Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Co-management and Spatial Features Contribute to Secure Fish Abundance and Fishing Yields in Tropical Floodplain Lakes

Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Empirical data are needed to show the efficacy of co-management, which is regarded as a promising approach to achieve conservation goals. In this study, we addressed the potential influence of fisheries co-management to increase fish abundance and fishing yields in the lower Tocantins River Basin (Brazilian Amazon), downstream from a large dam. We analyzed 590 fish landings (6.7 t of fish) from five fishing villages and 48 fish samples obtained using gillnets (10,378 fish from 101 species) in 12 floodplain lakes in four regions: two with incipient co-management and two unmanaged. The fish species richness did not differ among the regions, but the lakes in the regions that were co-managed had higher fish abundance (biomass and number of individuals) and a higher mean proportion of fish reproducing during the high water season. Fishers had higher catches per unit of effort in the co-managed regions than fishers in the non-managed regions. These results were also influenced by geographic factors (distance and accessibility of lakes), as fish biomass was higher in lakes that were distant from the main river and from the main city in the region. Managers should thus consider strategic selection of the geographic locations of managed sites, even in remote areas. However, the fish biomass sampled in lakes was more related to region than to the lakes’ geographical location. Therefore, co-management has at least partially contributed to increased fish abundance and fishing yields in the studied region, through the protection of an important fish habitat (lakes). We provide empirical evidence that co-management can contribute to the maintenance of fish abundance, sustainability of fisheries, and food security in large tropical rivers impacted by damming.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7

References

  • Almeida OT, Lorenzen K, McGrath D. 2009. Fishing agreements in the lower Amazon: for gain and restraint. Fish Manag Ecol 16:61–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Begossi A. 2010. Small-scale fisheries in Latin America: management models and challenges. MAST 9:5–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Begossi A, Silvano RAM, Amaral BD, Oyakawa OT. 1999. Use of local resources by fishers and hunters in an extractive reserve (Upper Juruá, Acre, Brazil). Environ Dev Sustain 1:73–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F, Colding J, Folke C. 2000. Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledge as adaptive management. Ecol Appl 10:1251–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell SJ, Cinner J, Ardiwijaya RL, Pardede S, Kartawijaya T, Mukmunin A, Herdiana Y, Hoey AS, Pratchett MS, Baird AH. 2012. Avoiding conflicts and protecting coral reefs: customary management benefits marine habitats and fish biomass. Oryx 46:486–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson L, Berkes F. 2005. Co-management: concepts and methodological implications. J Environ Manag 75:65–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castello L, McGrath D, Arantes CC, Almeida OT. 2013. Accounting for heterogeneity in small-scale fisheries management: the Amazon case. Mar Policy 38:557–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castello L, McGrath DG, Beck PSA. 2011. Resource sustainability in small-scale fisheries in the Lower Amazon floodplains. Fish Res 110:356–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castello L, Viana JP, Watkins G, Pinedo-Vasquez M, Luzadis VA. 2009. Lessons from integrating fishers of arapaima in small-scale fisheries management at the Mamirauá Reserve, Amazon. Environ Manag 43:197–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castilla JC, Defeo O. 2001. Latin American benthic shellfisheries: emphasis on co-management and experimental practices. Rev Fish Biol Fish 11:1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro F, McGrath D. 2003. Moving toward sustainability in the local management of floodplain lake fisheries in the Brazilian Amazon. Hum Organ 62:123–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cinner J. 2005. Socioeconomic factors influencing customary marine tenure in the Indo-Pacific. Ecol Soc 10:36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cinner J, Marnane MJ, McClanahan TR. 2005. Conservation and community benefits from traditional coral reef management at Ahus Island, Papua New Guinea. Conserv Biol 19:1714–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crampton WGR. 1999. The impact of the ornamental fish trade on the discus Symphysodon aequifasciatus: a case study from the flood plain forests of Estação Ecológica Mamirau. In: Padoch C, Ayres JM, Pinedo-Vasquez M, Henderson A, Eds. Várzea diversity, development and conservation of Amazonia’s whitewater floodplains. New York: New York Botanical Garden. p 29–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside PM. 1999. Social impacts of Brazil’s Tucurui Dam. Environ Manag 24:483–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes CC. 1997. Lateral migration of fishes in Amazon floodplains. Ecol Freshw Fish 6:36–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Francini-Filho RB, Moura RL. 2008. Evidence for spillover of reef fishes from a no-take marine reserve: an evaluation using the before-after control-impact (BACI) approach. Fish Res 93:346–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelcich S, Godoy N, Prado L, Castilla JC. 2008a. Add-on conservation benefits of marine territorial user rights fishery policies in Central Chile. Ecol Appl 18:273–81.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gelcich S, Kaiser M, Castilla JC, Edwards-Jones G. 2008b. Engagement in comanagement of marine benthic resources influences environmental perceptions of artisanal fishers. Environ Conserv 35:36–45.

