Side effects for batoids’ conservation in the vacuum of fishery management

Abstract

A shift verified in batoid landings by artisanal fisheries during 2017-2021 is interpreted as a potential consequence of legal measures set by the Brazilian government in 2014. In this five-year period, the increasing landings of stingrays concomitant with a decrease in the landings of guitarfish might be a result of fishing bans established for the Brazilian guitarfish Pseudobatos horkelii and the Shortnose guitarfish Zapteryx brevirostris, which are both endemic to the coasts of Southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina and listed as threatened at national and global levels. In 2022, more batoids became protected, so it is expected that shifts in captures will continue, reaching species whose stocks have not yet been evaluated and for which conservation measures are not foreseen. Considering the sociocultural and economic relevance of artisanal fisheries in the country, the observed shift is discussed here as it relates to batoids’ effective conservation and adherence to legal measures by the fishery sector in Southern Brazil.