• Main Authors: Carlos Antônio Beserra da Silva Júnior, Maria Elisabeth de Araújo, Caroline Vieira Feitosa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia 2013-03-01
• Series: Neotropical Ichthyology
• Subjects: Demersal fish; Recovery; Sandy beach; Susceptibility; Vulnerability
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252013000100133

The prawn fishery produces more discards than any other type of catch and captures a large quantity of immature individuals. This research aimed to assess the sustainability of capture of fish bycatch in prawn trawling. Each species was assessed according to two groups of criteria: (1) their relative vulnerability to capture by trawl and mortality due to this fishery (2) recovery capacity of the specie after a possible collapse of the population. Within each group, each species was ranked (1-3), being 1 the highest value, meaning the species is highly susceptible to capture or has a low resilience. A total of 8,894 individuals were caught, belonging to 28 families. The species with capture least sustainable were Stellifer rastrifer and Isopisthus parvipinnis. These latter species are highly susceptible since they are either benthic or demersal, and their diet may include benthic organism. Chirocentrodon bleekerianus and Anchoa tricolor were the most likely fishes to be sustainable since they are pelagic, they are least susceptible to capture by trawls, and also have a greater capacity to recover, as most individuals have bred before capture. Due to the fishery's multi-specific nature, it is difficult to implement mitigation measures for specific species. Thus, the creation of fishing exclusion zones should be considered as the most appropriate management measure.<br>A pesca de arrasto de camar&#227;o produz mais descarte do que qualquer outra pescaria e captura uma grande quantidade de indiv&#237;duos imaturos. Esta pesquisa visa determinar a sustentabilidade da captura da ictiofauna acompanhante na pesca de arrasto de camar&#227;o. Cada esp&#233;cie foi analisada de acordo com dois grupos de crit&#233;rios: (1) vulnerabilidade &#224; captura pela rede de arrasto e mortalidade ocasionada por esta pescaria; e (2) capacidade de recupera&#231;&#227;o da popula&#231;&#227;o para minimizar. Dentro de cada crit&#233;rio as esp&#233;cies foram classificadas de 1 a 3, sendo 1 o valor mais alto, indicando que a esp&#233;cie &#233; altamente suscept&#237;vel &#224; captura ou tem baixa capacidade de recupera&#231;&#227;o. Um total de 8.894 indiv&#237;duos foram capturados, pertencendo a 28 fam&#237;lias. As esp&#233;cies com captura menos sustent&#225;vel foram Stellifer rastrifer e Isopisthus parvipinnis. Estas esp&#233;cies s&#227;o altamente suscept&#237;veis, pois s&#227;o bent&#244;nicas ou demersais e suas dietas incluem organismos bent&#244;nicos. Chirocentrodon bleekerianus e Anchoa tricolor foram as esp&#233;cies que apresentaram a captura mais sustent&#225;vel. Por serem pel&#225;gicas, s&#227;o menos suscept&#237;veis &#224; captura por arrastos de fundo, al&#233;m disto, apresentaram uma grande capacidade de recupera&#231;&#227;o, pois a maior parte dos indiv&#237;duos capturados encontrava-se acima do seu tamanho de primeira matura&#231;&#227;o sexual. Devido &#224; natureza multiespec&#237;fica da pescaria &#233; dif&#237;cil implementar medidas mitigat&#243;rias espec&#237;ficas. Assim, a cria&#231;&#227;o de zona de exclus&#227;o de pesca deve ser considerada como a medida de manejo mais adequada.