TY - JOUR AU - Márcio L. V. Barbosa-Filho AU - Rachel Ann Hauser-Davis AU - Salvatore Siciliano AU - Thelma L. P. Dias AU - Rômulo R. N. Alves AU - Eraldo M. Costa-Neto PY - 2019/11/05 Y2 - 2024/03/19 TI - Historical Shark Meat Consumption and Trade Trends in a Global Richness Hotspot JF - Ethnobiology Letters JA - EBL VL - 10 IS - 1 SE - Research Communications DO - 10.14237/ebl.10.1.2019.1560 UR - https://ojs.ethnobiology.org/index.php/ebl/article/view/1560 AB - Shark catches have increased worldwide, threatening the survival of several species. This study describes historical trends concerning shark consumption and commercialization by artisanal fishers in northeastern Brazil. Semi-structured questionnaires were applied and respondents pointed out that sharks used to be locally regarded as low-quality fish in the past and rejected by fish consumers, with low fisher consumption frequency. However, this has changed in recent decades, as a total of 95.4% (n=62) of the questionnaire respondents reported currently consuming shark meat, while 61.5% (n=40) highlighted its high quality. In addition, most interviewees (90.8%; n=59) reported decreasing numbers of sharks caught over time, following worldwide trends, leading to decreased fisher access to shark meat. Because of this, most respondents (70.7%, n=46) now consider it more advantageous to sell the sharks they catch than to consume them. In addition, the local commercialization of these fish is currently based on immature coastal species (<1 m). Thus, economic and biological studies on local shark populations are suggested in order to preserve local fisher culture and ensure food security for artisanal fisher communities and a long-term sustainable fishery and conservation of exploited species. ER -