Knowing through fishing: exploring the connection between fishers’ ecological knowledge and fishing styles

“It's About Seeing What's Actually Out There”: Quantifying fishers' ecological knowledge and biases in a small-scale commercial fishery as a path toward co-management

This article discusses effects of and drivers behind the current integration of experience-based knowledge in management. The case in point is production and integration of fishers' ecological knowledge (FEK) in coastal zone management in Norway. The article discusses how the principles of social justice and protection of biodiversity drive FEK integration, through analysing a case of conflict between small-scale fishers and cod farming in Storfjord, northern Norway. The case became known for the appearance of deformed “monster cod” which supported the fishers' claims that fish farming was harmful to the environment and thus also to the indigenous Sami culture. Assessing how FEK was judged in terms of its credibility, legitimacy and saliency, the article argues that the criteria by which FEK is judged are different from how other types of policy-relevant knowledge is judged. In addition to being scientifically credible, its quality as age-old knowledge derived from interaction with the environment increases its influence on management decisions in biodiversity conservation controversies where fishers' and managers' interests coincide. The article concludes that integration of FEK in management both fulfils goals of protection of biodiversity and social justice, which makes it harder to ignore in socially and environmentally controversial contexts in the future.

Fishers’ ecological knowledge (FEK) has contributed to a better understanding about the reproduction of fishery resources, especially where biological data are scarce or unavailable. We analyzed FEK on the reproduction of five fishery resources in the Paranagua estuarine complex and adjacent coastal area, Brazil, including fishes (Genidens barbus, Centropomus parallelus, Chaetodipterus faber, Pseudobatos sp.) and shrimp (Litopenaeus schmitti). We also sought to compare FEK with biological data and investigate which characteristics (age, fish evisceration and fishers’ location) influence fishers' knowledge. We interviewed 132 artisanal fishers. FEK indicated reproductive peaks in the spring and summer for the fish species and in late winter and early spring for the shrimp. The maturation sizes according to FEK did not differ from sizes at first maturity (L50) as reported by biological studies for G. barbus and L. schmitti. Fishers’ residence sites and fish evisceration influenced more their knowledge related to species reproduction than age. Fishers showed a detailed ecological knowledge about some reproductive aspects, including size at first maturity of females, site of occurrence and reproductive peaks. Furthermore, fishers were able to identify sexual dimorphism, parental care and ovoviviparity. These results can be applied to improve fisheries management in the context of data poor fisheries.

Fisheries scientists and marine resource managers are reluctant to incorporate Fishers’ Ecological Knowledge (FEK) into technical advice procedures to guide management decisions on marine ecosystems and fisheries. However, in data-poor scenarios FEK has proved to be useful to provide alternative references of biological changes. Moreover, despite recreational fishers are the main potential source of FEK, they have been scarcely incorporated in scientific investigations. In this study it has been evaluated for the first time the use of recreational FEK to assess the conservation status of marine ecosystems in Galicia (NW Spain), a region characterized by a highly complex marine socioecological system integrated by a worldwide commercial fleet and a powerful recreational sector, among other relevant stakeholders. Active spear fishers and anglers were recruited to provide their perceptions on the conservation status of fish stocks and on the impacts on marine ecosystems. The audio of face to face interviews were transcribed into text and analyzed by using text mining tools. Acknowledged key concepts were used to quantify fishers’ perceptions on changes in the conservation status of their target fish stocks and to identify and quantify the main impacts on marine ecosystems. Overfishing and habitat loss, followed by biodiversity impoverishment, pollution and ocean warming were blamed by the fishers as the main responsible of poor status of conservation of cephalopods and finfish stocks targeted by both commercial and recreational fisheries. Perceived temporal declines in fish stocks were consistent with available biological data, validating the use of recreational FEK to assess long-term ecological changes in the absence of ordinary scientific data. FEK researchers are encouraged to include inputs of different resource users, including fishers following familiar traditions in commercial and/or recreational fisheries because they were more sensible to detect impacts on natural and cultural community heritage. Conservation status of ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta and kelp beds are especially worrying due to their role as key species in coastal ecosystems. The creation of monitoring programs to assess the status of this fish and other commercially and/or recreationally relevant species, including kelps, are urgently needed to ensure the future conservation of marine ecosystems.

