Bycatch fauna of seabob shrimp trawl fisheries from Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil

Abstract

Marine communities in tropical regions contain a great diversity of species that play key roles in ecological processes. The observed bycatch fauna in artisanal fishing for the seabob shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862) in the southwest Atlantic exceeds the quantity of commercial shrimp captured. This bycatch has not been previously inventoried extensively in Brazil, particularly in the State of Santa Catarina, where small-scale shrimp fisheries is a traditional activity and dominates the local fishing economy. Six municipalities were sampled three times a month, from 1996 to 2011, yielding 216 species belonging to the bycatch (7 cnidarians, 22 mollusks, 42 crustaceans, 11 echinoderms, and 134 fishes). Bycatch management is a pressing aspect of shrimp fisheries. By inventorying the accidental bycatch, we provide a preliminary step towards defining intervention measures to reduce or make better use of this bycatch in seabob artisanal fisheries. Conservation of marine biodiversity is still inadequate in Brazil. We have attempted to identify additional threats to vulnerable and endangered species resulting from shrimp trawling.