Not Everyone Likes Manatees: Fishers' Perceptions Unveil Opportunities and Challenges for Manatee Conservation in the Swamp Complex of Ayapel, Colombia

IF 2.5 3区 环境科学与生态学 Q3 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
María Mercedes Ordoñez-Nieto, Nataly Casteblanco-Martinez, Karick Jotty-Arroyo
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Greater Caribbean manatees Trichechus manatus manatus face complex conservation challenges throughout their distribution range, many of which are associated with human factors; and in consequence, the subspecies is considered Endangered (EN) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Human-related threats as hunting for meat consumption, collisions with boats, entanglement in fishing nets, pollution and loss of habitat put the Greater Caribbean manatee at risk in Colombia. Studies aiming to describe traditional knowledge and local perceptions provide information that can be useful to design local manatee conservation programmes. We analyse the fishers' perceptions regarding manatees in Ayapel, Córdoba. One hundred semi-structured interviews were conducted, focusing on personal data, fishing practices, perceptions and knowledge about the manatees. According to the interviews, bycatch is the greatest threat to manatees (56%), followed by pollution (16%), whereas boat collisions (12%), hunting (11%) and drought (5%) are lower ranking threats. Our results demonstrated that participants have a good understanding of manatee biology and ecology. However, a human–manatee conflict was evidenced, as 39% of fishers consider that manatees negatively impact fishing by competition for the fishing resources and/or by damaging fishing gear. We recommend strengthening awareness about the importance of manatee to guarantee an optimal management of this subspecies and its habitat. Fishers should be directly involved in the formulation of management and conservation plans for the subspecies, as their knowledge becomes critical to understanding and mitigating the risks to manatee populations. This work has a clear application to understand the human factor in manatee recovery not only in our study area but also in other locations where manatees share habitat with people, particularly in marginalized human communities.

不是每个人都喜欢海牛:渔民的看法揭示了哥伦比亚阿亚佩尔沼泽地海牛保护的机遇与挑战
大加勒比海海牛(Trichechus manatus manatus)在其分布范围内面临着复杂的保护挑战,其中许多挑战与人为因素有关;因此,该亚种被世界自然保护联盟(IUCN)认定为濒危物种(EN)。与人类有关的威胁包括为食用肉类而进行的捕猎、与船只相撞、被渔网缠住、污染和栖息地的丧失,这些都使哥伦比亚的大加勒比海海牛面临危险。旨在描述传统知识和当地看法的研究提供的信息有助于设计当地的海牛保护计划。我们分析了科尔多瓦省阿亚佩尔的渔民对海牛的看法。我们进行了 100 次半结构式访谈,重点是个人数据、捕鱼方式、对海牛的看法和了解。访谈结果显示,兼捕是海牛面临的最大威胁(56%),其次是污染(16%),而船只碰撞(12%)、狩猎(11%)和干旱(5%)则是排名靠后的威胁。我们的结果表明,参与者对海牛的生物学和生态学有很好的了解。然而,人类与海牛之间存在冲突,39% 的渔民认为海牛通过争夺渔业资源和/或损坏渔具对捕鱼产生了负面影响。我们建议加强对海牛重要性的认识,以确保对该亚种及其栖息地进行最佳管理。渔民应直接参与制定该亚种的管理和保护计划,因为他们的知识对于了解和减轻海牛种群面临的风险至关重要。这项工作不仅在我们的研究区域,而且在海牛与人类共享栖息地的其他地方,特别是在边缘化的人类社区,对于理解海牛恢复过程中的人为因素都有明显的应用价值。
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来源期刊
Aquatic Conservation-Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
Aquatic Conservation-Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 环境科学-海洋与淡水生物学
CiteScore
5.50
自引率
4.20%
发文量
143
审稿时长
18-36 weeks
期刊介绍: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems is an international journal dedicated to publishing original papers that relate specifically to freshwater, brackish or marine habitats and encouraging work that spans these ecosystems. This journal provides a forum in which all aspects of the conservation of aquatic biological resources can be presented and discussed, enabling greater cooperation and efficiency in solving problems in aquatic resource conservation.
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