Mapping essential juvenile habitats of exploited marine fish: Complementary insights from a scientific survey-based model, fishers’ knowledge and fisheries-dependent data

The growth of human populations and industrial activities in the last decades have been the major cause of ecosystem decline, especially due to the inputs of several pollutants in the environment. Estuaries are one of the main concerns in marine governance because they receive potentially toxic substances from many sources that end up in the sea. Despite this, marine policies that aim to protect marine areas have dismissed local fishers' knowledge, although fishers have ecological knowledge that endorses and complements scientific research. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify sources and indicators of pollution in the Bahia Blanca Estuary (BBE) according to the fishers and to contrast this knowledge with scientific studies. We conducted 20 interviews with the fishers of the BBE, and the results showed that all of them think the estuary is polluted and that there have been changes in the biomass of catches in the past. Most of them think that industries of the petrochemical complex are the major cause of pollution (57%), while marine organisms were the most mentioned items as indicators of pollution (59%), especially the commercial species (41%). We found interesting parallels between fishers' ecological knowledge (FEK) and scientific data. Thus, we conclude that FEK is an invaluable tool that provides data that could help to co-protect and co-manage this estuary and the services it provides.

Recreational anglers collectively spend a great amount of time on fishing activities. While being out fishing, these anglers perceive various components of aquatic ecosystems, allowing them to accumulate knowledge of the ecological status of the system and the fish they are targeting in it. Such fishers’ ecological knowledge (FEK) is increasingly being recognized as a valuable source of information in fisheries research and management, but it has also been criticized for a lack of accuracy. People’s perceptions of their environment are shaped by a variety of psychological and environmental factors, and the same is expected for anglers’ perceptions of fish stocks and the resulting FEK. This study assessed anglers’ perceived change in salmon and sea trout stocks at the Mörrum river in Sweden, comparing the year that they first fished there to the present (2019). In addition, effects on these perceptions of the anglers’ motivations to fish, satisfaction with catches, and their engagement with this fishery were examined. The majority of the respondents perceived a negative trend for both species, even when the reported total catches during the year they first fished at Mörrum were lower than the present catches. Binomial regression models indicated significant influences of engagement at Mörrum on the anglers’ stock trend perceptions. The results of this study emphasize the importance of understanding different individual angler characteristics when collecting and interpreting FEK. Moreover, the fact that anglers with a longer history at Mörrum had a more negative perception overall, regardless of actual stock status in their first year in this fishery, suggests the occurrence of the shifting baseline syndrome in recreational fisheries. Therefore, the prevailing narrative on stock trends and its effect on angler perceptions should be considered when using FEK.

Participatory mapping and fishers’ knowledge about fish and shrimp migration in a subtropical coastal ecosystem

A method for assessing fishers’ ecological knowledge as a practical tool for ecosystem-based fisheries management: Seeking consensus in Southeastern Brazil

Five species of sea turtle—the green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)—feed in the coastal waters of India, nest on the mainland and island beaches, and are an important component of India's natural and sociocultural heritage. Sea turtles spend most of their life cycle at sea, so structured studies of the biology of nonnesting populations are challenging. However, fishers' ecological knowledge (FEK) could indicate sea turtle distribution, abundance, and population trends. Structured interviews with 93 male fishers at Sagareshwar Beach, Vengurla, in the Sindhudurg District of Maharashtra revealed observations of all 5 sea turtle species in local waters. Importantly, this was the first known record of loggerhead turtles for the Sindhudurg District of the state coastline and added to infrequent records of leatherback turtles over the previous 20 yrs. Observations were more common at a time when adult turtles are likely to be courting and mating, although this behavior was not observed. Fishers did not contribute ecological knowledge about sea turtle distribution from the waters they fished, potentially because of the method used to collect information on maps or reluctance to indicate areas fished. Estimates of abundance were widely disparate, but perceived decreases in the size of local populations were common among respondents. Outcomes of our study suggest that the FEK of small-scale coastal fishers operating in even a small area is of value in identifying potential areas for focused investigations on in-water populations of sea turtles.

Specialist spearfishers’ ecological knowledge provides accurate information that improves the description of the reproduction of a data-deficient species, Oplegnathus conwayi in South Africa

