Harvesting_Venus Clam_Brazil

Emma_Hemmerle — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 15:34:37 +0000

Harvesting_Venus Clam_Brazil Emma_Hemmerle Thu, 01/20/2022 - 15:34

Affiliation

IIED

Date Of Record Entry

Thu, 01/20/2022 - 12:00

Type of wild species covered by the record

Wild species used in its natural habitat

Stage of the value chain covered by the record

Unknown/not recorded

Record Source

Scientific publication (e.g., journal articles and book chapters independently peer-reviewed)

The harvesting process and fisheries production of the venus clam Anomalocardia flexuosa in a Brazilian extractive reserve, with implications for gender-sensitive management

Unknown/not recorded

Is the species endemic HIDE

Unknown

Population Status

Common and wildly distributed

No formal international protection in place

National Level

Unknown/not recorded

Extractive reserve management rules

Population Trend

Unknown/not recorded

Sub-national Level

Formal sub-national protection in place

Name

Emma Hemmerlé

Scientific Name

Anomalocardia flexuosa

Common Name(s)

Venus Clam

Type of Use

Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)

If extractive, for the target species, is this use

Lethal

Does this use involve take/extraction of

The whole entire organism

Are specific characteristics/traits being targeted?

Unknown/not recorded

Purpose of Use

Basic subsistence (meeting day to day essential needs)

Income generation from trade at individual or household or community

What is the main end use for any living organisms, parts or products taken/extracted?

Food for People

Time period over which this has been recorded

2005 to 2015

What is the trend in the level of offtake within the period covered by this record?

Increasing

Is there a regulatory or customary regime in place to govern this use?

Unknown/Not Recorded

Geographic Location

South America

Country

Brazil

Sub region/state

Paraíba state

Name

Extractive Reserve Acaú-Goiana

Is the site legally/formally protected?

Yes

Ownership

Community Owned

Management

Community Managed

Local people (e.g., individuals, communities, co-operatives)

If more than one box ticked, please provide more details

The Acaú community comprises 300 shellfishers registered in the Association of Shellfish Harvesters of Acaú. They depend on artisanal fisheries as their main income source

Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?

Unknown/not recorded

Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE

Yes – use is negatively affecting the status (e.g., population is declining; extraction effort is increasing)

Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?

Unknown/not recorded

Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?

Unknown/not reported

Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species

Unknown/not recorded

Details of assessment carried out

The practicalities, and ecological as well as economic benefits and risks of the three currently applied techniques differ. Hand- or handle rake collection require least force and equipment, but are less efficient compared to the dip net. The latter provides a higher financial return, however the fact that the number of clams collected is greater compared to the other two techniques, using the dip net increases the risk of overfishing.

Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded

Contribution to GDP

Unknown/not recorded

Food

Energy

Medicine/healthcare

Education

Training/Skills

Land/Resource Rights

Decision Making

Conflict- people

Conflict- wildlife

Climate Change

Has the use of the species been recorded as resulting in changes to human health in this record?

Unknown/not recorded

Has the species in use been noted as being of particular disease risk to humans?

Unknown/not recorded

Has the use of the species resulted in changes to animal welfare in this record?

Unknown/not recorded

Are there particular practices which have increased the risk to human or animal health or welfare in the use of this species?

Unknown/not recorded

Does the use of this species increase susceptibility to pathogen spread?

Unknown/not recorded

Strong community governance/institutions/rights for wildlife management

Absent

Supportive policy and legislative framework

Absent

Adequate capacity to implement and enforce governance arrangements

Absent

Good alignment of legal protections with local cultural values and traditional

Absent

Support from NGOs

Absent

Support from Government

Absent

High financial returns from use

Absent

Abundant population of target species

Absent

Biological characteristics of target species

Absent

Capacity building of community

Absent

Establishment and implementation of species and/or area management plan

Absent

Effective private sector approach engagement through certification

Absent

Good Market Strategies

Absent

Is this use legal or illegal?

Unknown/Not Recorded

Source Reference(s)

da Silva Mourão, J., Baracho, R., de Faria Lopes, S., Medeiros, M., & Diele, K. (2021). The harvesting process and fisheries production of the venus clam Anomalocardia flexuosa in a Brazilian extractive reserve, with implications for gender-sensitive management. Ocean & Coastal Management, 213, 105878. doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105878

Shell length and abundance of A. flexuosa have decreased over time in several locations in Brazil (Rocha et al., 2008; Oliveira et al., 2014; Silva-Cavalcanti and Costa, 2011; Pezzuto and Souza, 2015), often linked to high exploitation levels.

Who is involved in the use?

Unknown/Not Recorded

Is there any gender/age specificity in the various roles

Yes

The species is collected and its meat extracted throughout the year, in an artisanal manner, by hand or with the aid of instruments, mostly by women; . The present study revealed the predominance of women in the A. flexuosa fishery in the North-east Brazilian marine extractive reserve (ER) Acaú, and their preference and dependency on certain capture techniques.

How many of these local jobs accure to the following categories?

How many people outside the local area are employed

Is there any evidence of other economic benefits associated with this use beyond direct income and jobs

Unknown/Not recorded

Does the site have any designations? HIDE

Other effective area based conservation measures (OECMS)

Any other tenure arrangements

As is the case for all ERs (Rueda, 1995), the ER Acaú-Goiana is a co-management area where users have a say in the formal decision-making process. ER agreements such as the one approved for Acaú-Goiana in 2017 are made involving representatives from all stakeholder groups. Therefore, compliance is often better than in protected areas with a top-down management approach.

In the north-east Brazilian Goiana River estuary, in the late 90s, following land use changes and increased fishing pressure, local stakeholders demanded the creation of an ER (extractive Reserve) to protect their rights and futures, including the shellfishers of the Acaú community who formulated and submitted a petition. Consequently, in 2007 the ER Acaú Goiana was created, located inside the Goiana River estuary

Scale of Assessment

Individual Site

IUCN National Red List Category

Not Evaluated (NE)

IUCN Global Red List Category

Not Evaluated (NE)

Green Status Global Category

Indeterminate

Yearly Financial Flows

Sustainability not determined

Country reference

Brazil