Combining local fishers' and scientific ecological knowledge: Implications for comanagement

Abstract This study was conducted in the fishing community of the Cabedelo municipality (NE Brazil, Paraiba) and characterized the socioeconomic profile of the fishers, their local ecological knowledge and their main usage of fish species. Overall, 80 fishers were interviewed. Snowball, direct observation, guided tours, free interviews and structured and semi-structured questionnaires were used for data collection, which occurred from December 2010 to June 2011 in fortnightly visits to the city of Cabedelo. Most fishers ranged from 36 to 45 years, with low education and low income levels, and approximately 87% fished in the municipality. At least 33 fish species were recorded as important for family consumption and trade. The most commonly caught fish families were Carangidae, Mugilidae, Lutjanidae and Scombridae. The fishes most used for commerce were Lutjanidae, Scombridae, and Serranidae. Fishers demonstrated a high knowledge about the temporal distribution of fishes and categorized them as “fishes of summer”, “fishes of winter” and “fishes around all year”; fishes' vertical distributions were categorized as either “bottom fish” or “water flower”. Fishers also classified eating habits, some types of behavior and reproduction of most exploited species. Fishermen's understanding of the fish stocks distribution and fish ecology is potentially imperative for scientific knowledge and future shared management plans.