Epinephelus itajara, (Lichtenstein, 1822) (Lichtenstein, 1822)

Gerhardinger, Leopoldo Cavaleri, Hostim-Silva, Mauricio, Medeiros, Rodrigo Pereira, Matarezi, José, Bertoncini, Áthila Andrade, Freitas, Matheus Oliveira & Ferreira, Beatrice Padovani, 2009, Fishers’ resource mapping and goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara (Serranidae) conservation in Brazil, Neotropical Ichthyology 7 (1), pp. 93-102 : 99-100

Prospects for E. itajara conservation in Brazil

Babitonga Bay is currently a candidate site for a Marine Protected Area (MPA) which will encompass the entire area of our study. The presence of two endangered cetacean species ( Pontoporia blainvillei and Sotalia guianensis ), together with the presence of the goliath grouper and other endangered species, are the main driving rationale for the creation of this protected area. The results of the present work have been used to guide the process of the area’s designation. The foreseen MPA category will allow subsistence and artisanal fisheries to be developed in the area. A local management council will be created, bringing management decisions regarding the use of the area to a local scale. However, many Brazilian MPAs are suffering from a lack of government enforcement, apparently due to the shortage of government financial and logistic support for patrolling. Although this is a no-win situation that requires urgent measures, the engagement of fishers and their LEK as a core component of local management can play an important role in encouraging a stronger partnership among stakeholders for the sustainable use and management of local resources.

The prospect for goliath groupers in Brazil is encouraging, as the endangered status of the species has been acknowledged through a moratorium (2002), recently renewed until 2012. The measure was a result of the work of a group of researchers and managers from universities and NGOs, who have now been joined by other stakeholders, including fishers and other community leaderships and government managers, in a multi-institutional network, namely the Meros do Brasil Network ( Fig. 3 ). The objective of this network is to generate and amass the best available knowledge on the species and its habitat, through a series of actions ( Fig. 3 ), and thus to develop a national strategic plan of action to protect the species and the severely threatened ecosystems it inhabits, such as mangroves, estuaries, and coral and rocky reefs. This network initiative has been articulated since 2002 and now operates at four focal points along the Brazilian coast ( Fig. 3 ), with several local initiatives now starting to take place at other sites ( e.g., States of Pará, Maranhão, Sergipe and Espírito Santo). The results of this work will subsidize a national policy for the conservation of this endangered marine fish species, which will be drafted in collaboration with the Brazilian governmental environmental agency.

Community collaboration and knowledge was evidently crucial in the development of the first stage of the Meros do Brasil Network (2002-2006) and was defined as a major component of the current stage. Therefore, the project is putting much more effort into trying to develop a parallel program that would improve and maximize the work with local communities and local knowledge. The multi-institutional “Program on Local Knowledge and Practices” was signed in June 2007, and aims to effectively make local knowledge a viable mechanism for marine conservation in Brazil. The implementation of the Program has opened up the possibilities to work not only with goliath grouper research and conservation, but with other important social aspects concerning the sustainability of marine resources in Brazil. One important principle of the Program is to empower LEK systems within current marine management schemes using a dualistic approach, in other words, transferring power while demanding further environmental responsibility from local resource users.

Figures

Fig. 3. Schematic representation of the “Meros do Brasil Network”, a multi-institutional partnership promoting coordinated research, environmental education, communication and management actions directed to goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara and mangrove, coral and rocky reef ecosystems in Brazil.