Local ecological knowledge reveals valuable information about the impact of global changes on coastal fisheries resources
Local ecological knowledge, artisanal fishing, climate change, perception, APA Costa dos Corais
Global changes have caused several changes in coastal systems through pollution, over-exploitation of resources, increased temperatures in the atmosphere and oceans, in addition to extreme weather events. These changes affect different regions of the planet, causing profound impacts on socioecological systems, especially on human fishing communities that depend heavily on marine resources. In this research, we evaluated the impact of environmental changes on two coastal fishing communities in Northeast Brazil, located in the Costa dos Corais Environmental Protection Area (APACC), the largest coastal marine protected area in Brazil. Based on semi-structured interviews, we investigated the perception of fishermen and women regarding changes in fishing activity, identifying the most impacted species and the causes of the impact. The results indicate that local residents perceive impacts of global changes on fisheries resources in a broad and multidirectional way in different systems and subsystems, in addition to identifying species of high importance for local subsistence and economics and which, according to local perception, are with their populations in sharp decline or even locally extinct, as is the case of the massunim (Tivela mactroides), cockle (Anomalocardia brasiliana), ubarana (Albula vulpes), jack (Canranx hippos) grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) and crab (Mycteroperca bonaci ), for example. Our study reinforces the importance of local ecological knowledge in structuring public conservation policies, due to its high potential to elucidate complex patterns in tropical social and ecological systems, which most often lack standardized long-term monitoring programs.