fishing is an important economic and social activity in many countries. However low- and middle-income nations often lack basic data, like catch recording, on this fishery. To gather data to better understand recreational spearfishing catch in Abrolhos Bank, we assessed images posted on Facebook between June 2014 and January 2015. We described species richness, individual fish body size, and trophic group, as well as conservation status and local retail value. A total of 217 images were analyzed, featuring the capture of 962 individuals from 25 species. Captures were composed mainly of the piscivores black grouper Mycteroperca bonaci (36%), dog snapper Lutjanus jocu (35%), and great barracuda Sphyraena barracuda (11%). Herbivores comprised 6% of catches, represented mainly by the endangered the greenback parrotfish Scarus trispinosus. Overall, half of the captured fish were below the first gonadal maturation size and 43% are currently on the national Red List of endangered species. The retail value of 97% of specimens captured was high or very high, composed mainly of species with individuals longer than 40 cm. Social media can provide a complementary data source for recreational fisheries research, offering a rich and dynamic snapshot of these fisheries.