Reef Fisheries and Underwater Surveys Indicate Overfishing of a Brazilian Coastal Island

Abstract

The preoccupation about fishing effects on marine ecosystems has increased sharply over the last three decades. However, little is known about the impact of multi-gear artisanal and recreational fisheries on the structure of local reef fish communities in Brazil. Fishing activities around a Brazilian coastal island were monitored while reef fish density was censused during underwater surveys (UVC). The links between frequency of capture, intensity at which species are wished and UVC density were explored. Species were classified according to their frequency of capture as regular, occasional and rare, and classified according to the intensity at which they are wished (based on size and price), as highly targeted, average and non-targeted species. Ninety-seven species were caught by fishing, the majority of them being either rarely caught or non-targeted. Nineteen species were highly targeted but rarely caught. The highly targeted species showed extremely low density in the UVC. These results put in question the sustainability of the local fishing activities. The predominance of non-targeted species in the catches and in the reefs environment studied supports the expectation that these species will be more and more captured, thus collaborating to further change the structure of the reef community.