Sawfishes have declined dramatically in West Africa and may be extinct throughout much of their historical range. Guinea‐Bissau is considered to be one of the last remaining places in West Africa where sawfish persist. Fishers’ ecological knowledge (FEK) can provide valuable baseline data, which can be used to direct scientific studies, in situations where information is scarce or lacking and can also provide insight into local attitudes towards species of interest. Interview surveys were used to collect FEK data on the past and current range of sawfishes within Guinea‐Bissau waters, perceived causes of the decline amongst fishermen, and the cultural importance of this species to Bissau‐Guineans. Data were collected from 274 respondents, of whom 85% could identify a sawfish from an image. The majority of respondents reported to have last seen a sawfish in the 1980s, although this varied considerably by region, and 30% of respondents in the south had seen or captured sawfishes in the past decade up to and including 2012. Overfishing or excessive fishing pressure was most frequently cited as a perceived cause for the decline in sawfish, followed by shark finning and overseas fishermen. The sawfish is primarily of cultural importance in the Bijagos Islands, where it is central to many traditional ceremonies. This information provides valuable insight into the cultural importance of sawfish to Bissau‐Guineans and their concerns in relation to the sustainability of their local fishery resources. Information on recent catches will be useful for directing future work to locate and protect remaining sawfish in Guinea‐Bissau. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Over-exploited fisheries are a common feature of the modern world and a range of solutions including area closures (marine reserves; MRs), effort reduction, gear changes, ecosystem-based management, incentives and co-management have been suggested as techniques to rebuild over-fished populations. Historic accounts of lobster (Jasus frontalis) on the Chilean Juan Fernández Archipelago indicate a high abundance at all depths (intertidal to approximately 165 m), but presently lobsters are found almost exclusively in deeper regions of their natural distribution. Fishers' ecological knowledge (FEK) tells a story of serial depletion in lobster abundance at fishing grounds located closest to the fishing port with an associated decline in catch per unit effort (CPUE) throughout recent history. We have re-constructed baselines of lobster biomass throughout human history on the archipelago using historic data, the fishery catch record and FEK to permit examination of the potential effects of MRs, effort reduction and co-management (stewardship of catch) to restore stocks. We employed a bioeconomic model using FEK, fishery catch and effort data, underwater survey information, predicted population growth and response to MR protection (no-take) to explore different management strategies and their trade-offs to restore stocks and improve catches. Our findings indicate that increased stewardship of catch coupled with 30% area closure (MR) provides the best option to reconstruct historic baselines. Based on model predictions, continued exploitation under the current management scheme is highly influenced by annual fluctuations and unsustainable. We propose a community-based co-management program to implement a MR in order to rebuild the lobster population while also providing conservation protection for marine species endemic to the Archipelago.

Scientists increasingly draw on fishers' ecological knowledge (FEK) to gain a better understanding of fish biology and ecology,and inform options for fisheries management. We report on a study of FEK among fishers along the Lower Ucayali River in Peru, a region of exceptional productivity and diversity, which is also a major supplier of fish to the largest city in the Peruvian Amazon. Given a lack of available scientific information on stock status, we sought to identify temporal changes in the composition and size of exploited species by interviewing fishers from 18 communities who vary in years of fishing experience since the mid-1950s. We develop four FEK-based indicators to assess changes in the fish assemblage and compare findings with landings data. We find an intensification of fishing gear deployed over time and spatiotemporal shifts in the fish assemblage and reported declines in species weight, which point to a fishing-down process with declines across multiple species. This finding is reflected in a shifting baseline among our participants, whereby younger generations of fishers have different expectations regarding the distribution and size of species. Our study points to the importance of spillover effects from the nearby Pacaya-Samira National Reserve and community initiatives to support the regional fishery. Reference to fishers' knowledge also suggests that species decline is likely underreported in aggregated landings data. Despite the dynamism and diversity of Amazonian floodplain fisheries, simple FEK-based indicators can provide useful information for understanding fishing-induced changes in the fish assemblage. Fishers hold valuable knowledge for fishery management and conservation initiatives in the region.

Using social science to integrate local knowledge into conservation science can provide unique insights to conservation challenges. Especially when baseline data of a vulnerable wildlife population is deficient, these methods can help fill critical data gaps. In this study, we integrate the principals from the trinity of voice (TOV) and participatory action research (PAR) to generate baseline data on in-water habitat use of critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) and to build mutually beneficial relationships with local stakeholders near the hawksbill’s two primary nesting grounds: mangrove estuaries in El Salvador and Nicaragua. Local stakeholders, in this study referred to as fishers, hold expert knowledge they have acquired both experientially and culturally. Using TOV to shape PAR, we invited stakeholders to use their fishers’ ecological knowledge (FEK) to enhance conservation of this at-risk species. Our results demonstrate that in addition to using FEK to produce quantifiable data (e.g., turtle habitat use), there are four advantages to emphasizing voice throughout a PAR project: 1) provides locality-specific information, 2) enhances mutual learning and leadership, 3) incorporates local experience, knowledge, and creativity, and 4) encourages local participation and commitment to the conservation challenge.