Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The human dimension of the conflict between fishermen and South American sea lions in southern Brazil

Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We analysed the fishermen’s perceptions on the South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) and its interactions with the local fishery close to the Wildlife Refuge of Ilha dos Lobos, a marine protected area in southern Brazil. Sea lions prey upon the same resources targeted by the fishermen. They repeatedly hunt on the nets and consequently damage them. In response, fishermen persecute sea lions. However, in conflicts with high-profile animals, the perceived damage often exceeds the actual evidence. Results from 100 interviews revealed that fishermen’s perception of damage and their attitudes were affected by age, hierarchical position in the crew, if fishing was the only source of income, and level of formal education. Greater perception of damage and more negative attitude were found among older, less educated sailor fishermen who had no other source of income besides fishing. The average fisherman had a relatively good knowledge about sea lions, but also a negative attitude towards them. We recommend actions addressing these negative attitudes through environmental education, with emphasis on adjusting exaggerated perceptions of impact and the potential of the species for wildlife tourism, as a vital step towards the conciliation of sustainable fisheries and O. flavescens conservation in the Brazilian coast.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price includes VAT (Finland)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Notes

  1. Decree No. 51.797 of September 8, 2014 states the species of wild fauna threatened with extinction in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil.

References

  • Aguilar, A. & L. Lowry, 2013. Monachus monachus. In The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Version 2014.2. Available on internet at http://www.iucnredlist.org.

  • Ajzen, I., 2002. Perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, locus of control, and the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 32: 665–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbieri, F., R. Machado, C. A. Zappes & L. R. Oliveira, 2012. Interactions between the Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) and gillnet fishery in the southern Brazilian coast. Ocean Coastal Management 63: 16–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bordino, P., S. Kraus, D. Albareda, A. Fazio, A. Palmerio, M. Mendez & S. Botta, 2002. Reducing incidental mortality of Franciscana dolphin Pontoporia blainvillei with acoustic warning devices attached to fishing nets. Marine Mammal Science 18: 833–842.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham, K. P. & D. R. Anderson, 2002. Model Selection and Multimodel Inference. Springer, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler, J. R. A., S. J. Middlemas, I. M. Graham & R. N. Harris, 2011. Perceptions and costs of seal impacts on Atlantic salmon fisheries in the Moray Firth, Scotland: implications for the adaptive co-management of seal-fishery conflict. Marine Policy 35: 317–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardoso, L. G. & M. Haimovici, 2011. Caracterização tecnológica, social, econômica e ecológica da atividade pesqueira sediada em Passo de Torres, Santa Catarina. Boletim do Instituto de Pesca 37: 275–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conover, M., 2002. Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts: The Science of Wildlife Damage Management. CRC Press, Florida.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crespo, E. A., D. Oliva, S. L. Dans & M. Sepúlveda, 2012. Current Status of the South American Sea Lion Along the Distribution Range. University of Valparaíso, Valparaíso.

    Google Scholar 

  • De María, M., F. R. Barboza & D. Szteren, 2013. Predation of South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) on artisinal fisheries in Rio de la Plata estuary. Fisheries Research 149: 69–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickman, A. J., S. Marchini & M. Manfredo, 2013. The importance of the human dimension in addressing conflict with large carnivores. In Macdonald, D. W. & K. J. Willis (eds), Key Topics in Conservation Biology. Wiley, Oxford: 110–126.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Engel, M. T., S. Marchini, A. C. Pont, R. Machado & L. R. Oliveira, 2014. Perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders towards the wildlife refuge of Ilha dos Lobos, a marine protected area in Brazil. Marine Policy 45: 45–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franco-Trecu, V., 2015. Tácticas comportamentales de forrajeo y apareamiento y dinâmica poblacional de dos especies de otáridos simpátricas con tendências poblacionales contrastantes. PhD Thesis. Universidad de la República Montevideo, Uruguay.

