Ocean and Coastal Management 192 (2020) 105189 Available online 23 April 2020 0964-5691/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Artisanal fsher perceptions on ghost nets in a tropical South Atlantic marine biodiversity hotspot: Challenges to traditional fshing culture and implications for conservation strategies M� arcio L.V. Barbosa-Filho a, * , Cecília In� es Seminara b , Davi Castro Tavares c , Salvatore Siciliano d , Rachel Ann Hauser-Davis e , Jos� e da Silva Mour~ ao f a Programa de P� os-graduaç~ ao em Etnobiologia e Conservaç~ ao da Natureza, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Rua Dom Manuel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irm~ aos, Recife, PE, 52171-900, Brazil b Departamento de Ci^ encias Biol� ogicas, Programa de P� os-Graduaç~ ao em Desenvolvimento Regional e Meio Ambiente, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Rodovia Jorge Amado, Km 16, Salobrinho, Ilh� eus, BA, 45662-900, Brazil c Department of Theoretical Ecology & Modelling, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Fahrenheitstraße 6, 28359, Bremen, Germany d Laborat� orio de Biodiversidade, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/Fiocruz, Pavilh~ ao Mourisco, sala 217, Av. Brasil, 4.365, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21040-900, Brazil e Laborat� orio de Avaliaç~ ao e Promoç~ ao da Saúde Ambiental, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/Fiocruz, Av. Brasil, 4.365, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21040-360, Brazil f Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Rua Baraúnas, 351, Bairro Universit� ario, Campina Grande, PB, 58429-500, Brazil A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Environmental impact Artisanal fshing Biodiversity conservation Co-management Northeast Brazil ABSTRACT Ghost fshing, the ability of fshing equipment to continue to capture organisms even after it is no longer controlled, leads to serious marine impacts, including bycatch, which contributes to biodiversity loss. Insistent complaints from artisanal fsher in the state of Bahia, Brazil, concerning the impacts of nets lost or abandoned by fsher from other regions that operate in their traditional fshing territory were brought to the attention of our research group. Therefore, this study aims to describe the knowledge and classify fsher perceptions in south Bahia regarding ghost fsheries in the region, as well as the resulting impacts and fsher ideas for solving this problem in a coastal coral reef region. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between August 2015 and September 2017 with 60 fshers, 59 men and one woman, that fsh with hand lines and hooks in the studied area. A total of 90% of respondents (n ¼ 54) reported having found ghost nets in their ancestral fshing territories, while 93% (n ¼ 56) associated ghost nets with fnancial losses and marine environment impacts. Most re- spondents (n ¼ 56; 93%) also indicated lower fshery yields due to ghost nets and indicated (n ¼ 55; 91.9%) that most ghost nets found in the area are used for lobster fshing, which is banned in Brazil. Fishers revealed an active interest in solving this socio-environmental problem, demonstrating detailed knowledge related to the loss of fshing nets in the local marine environment, as they have been fnding and removing ghost nets from the local sea. Fisher’s ideas to solve this problem included the implementation of fnes for fshers caught in breach of regional and national fsheries regulations, and management actions, such as ghost net removal from the sea. Establishing partnerships between fsher and the federal government in curbing ghost fsheries is crucial. 1. Introduction Marine and coastal environments have increasingly undergone a concerning degradation process associated, mainly, to increasing pres- sure on their natural resources and the low capacity of such ecosystems to respond to human-made impacts (FAO, 2016a). A signifcant human-related threat is the mismanagement of solid waste, which culminates in aesthetic, economic, and environmental impacts (Cole et al., 2011; Wilcox et al., 2016). In this scenario, fshing-related debris, including abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fshing gear (hereafter termed “ALDFG”) is noteworthy. The relatively recent switch from the natural or biodegradable materials traditionally used for centuries to synthetic fshing gear has led to a rise in the amount of ALDFG accu- mulated in the world’s oceans. * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: titobiomar@hotmail.com, titobiomar1@gmail.com (M.L.V. Barbosa-Filho), ceciseminara@gmail.com (C.I. Seminara), wetlandbirdbrazil@ gmail.com (D.C. Tavares), gemmlagos@gmail.com (S. Siciliano), rachel.hauser.davis@gmail.com (R.A. Hauser-Davis), tramataia@gmail.com (J. da Silva Mour~ ao). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ocean and Coastal Management journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105189 Received 18 October 2019; Received in revised form 19 March 2020; Accepted 22 March 2020