Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gears in rocky reefs of Southern Brazil

Abstract

The intense exploitation of fishing resources has led the activity into a global crisis. However, fishing effort continues to increase despite the collapse of some of the main fish stocks (FAO, 2014). This increasing effort produces both direct and indirect impact on marine ecosystems (PAULY et al., 2002). Marine debris resulting from abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) (LAIST, 1995; MACFADYEN et al., 2009) is one type of indirect impact, responsible for harming marine fauna and for causing economic loss (DAYTON et al., 1995).ALDFG captures target and non-target fish species by a phenomenon known as ‘ghost fishing’, which means that the fishing gear continues to catch fish even though fishers are no longer controlling it (SMOLOWITZ, 1978). The term is associated with mortality and injuries inflicted on vertebrates and invertebrates caught by ALDFG (BREEN, 1987; BARREIROS; RAYKOV, 2014).At least one-third of the Brazilian coast consists of reef environments, with coral reefs concentrated on the northern/northeastern coast and rocky reefs on the southeastern/southern coast. These ecosystems are highly diverse, rich in natural resources and of great ecological, economic and social importance, with immense potential for hosting endemic species (FERREIRA et al., 2001; ROCHA, 2003). There are few studies on the impact of ghost fishing in Brazil, many of them reporting the existence of marine debris and fishing gear found in coastal areas (MACHADO; FILLMANN, 2010; MASCARENHAS et al., 2008; POSSATTO et al., 2011; VIEIRA et al., 2011; DANTAS et al