  • Franco-Trecu, V., P. Costa, C. Abud, C. Dimitriadis, P. Laporta, C. Passadore & M. Szephegyi, 2009. By-catch of franciscana Pontoporia blainvillei in uruguayan artisanal gillnet fisheries: an evaluation after a twelve-year gap in data collection. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 7: 11–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glain, D., S. Kotomatas & S. Adamantopoulou, 2001. Fishermen and seal conservation: survey of attitudes towards monk seals in Greece and grey seals. Mammalia 65: 309–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gliesh, R., 1925. A fauna de Torres. Revista de Engenharia de Porto Alegre 10: 253–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, I. M., R. N. Harris, I. Matejusova & S. J. Middlemas, 2011. Do ‘rogue’ seal exist? Implications for seal conservation in the UK. Animal Conservation 14: 587–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haimovici, M., S. S. Martins & P. C. Vieira, 1996. Distribuição e abundância de peixes teleósteos demersais sobre a plataforma continental do sul do Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 56: 27–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hale, R., R. Pires, P. Santos & A. A. Karamanlidis, 2011. Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus): fishery Interactions in the Archipelago of Madeira. Aquatic Mammals 37: 298–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, R. N., 2012. Marine Mammals and Salmon Bag-Nets. Report to Marine Scotland, Scotland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, R. N., C. M. Harris, C. D. Duck & I. L. Boyd, 2014. The effectiveness of a seal scarer at a wild salmon net fishery. ICES Journal of Marine Science 71: 1913–1920.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huntington, H. P., 2000. Using traditional ecological knowledge in science: methods and applications. Ecological Applications 10: 1270–1274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isaac, V. J. M., A. S. Martins, M. Haimovici, J. P. Castello & J. M. Andriguetto, 2006. Síntese do estado de conhecimento sobre a pesca marinha e estuarina do Brasil. In Isaac, V. J., A. S. Martins, M. Haimovici & J. M. Andriguetto Filho (eds), A pesca Marinha e Estuarina do Brasil no Início do século XXI: Recursos Tecnologias, Aspectos Sócioeconômicos e Institucionais. Universitária UFPA, Belém: 181–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • IUCN—International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2014. Red List of Threatened Species: Version 2012.2: Otaria flavescens. Available on internet at http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41665/0.

  • Kamradt, T. F. & E. J. Kamradt, 1999. Structured design for attitudinal instruction. In Reigeluth, C. M. (ed.), Instructional-Design Theories and Models: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishing, Mahwah: 563–590.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kastelein, R., J. Kershaw, E. Berghout & P. Wiepkema, 1995. The food consumption of South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens). Aquatic Mammals 21: 43–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konigson, S., A. Fjalling, M. Berglind & S. Lunneryd, 2013. Male gray seals specialize in raiding salmon traps. Fisheries Research 148: 117–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavigne, D. M., 2003. Marine mammals and fisheries: the role of science in the culling debate. In Gales, N., M. Hindell & R. Kirkwood (eds), Marine Mammals: Fisheries; Tourism and Management Issues. CSIRO Publishing, Victoria: 31–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Machado, R., 2013. Conflito entre o leão-marinho-sul-americano (Otaria flavescens) e a pesca costeira de emalhe no sul do Brasil: uma análise ecológica e econômica. M.S. Thesis. Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos - Unisinos. São Leopoldo.

  • Machado, R., M. Tavares, D. Danilewicz, P. H. Ott, I. B. Moreno & L. R. Oliveira, 2012. Mortalidade de Otaria flavescens no sul do Brasil: evidências de conflitos com a pesca. In Abstracts of 15ª Reunión de Trabajo de Expertos en Mamíferos Acuáticos de América del Sur and 9º Congreso SOLAMAC. Puerto Madryn.

  • Machado, R., L. R. Oliveira & S. Q. Montealegre, 2015a. Incidental catch of South American sea lion in a pair trawl off Southern Brazil. Neotropical Biology Conservation 10: 43–47.

  • Machado, R., P. H. Ott, I. B. Moreno, D. Danilewicz, M. Tavares, E. A. Crespo, S. Siciliano & L. R. Oliveira, 2015b. Operational interactions between South American sea lions and gillnet fishing in southern Brazil. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. doi:10.1002/aqc.2554.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manfredo, M. J., 2008. Who Cares About Wildlife? Social Science Concepts for Exploring Human-Wildlife Relationships and Conservation Issues. Springer, Fort Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marchini, S. & D. W. Macdonald, 2012. Predicting ranchers’ intention to kill jaguars: case studies in Amazonia and Pantanal. Biological Conservation 147: 213–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matos, A., 2001. A pesca de bagre na Lagoa de Tramandaí e RS. Relatório Técnico do Departamento de Pesca da Secretaria Municipal do Meio Ambiente, Pesca e Agricultura e SMAPA. Prefeitura Municipal de Tramandaí—RS.

