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• Presentation of the results achieved by the bycatch reduction devices tested in the shrimp-trawling fishery in Sirinhaém- PE, northeast Brazil, to the local fishing community.

As part of the activities of the REBYC-II LAC Project in Brazil, various bycatch reduction devices have been tested by the project DEFA (Projeto de Dispositivo de Exclusão de Fauna Acompanhante- DEFA), financed by the Secretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Brazilian Government,  in the fishing community of Barra de Sirinhaém, Pernambuco State, located in the northeast of Brazil. After the results were compiled and analyzed, they had to be presented to the fishing community. Although the shrimp-trawling fishery is an important economic activity in Sirinhaém, because of its bycatch, which includes many small fish, part of the community has long held a suspicious view of this fishing method. It has been thought to be very harmful to the marine environment and other fishing activities carried out locally. The DEFA project has been developed in very close collaboration with the local fishers, who were much interested in demonstrating that the shrimp-trawling fishery can be done in a more sustainable manner, by significantly reducing the amount of bycatch, with the use of the proper technology (Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRDs)).

REBYC Project staff, from Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Prof. Vanildo Oliveira, explaining the results achieved with different BRDs tested.

During the event, together with the results achieved so far, the difficulties and challenges to run the experiments were explained. The methodology for developing the BRDs included both hard (aluminum grids) and soft (square mesh) devices. Because of the geographical isolation of the fishing community, located in a rather remote area, and their lack of resources, the research staff strived to use the simplest and cheapest material possible. The aluminum grid, for instance, was done with a tubular structure fixed by rivets, and straight aluminum profiles, due to the difficulty to bend them. The final cost of the grid was estimated to be less than US$ 20,00. In the case of the fish-eye, instead of aluminum, a much cheaper iron bar was successfully used to frame the structure.

 The project team presented the results of three types of BRDs tested in the trawl nets locally used by the fishers. The device that achieved the best results was the vertical square-mesh panel, as an adapted fish-eye. It did not significantly change the amount of shrimp caught, while achieving a significant reduction of bycatch. Another device that had good results was the aluminum grid, which allowed the exit of larger fish, such as rays and sharks, as well as sea turtles. However, this device presented some limitations in areas with high density of seaweed, because of its propensity to become easily clogged.

During the meeting, some of the fishers gave their own testimony. Mr. Izaias "Miro", for instance, expressed his satisfaction with the results achieved so far and for having contributed to the development of the project. He stated that he was very proud for having trusted the initiative since the very beginning. His testimony, as a prominent member of the fishing community, was very significant, since he emphasized the importance of the use of BRDs to make the shrimp-trawling fishery more sustainable. The BRDs let the small fish escape, while retaining the larger specimens that were important for the food security of so many community members. Differently from most other areas, in Sirinhaém, all fish bycatch is donated to the poor members of the community, highlighting its solidary nature.

The great acceptance of the devices tested by the fishing community was a consequence of the direct involvement of the fishers from the very beginning of the project. This is a lesson to be learned. The only way a significant change can happen in a traditional fishery is by being driven by the fishers themselves. In this case, they have understood that their future depended very much on their capacity to become more sustainable. In that sense, the BRDs were understood by them, from the start, not only as a mean to reduce the environmental impact of the shrimp-trawling fishery, but of ensuring the very future of this fishing activity.

 Written by Vanildo Souza de Oliveira (DEFA Project Coordinator DEFA/ Brazil) and Fabio Hissa Vieira Hazin, (REBYC National Coordinator/ Brazil)

The different kinds of BRDs tested in the shrimp trawling fishery in Barra de Sirinhaém, Pernambuco State, northeast Brazil

Local fisherman, Izaias “Miro”, explaining the results achieved by the BRDs tested in his boat, to the local fishing community