Use of Cetaceans as Bait in Southern Bahia, Brazil, by Expert Fishermen that Market Shark Fins: A Lucrative Trade and Two Threatened Zoological Groups

  • Marcio Luiz Vargas Barbosa-Filho Programa de Pós-graduação em Zoologia, Campus Universitário Soane Nazaré, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA. Programa de Pós-graduação em Etnobiologia e Conservação da Natureza, Campus Dois Irmãos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, PE.
  • Rebeca Mascarenhas Fonseca Barreto Colegiado de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Petrolina, PE.
  • Salvatore Siciliano Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/Fiocruz, Laboratório de Enterobactérias (Labent), Rio de Janeiro, RJ.
  • Cecilia Inés Seminara Programa de Pós-graduação em Zoologia, Campus Universitário Soane Nazaré, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA.
  • Eraldo Medeiros Costa-Neto Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, BA.
Keywords: Ethnobiology, Ethnoecology, Artisanal fishing, Shark fishing, Cetacea

Abstract

In Brazil, despite the existence of a federal law prohibiting the capture and harassment of marine mammals, the use of fat as fishing bait has been reported. However, the processes of obtaining and using bait have not been described for southern Bahia state. The objective of this study was to learn how these processes occur in populations of fishermen along the southern coast of the state and how to minimize the negative impacts on the cetacean population. Semi-structured interviews about shark fishing and use of cetaceans as bait were conducted with 65 shark fishers from Ilhéus, Una, and Canavieiras municipalities in Brazil. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with percentage distributions. Fishermen emphasized the adipose tissue of dolphins, whales, and porpoises as preferred bait for catching sharks. Of our sample, 81.5% of fishers knew about the use of fat as bait and 56.9% knew someone who had caught cetaceans. Regarding beached whales, 67.7% reported knowing of their use and 20% had used them. This study shows the interrelation of people’s use of two zoological groups: cetaceans as bait, which represents a threat to the group, and sharks for commercialization, a group in which 75% of species are endangered. It shows the ecological impacts of these interactions. Protection measures will only be effective when they approach the local culture in an integrated manner by considering traditional customs that have developed from centuries of exploitation.

Author Biographies

Marcio Luiz Vargas Barbosa-Filho, Programa de Pós-graduação em Zoologia, Campus Universitário Soane Nazaré, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA. Programa de Pós-graduação em Etnobiologia e Conservação da Natureza, Campus Dois Irmãos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, PE.
Marcio Barbosa-Filho is a PhD student in the Postgraduate Program in Ethnobiology and Nature Conservation.
Rebeca Mascarenhas Fonseca Barreto, Colegiado de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Petrolina, PE.

Rebeca Fonseca Barreto is a Collegiate of Biological Sciences at the Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco.

Salvatore Siciliano, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/Fiocruz, Laboratório de Enterobactérias (Labent), Rio de Janeiro, RJ.
Salvatore Siciliano is the Coordinator of the Group of Studies of Marine Mammals of the Lakes Region (GEMM-Lagos) and Megafauna Marine Institute.
Cecilia Inés Seminara, Programa de Pós-graduação em Zoologia, Campus Universitário Soane Nazaré, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA.
Cecilia Seminara is a Master's student in the zoology postgraduate program at Univesidade Estadual de Santa Cruz.
Eraldo Medeiros Costa-Neto, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, BA.
Eraldo Costa-Neto is a Full Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences of the State University of Feira de Santana, where since 1995 he has been working in Ethnobiology. Guiding professor in the following postgraduate programs: Zoology (UEFS), Zoology (UESC) and Human Ecology (UNEB Campus VIII).

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Published
2018-04-09
How to Cite
Barbosa-Filho, M. L. V., Fonseca Barreto, R. M., Siciliano, S., Seminara, C. I., & Costa-Neto, E. M. (2018). Use of Cetaceans as Bait in Southern Bahia, Brazil, by Expert Fishermen that Market Shark Fins: A Lucrative Trade and Two Threatened Zoological Groups. Ethnobiology Letters, 9(2), 12–18. https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.9.2.2018.953
Section
Research Communications