  • McCullagh, P. & J. A. Nelder, 1989. Generalized Linear Models, 2nd ed. Chapman and Hall, London.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno, I. B., M. Tavares, D. Danilewicz, P. H. Ott & R. Machado, 2009. Descrição da pesca costeira de média escala no litoral norte do Rio Grande do Sul: comunidades pesqueiras de Imbé/Tramandaí e Passo de Torres/Torres. Boletim do Instituto de Pesca 35: 129–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • MMA—Ministério do Meio Ambiente. 2007. Áreas Prioritárias para Conservação, Uso Sustentável e Repartição de Benefícios da Biodiversidade Brasileira: Atualização - Portaria MMA n°9, de 23 de janeiro de 2007. Ministério do Meio Ambiente, Secretaria de Biodiversidade e Florestas. Série Biodiversidade: 31.

  • Newing, H., 2011. Conducting Research in Conservation: A Social Science Perspective. Routledge, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oksanen, J., R. Kindt, P. Legendre, B. O’Hara, G. L. Simpson, P. Solymos, M. H. H. Stevens & H. Wagner, 2009. Vegan: Community Ecology Package. Available on internet at http://cran.r-project.org/.

  • Oliveira, L. R., 2013. Canívoros marinhos. In Weber, M. M., C. Roman & N. C. Cáceres (eds), Mamıíferos do Rio Grande do Sul. Santa Maria. Editora UFSM, Santa Maria: 405–427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira, L. R., P. H. Ott & L. R. Malabarba, 2008. Ecologia alimentar dos pinípedes no sul do Brasil e uma avaliação de suas interações com atividades pesqueiras. In Reis, N. R., A. L. Peracchi & G. A. S. D. Santos (eds), Ecologia de Mamíferos. Technical Books, Londrina: 93–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Páez, H., 2005. Situación de la administración del recurso lobos y leones marinos en Uruguay. In Menafra, R., L. Rodríguez-Gallego, F. Scarabino & D. Conde (eds), Bases para la Conservación y el Manejo de la Costa Uruguaya. Vida Silvestre, Sociedad Uruguaya para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, Montevideo: 577–583

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinedo, M. C., 1990. Ocorrência de Pinípedes na costa brasileira. Garcia de Orta—Serie Zoologia 15: 37–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team, 2013. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. Available on internet at http://www.R-project.org/.

  • Rosas, F. C. W., M. C. Pinedo, M. Marmotel & M. Haimovici, 1994. Seasonal movements of the South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens Shaw, 1800) of the Rio Grande do Sul coast, Brazil. Mammalia 58: 51–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanfelice, D., V. C. Vasques & E. A. Crespo, 1999. Ocupação sazonal por duas espécies de Otariidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) da Reserva Ecológica Ilha dos Lobos, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Iheringia Série Zoologia 87: 101–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sepúlveda, M. & D. Oliva, 2005. Interactions between South American sea lions Otaria flavescens (Shaw) and salmon farms in southern Chile. Aquaculture Research 36: 1062–1068.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sepúlveda, M., M. J. Pérez, W. Sielfeld, D. Oliva, L. R. Durán, L. Rodríguez, V. Araos & M. Buscaglia, 2007. Operational interactions between South American sea lions Otaria flavescens and artisanal (small-scale) fishing in Chile: results from interview surveys and on-board observations. Fisheries Research 83: 332–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, G. 1800. Seals. In General Zoology or Systematic Natural History, vol 1, Part 2. Kearsley, London: 260–261.

  • Silva, M., 2005. The Brazilian protected areas program. Conservation Biology 19: 608–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simões-Lopes, P. C., C. J. Drehmer & P. H. Ott, 1995. Nota sobre os Otariidae e Phocidae (Mammalia: Carnivora) da costa norte do Rio Grande do Sul e Santa Catarina, Brasil. Biociências 3: 173–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simões-Lopes, P. C., M. E. Fábian & J. O. Menegheti, 1998. Dolphin interactions with the mullet artisanal fisheries on Southern Brazil: a qualitative and quantitative approach. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 15: 709–726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szteren, D. & E. Páez, 2002. Predation by southern sea lions (Otaria flavescens) on artisanal fishing catches in Uruguay. Marine and Freshwater Research 53: 1161–1167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swim, J., S. Clayton, T. Doherty, R. Gifford, G. Howard, J. Reser, P. Stern & E. Weber, 2009. Psychology and global climate change: addressing a multi-faceted phenomenon and set of challenges. Available on internet at http://www.apa.org/science/about/publications/climate-change.aspx.

