Recount pirarucu: a method for evaluating the quality of the pirarucu counts.

Abstract

The pirarucu counting method is a simplified stock assessment that has been used as the main parameter for establishing the annual fishing quotas in the management system of the Mamirauá and Amanã Reserves. In spite of the method’s directness, considering the recent expansion of managed fisheries, we cannot confirm that the counters thoroughly obey the original methodology. There is a concern of a technical nature, as the results of the counts directly influence the fishing quotas, and the lack of technical supervision or the inadequate application of the method are factors that can compromise the management system as a whole. This study aims to assess the counts that took place in six fishing environments of the Jarauá Sector, Mamirauá Reserve, and in four fishing environments of the area of the Pantaleão Fishing Agreement Complex, Amanã Reserve. We verified the consistency of the information resulting from the count, presented to the technical staff. To do this, we conducted recounts of juvenile and adult pirarucus in the same environments. In the Jarauá Sector we found significant differences in the counting results from Samaumerinha do Tucuxi and Curuçá do Centro. In Comprido do Maciel we found differences regarding the number of counted areas. In the sampled environments from the Pantaleão region we did not find significant differences between the counts. The results highlight the importance of creating assessment mechanisms for the counts, for the purpose of preventing possible alterations in the results that might influence the fishing quotas without a biological reason for justifying such quotas.