Ecological knowledge and incidental capture of sea turtles in São João de Pirabas, Pará, Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to register the ecological knowledge of fishermen from the municipality of São João de Pirabas, Pará, Brazil, regarding the occurrence of sea turtles on the Pará state coast, as well as measure their incidental capture when fishing; to do this, 50 semi-structured interviews were conducted with local fishermen. Fishing was practiced mostly by adult men, who used 7 fishing arts (gillnetting, hook and line, longline, fish corrals, net of tide canals, casting net, and basket trap), mainly aimed at catching king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla), serra Spanish mackerel (S. brasiliensis), king weakfish (Macrodon ancylodon), weakfish (Cynoscion spp.), hake (Cynoscion spp.), catfish (Bagre bagre), and mullet (Mugil spp.). Fishermen observed in the region 5 turtle species, with a more frequent occurrence of Chelonia mydas (100%), Dermochelys coriacea (66%), and Eretmochelys imbricata (46%); the less frequent species are Caretta caretta (16%) and Lepidochelys olivacea (8%). The spawning areas of the 3 most common species demonstrate the significance of the Pará state coast for their conservation. Incidental capture was reported by 76% of fishermen, mainly occurring in net, longlines, and fish corrals. Usually, captured animals were released, although there is consumption of sea turtle meat and eggs by fishermen.