DOI: 10.5061/dryad.msbcc2gb4
title: Fisher’s local ecological knowledge reveals valuable information about the impact of environmental changes on coastal fishing resources

description: Global changes, driven by pollution, overexploitation, and climate change,
 are altering coastal systems worldwide, with significant impacts on
 socioecological systems, especially in fishing communities reliant on
 marine resources. Using local ecological knowledge from two fishing
 communities in Brazil’s Costa dos Corais Environmental Protection Area, we
 assessed the effects of these changes on fishing resources and
 livelihoods. Through semi-structured interviews, 113 fishermen and
 fisherwomen reported declines or local extinctions of key species, such as
 Shellfishes (Tivela mactroides and Anomalocardia brasiliana) and fishes
 (Albula vulpes, Canranx hippos, Epinephelus marginatus, and Mycteroperca
 bonaci). These declines vary by species and are linked to their commercial
 value and trophic level, with higher trophic level and commercial value
 associated with higher decline perception. The study highlights the broad,
 multidirectional impacts of global changes on fishing activities and
 underscores the value of local ecological knowledge in understanding these
 effects. Such insights are crucial for developing effective,
 context-specific public policies and adaptation strategies to support
 vulnerable coastal communities.
description: # Fisher’s local ecological knowledge reveals valuable information about
 the impact of environmental changes on coastal fishing resources Dataset
 DOI: [10.5061/dryad.msbcc2gb4](10.5061/dryad.msbcc2gb4) ## Description of
 the data and file structure All data were obtained by semi-structured
 interviews with fisherfolk in two fishing communities from the
 Environmental Protection Area Costa dos Corais (EPACC). Secondary
 information regarding the species' biological characteristics was
 collected from FishBase and Sealife Base. ### Files and variables ####
 File: Data_LICCIs.csv **Description:** Categorization of Local Indicators
 of Climate Change Impacts (LICCI), identified by interviewed fisherfolk.
 ##### Variables * LICCI_ID: Ordered LICCI by interviewee * LICCI_System:
 LICCI categorized at the System level (first and highest level) *
 LICCI_Subsystem: LICCI is categorized at the level of Subsystem *
 LICCI_Categorized: LICCI categorized at the impacted element level *
 Change type: Type of the change identified for the LICCI (Decrease,
 increase, change) #### File: Data_change_percetion.csv
 **Description:** Individual reports of perceived population change in
 species of fishing resources by local experts.  ##### Variables *
 Interview_ID: Code of the interview * Local_common_name: Local common name
 of the fishing resource species * population_Changed: Perception of
 population change according to interviewee (Possible answers: Yes, No, or
 Do not know) * How_changed: Type of change perceived (Possible answers:
 vanished, decreased drastically, decreased moderately, did not change,
 increased moderately, increased drastically, do not know)  * Why_changed:
 Attributed causes for perceived population change (Possible answers:
 Fishing pressure, Pollution, Habitat alteration, and Climate changes) ####
 File: Data_CLMM_analysis.csv **Description:** Data used to perform CLMM
 analysis and create a forest plot ##### Variables * Interview_ID: Code of
 the interview * Coomon_name: Local common name of the fishing resource
 species * Species: Scientific name of the species * Group: Group of
 fishing resources (Invertebrate or fish) * Change_magnitude: Numeric
 transformation of the change magnitude (Possible answers: 0=vanished;
 1=dedreased drastically; 2=decreased moderately; 3=did not changed;
 4=increased moderately: 5=increased drastically) * Fisher_experience:
 declared experience of the fisher, measured in years * commercial_value:
 local commercial value of each species declared by local sellers, measured
 in the local coin (R$ - reais) * max_size: Maximum size of the species
 (numeric), measured in centimeters (cm). Information available in Fishbase
 (for fishes) or Sealife Base (for invertebrates) * Trophic_level: Trophic
 level value (numeric). Information available in Fishbase (for fishes) or
 Sealife Base (for invertebrates) * Main_environment: Main environment
 where the fisher declared to fish (Possible answers: offshore, inshore,
 beach, mangrove, river) * Feeding: Feeding habit of the species (Possible
 answers: detritivore, filter, herbivore, omnivorous, carnivore).
 Information available in Fishbase (for fishes) or Sealife Base (for
 invertebrates).  * Status_IUCN: Conservation status of the
 species according to IUCN classification (Possible answers: DD=Data
 Deficient; NE=Not Evaluated; LC=Least Concern; NT=Near Threatened;
 VU=Vulnerable; CE=Critically Endangered). Information available in
 Fishbase (for fishes) or Sealife Base (for invertebrates). #### File:
 Data_ANOVA.csv **Description:** Data used to perform ANOVA, test Tukey
 analysis, and create a boxplot ##### Variables * Group: Group of fisheries
 resources (Fish and Invertebrates) * Cause: Attributed causes for
 perceived population change (Possible answers: Fishing pressure,
 Pollution, Habitat alteration, and Climate changes) * Treatment:
 interaction between Group and Cause - Citations: Number of citations for
 each combination of group, cause, and treatment. #### File:
 script_ANOVA_TUKEY.R **Description:** all procedures, including loading
 and treatment of the data, to perform the ANOVA, test Tukey analysis, and
 to create the boxplot.   #### File: script_CLMM.R **Description:** R
 script containing all procedures, including loading and treatment of the
 data, to perform the CLMM analysis and to create the forest plot.  ##
 Code/software Any electronic spreadsheet software should work to visualize
 and edit data. ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations
 of the data: * Not Applicable Data was derived from the following sources:
 * Semi-structured interviews using questionnaires. ## Human subjects data
 All participants consented to participate in the research and to make
 their information available for academic purposes, under the guidelines of
 authorization CAAE 26800819.1.0000.5013 from the Human Research Ethics
 Committee of the Federal University of Alagoas (CEP-UFAL). None of the
 participants were identified in the database; the participants were coded
 with an alphanumeric code number according to the order in which the
 interviews were conducted (e.g., P1, P2, P3...).