Fishers' perception of the interaction between the South American sea lions and the Chinook salmon fishery in southern Chile

M Sanguinetti,B Cid-Aguayo,D Gomez-Uchida,A Guerrero,M Sepúlveda,M Durán

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-93675-x

M Sanguinetti, B Cid-Aguayo + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93675-x

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Abstract

We studied how the South American sea lion (SASL, Otaria flavescens) interacts with the operation of an artisanal fishery of Chinook salmon, a non-native species in Chile, using a combination of biological and social approaches, including a valuation by fishers about this interaction. During austral summer of 2019, an observer onboard artisanal fishing boats characterized the attack behavior of SASLs to gillnet-captured Chinook salmon during 33 hauls and analyzed which factors may affect the intensity of attacks. To analyze the relationship between fishers and SASLs, a Likert scale about the perception and views about nature was applied. A total of 23 interviews—including 35 open and 16 closed questions—with fishers were conducted to describe how they perceived the interactions with SASLs. Interactions with SASLs were recorded in 35% of the fishing events and varied depending on both operational factors, such as the number of boats, as well as environmental factors, such as moon’s luminosity. Even though SASL interactions resulted in seven fish (~ 70 kg) damaged of a total catch of 2815 kg (2.5%) during the survey, boats with a damaged catch by SASL lost up to 11% of their revenue. This is consistent with 87% of the interviewed fishers who considered that the conflict with the SASL negatively impacts their activity and results in economic losses. A negative perception towards SASLs likely results from personal experience and revenue loss, even though impacts of SASL interactions at the scale of the entire fishery may be less important. While older fishers with less formal education have a productivist and instrumental focus, younger fishers with a more sustainable and conservationist view of fishing offer an opportunity to lead an improved local understanding of the relationship between salmon, SASLs, and humans.

Highlights

We studied how the South American sea lion (SASL, Otaria flavescens) interacts with the operation of an artisanal fishery of Chinook salmon, a non-native species in Chile, using a combination of biological and social approaches, including a valuation by fishers about this interaction
Our study addressed the interaction between the SASL and the operation of the Chinook salmon fishery in the Toltén River, supported by a non-native and invasive species found populating many rivers and adjacent sea of Chile[6]
Our results demonstrate that the interaction between SASLs and the small-scale fishing communities of Caleta La Barra vary depending on different factors, both operational, such as the number of boats, and environmental, such as moon luminosity during the fishing operations

Summary

Introduction

We studied how the South American sea lion (SASL, Otaria flavescens) interacts with the operation of an artisanal fishery of Chinook salmon, a non-native species in Chile, using a combination of biological and social approaches, including a valuation by fishers about this interaction. Interaction includes: (1) sea lions taking fish from lines or nets with consequent gear damage or loss of the catch, (2) disturbance of fishing operations, and (3) sea lions mortality due to entanglement in fishing gear, or being intentionally killed by fishers[23] Potential solutions to this conflict are more likely to succeed if they are pluralistic and include both a quantification of the problem and the human dimension associated with fishers’ perception of damage, defined as “a belief, whether rational or irrational, held by an individual, group, or society about the chance of occurrence of a risk (or any impact) or about the extent, magnitude, and timing of its effect(s)”[24,25,26], on the interference by SASLs. According to Pont et al.[24] and Oliveira et al.[26], the relationship between fishers and sea lions relate to economic loss and to an occasionally distorted perception of sea lions’ damage. This is especially important considering that fishing involves an inherent interaction with the natural elements, and its success relies on natural processes and the wellbeing of the environment, as well as relying on the knowledge that fishers have of those cycles

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