Coastal recreational fisheries: A case study in the southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Recreational fishing has been poorly studied along the Brazilian coast and, despite its sharp increase, little effort has been made to estimate real catches that contribute to an adequate fisheries assessment. To evaluate the catches of recreational fisheries, samples were collected between May 2016 and May 2017 along the central coast of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Both the size and weight of the majority of species caught were evaluated. A total of 2,402 individuals from 74 different species were recorded, with six species most representative (Menticirrhus gracilis, Centropomus parallelus, Micropogonias furnieri, Genidens genidens, Mugil curema and Orthopristis ruber). After checking the normality of data distribution (Shapiro–Wilk test), the Kruskal–Wallistest was applied to verify statistical differences for catch localities, seasonality, lunar cycle and bait type. Five of the six most abundant species were caught below the size at first maturity. Adopting strategies to improve recreational catches reports is essential to ensure better fisheries management and data collection.