Payment for Environmental Services, fishers and cetaceans’ conservation

Abstract

The interactions between fisheries and cetaceans have been widely discussed by several authors. Bycatch of small cetaceans is frequent around the world, threatening several species. In Brazil, in two critical areas– Soure(Marajó Island) and São Sebastião - more than 70% of the local fishers (n= 40 and n=70, respectively) interviewed in a previous study reported bycatch of Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) or Franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) in gillnets. Other negative interaction involving fisheries and cetaceans is the entanglement of Southern right whales in fishing nets during their migration along the coast, as reported by 68% of the fishers interviewed in the South of Brazil (Pântano do Sul: n=25). On the other hand these interactions result in damage of the fishing gear and great economic losses to the fishers. To minimize these conflicts we suggest the adoption of strategies involving interested fishers in bycatch monitoring programs, where fishers could collect local data on the critical areas and frequency of dolphins’ accidental catches, consequently increasing their awareness of the problem and providing a better baseline to support educational and regulatory measures related to cetaceans’ bycatch. As a compensation for the time and energy spent in these programs, fishers could receive a “payment for environmental services” (PES), as an economic incentive to their participation, which would contribute to their economic stability as well as to cetaceans’ conservation.