  • Guidetti P. 2002. The importance of experimental design in detecting the effects of protection measures on fish in Mediterranean MPAs. Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst 12:619–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallwass G, Lopes PFM, Juras AA, Silvano RAM. 2011. Fishing effort and catch composition of urban market and rural villages in Brazilian Amazon. Environ Manag 47:188–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hallwass G, Lopes PFM, Juras AA, Silvano RAM. 2013a. Fishers’ knowledge identifies environmental changes and fish abundance trends in impounded tropical rivers. Ecol Appl 23:392–407.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hallwass G, Lopes PFM, Juras AA, Silvano R. 2013b. Behavioral and environmental influences on fishing rewards and the outcomes of alternative management scenarios for large tropical rivers. J Environ Manag 128:274–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton RJ, Potuku T, Montambault JR. 2011. Community-based conservation results in the recovery of reef fish spawning aggregations in the Coral Triangle. Biol Conserv 144:1850–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson PA, Crampton WGR. 1997. A comparison of fish diversity and density from nutrient rich and poor waters lakes in the Upper Amazon. J Trop Ecol 13:175–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johannes R. 1998. The case for data-less marine resource management: examples from tropical nearshore fin fisheries. Trends Ecol Evol 13:243–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Junk JW, Bayley PB, Sparks RE. 1989. The flood pulse concept in river- floodplain systems. Canadian Special Publications in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 106:110–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junk JW, Mota-Soares G, Bayley PB. 2007. Freshwater fishes of the Amazon River basin: their biodiversity, fisheries, and habitats. Aquat Ecosyst Health Manag 10:153–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopes PFM, Silvano RAM, Begossi A. 2011. Extractive and sustainable development reserves in Brazil: resilient alternatives to fisheries? J Environ Plan Manag 54:421–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzen K, Garaway CJ, Chamsingh B, Warren TJ. 1998. Effects of access restrictions and stocking on small water body fisheries in Laos. J Fish Biol 53(Supplement A):345–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacCord PFL, Silvano RAM, Ramires M, Clauzet M, Begossi A. 2007. Dynamics of artisanal fisheries in two Brazilian Amazonian reserves: implications to co-management. Hydrobiologia 583:365–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClanahan TR, Glaesel H, Rubens J, Kiambo R. 1997. The effects of traditional fisheries management on fisheries yields and the coral-reef ecosystems of southern Kenya. Environ Conserv 24:105–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClanahan TR, Verheij E, Maina J. 2006. Comparing the management effectiveness of a marine park and a multiple-use collaborative fisheries management area in East Africa. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 16:1465–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merona B, Juras AA, Santos GM, Cintra IHA. 2010. Os peixes e a pesca no Rio Tocantins: 20 anos depois da UHE Tucuruí. Brasília: Eletronorte.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mérona B. 1990. Amazon fisheries: general characteristics based on two case-studies. Interciencia 15:461–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills M, Jupiter SD, Pressey RL, Ban NC, Comley J. 2011. Incorporating effectiveness of community-based management in a national marine gap analysis for Fiji. Conserv Biol 25:1155–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Obura D. 2012. Coral reefs and society-finding a balance? Oryx 46:467–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrere M Jr. 1996. Fisheries in large tropical reservoirs in South America. Lakes Reserv Res Manag 2:111–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ribeiro MCLD, Petrere M, Juras AA. 1995. Ecological integrity and fisheries ecology of the Araguaia–Tocantins River Basin, Brazil. Regul Rivers Res Manag 11:325–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruddle K, Hickey FR. 2008. Accounting for the mismanagement of tropical nearshore fisheries. Environ Dev Sustain 10:565–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shepherd SA, Martinez P, Toral-Granda MV, Edgar GJ. 2004. The Galápagos sea cucumber fishery: management improves as stocks decline. Environ Conserv 31:102–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silvano RAM, Juras AA, Begossi A. 2009a. Clean energy and poor people: ecological impacts of hydroelectric dam on fish and fishermen in the Amazon rainforest. V International Conference on Energy, Environmental, Ecosystems and Sustainable Development and II International Conference on Landscape Architecture. Greece: WSEAS. pp. 139–47.

  • Silvano RAM, Ramires M, Zuanon J. 2009b. Effects of fisheries management on fish communities in the floodplain lakes of a Brazilian Amazonian Reserve. Ecol Freshw Fish 18:156–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silveira RD, Thorbjarnarson JB. 1999. Conservation implications of commercial hunting of black and spectacled caiman in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, Brazil. Biol Conserv 88:103–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon J, Jacobson SK, Liu I. 2012. Fishing for a solution: can collaborative resource management reduce poverty and support conservation? Environ Conserv 39:51–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sultana P, Thompson PM. 2007. Community based fisheries management and fisher livelihoods: Bangladesh case studies. Hum Ecol 35:527–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Team RDC. 2008. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the fishers for their cooperation, Eletronorte Staff, S. Gasparotto and M. Clauzet for helping in the fieldwork, J.A.S. Zuanon for fish identifications, L.L. Silva and L. Locatelli for map drawing, the IBAMA for a permit to collect fish, the FAPERGS and PROPESQ/UFRGS for funding to present this work in a conference, the CNPq for Research Grants to R.A.M.S. (304377/2010-4) and to A.B., the FAPESP for Research Grant to R.A.M.S (2012/16722-2), and Eletronorte/ANEEL (Contract 4500057477) for funding the research and for Research Grants to G.H., P.F.L., A.R.R., R.P.L., H.H., A.B. and R.A.M.S.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Renato A. M. Silvano.

Additional information

Author Contributions

R.A.M.S. designed the survey, conducted research, analyzed data, and wrote the manuscript. G.H. conducted research, analyzed data, and edited the manuscript. P.F.L. conducted research, analyzed data, and edited the manuscript. A.R R. conducted research. R.P.L. conducted research. H.H. analyzed data. A.A.J. conducted research and provided additional data on fish sampling. A.B. analyzed data and edited the manuscript.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Silvano, R.A.M., Hallwass, G., Lopes, P.F. et al. Co-management and Spatial Features Contribute to Secure Fish Abundance and Fishing Yields in Tropical Floodplain Lakes. Ecosystems 17, 271–285 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9722-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9722-8

Keywords

Navigation