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. 2017 Aug 23;13(1):46.
doi: 10.1186/s13002-017-0174-7.

Habits and customs of crab catchers in southern Bahia, Brazil

Angélica M S Firmo  1 , Mônica M P Tognella  2   3 , Gabrielle D Tenório  1 , Raynner R D Barboza  4 , Rômulo R N Alves  4
Affiliations

Habits and customs of crab catchers in southern Bahia, Brazil

Angélica M S Firmo et al. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. .

Abstract

Background: Brazilian mangrove forests are widely distributed along the coast and exploited by groups of people with customs and habits as diverse as the biology of the mangrove ecosystems. This study identifies different methods of extracting crabs that inhabit the mangrove belts; some of these activities, such as catching individual crabs by hand, are aimed at maintaining natural stocks of this species in Mucuri (south Bahia), Brazil.

Methods: In the studied community, illegal hunting activities that violate Brazilian legislation limiting the use of tangle-netting in mangrove ecosystem were observed.

Results: According to our observations, fishermen, to catch individual crabs, use the tangle-netting technique seeking to increase income and are from families that have no tradition of extraction.

Conclusions: This analysis leads us to conclude that catchers from economically marginalised social groups enter mangroves for purposes of survival rather than for purposes of subsistence, because the catching by tangle-netting is a predatory technique. Tangle-netting technique increase caught but also increases their mortality rate. We emphasise that traditional catching methods are unique to Brazil and that manual capturing of crab should be preserved through public policies aimed at maintaining the crab population.

Keywords: Mangrove forests; Traditional culture; Trapping; Ucides cordatus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ information

Msc. Angélica MS Firmo, PhD student, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil.

Dr. Mônica MP Tognella, Professor, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, São Mateus, Brazil.

Msc. Gabrielle D Tenório, PhD student, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil.

Dr. Raynner RRD Barboza, Pos Doctoral, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Campina Grande, Brazil.

Dr. Rômulo RN Alves, Professor, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Campina Grande, Brazil.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All study procedures were informed by and approved by the local community addvisors board (Ethical Board in Research from CEUNES/UFES). This ethical board comprised elected academic thecnical representants and community leaders with different representation (religious, bussiness, lawyers). All interviewers consent to participate.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The “braceamento” technique used to capture crabs by traditional catchers
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Metal pole (hook) used to pull the crab out by the catchers in Mucuri-Bahia State
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Crab captured by tangle-netting
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Tangle-netting set at the opening of the burrow to capture the crab
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Predators of Ucides cordatus reported in the interviews with catchers by frequency of occurrence
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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