  • Vaske, J. J., 2008. Survey Research and Analysis: Applications in Parks, Recreation and Human Dimensions. Venture Publishing Inc., Pennsylvania.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaske, J. J. & M. P. Donnely, 1999. A value-attitude-behavior model predicting wildland preservation voting intentions. Society and Natural Resources 12: 523–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaz-Ferreira, R., 1982a. Otaria flavescens (Shaw): South American sea lion. Mammals in the Seas. FAO Fisheries series 4: 477–495.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaz-Ferreira, R., 1982b. Arctocephalus australis (Zimmermann): South American fur seal. Mammals in the Seas, FAO Fisheries series 4: 497–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, P. C. L., N. V. Jennings, A. R. Renwick & N. H. L. Barker, 2005. Questionnaires in ecology: a review of past use and recommendations for best practice. Journal of Applied Ecology 42: 421–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wickens, P. A., 1995. A review of operational interactions between pinnipeds and fisheries. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 346: 86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ximenez, I. M. & E. Langguth, 2002. Isla de Lobos. Graphis, Uruguay.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zappes, C. A., A. Andriolo, P. C. Simões-Lopes & A. P. M. Di Beneditto, 2011. Human dolphin (Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821) cooperative fishery and its influence on cast net fishing activities in Barra de Imbé/Tramandaí, Southern Brazil. Ocean & Coastal Management 54: 427–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zappes, C. A., C. V. Silva, M. Pontalti, M. L. Danielski & A. P. M. Di Beneditto, 2013. The conflict between the southern right whale and coastal fisheries on the southern coast of Brazil. Marine Policy 38: 428–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuur, A. F., E. N. Ieno, N. J. Walker, A. A. Saveliev & G. M. Smith, 2009. Mixed Effects Model and Extension in Ecology with R. Springer, New York.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the fishermen from Torres and Passo de Torres, specially to Z18 association and Adriano Delfino Joaquim, that made this study possible. We are also grateful to Cádiz Sustainable Ideas Awards (Prêmio Cádiz Ideias Sustentáveis), Amnéville Zoo and Fundação Grupo O Boticário de Proteção à Natureza, for the financial support. The authors are in debt with: Shirley Pacheco for the valuable comments and suggestions, Fernando Lopes for the map, Fabrícia Barbieri and Francine Shultz for their collaboration during the project, Karina Groch and Paulo André de Carvalho Flores for providing the aerial photographs of the WRIL, Valentina Franco-Trecu and Diana Szteren for providing sea lions information from Uruguay, Dr. Stephen P. Kirkman, who kindly reviewed the final version of the manuscript and the anonymous referees for suggestions that significantly improved this manuscript. The Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—CAPES) provided a scholar Master’s grant (PROSUP) to ACP and RM. The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico—CNPq) provide the Research Productivity grants No. 303813/2011-3 and 308650/2014-0 to LRO.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ecologia de Mamíferos, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Av. Unisinos, 950, São Leopoldo, RS, 93022-000, Brazil

    Ana Carolina Pont, Mônica Tais Engel & Larissa Rosa de Oliveira

  2. Ciências Florestais Departamento, Luiz de Queiroz Faculdade de Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo, P.O. Box 09, Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil

    Silvio Marchini

  3. Geography Department, Memorial University, 384 Elizabeth Ave., St. John’s, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada

    Mônica Tais Engel

  4. Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Machado de Assis, 1456, Osório, RS, 95520-000, Brazil

    Rodrigo Machado, Paulo Henrique Ott & Larissa Rosa de Oliveira

  5. Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Bloco IV, Prédio 43435, Sala 219, Porto Alegre, RS, 91509-900, Brazil

    Rodrigo Machado

  6. Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação de Organismos e Ambientes Aquáticos (ECOAqua), Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul (UERGS), Unidade do Litoral Norte, Rua Machado de Assis, 1456, Osório, RS, 95520-000, Brazil

    Paulo Henrique Ott

  7. Laboratorio de Mamiferos Marinos, Centro Nacional Patagonico (CENPAT-CONICET) and Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia, Blvd. Brown 3600, 9120, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Enrique A. Crespo & Mariano Coscarella

  8. Universidade Feevale, Pró-Reitoria de Assuntos Comunitários – PROACOM, Rodovia RS-239, 2755, Prédio Amarelo, Sala 306, São José, Novo Hamburgo, RS, 93352-000, Brazil

    Marina Schmidt Dalzochio

Authors
  1. Ana Carolina Pont
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Silvio Marchini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mônica Tais Engel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Rodrigo Machado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Paulo Henrique Ott
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Enrique A. Crespo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Mariano Coscarella
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Marina Schmidt Dalzochio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Larissa Rosa de Oliveira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Larissa Rosa de Oliveira.

Additional information

Handling editor: Begoña Santos

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pont, A.C., Marchini, S., Engel, M.T. et al. The human dimension of the conflict between fishermen and South American sea lions in southern Brazil. Hydrobiologia 770, 89–104 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2576-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2576-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation