Fishers' ecological knowledge of the Lower Ucayali

Data gathered for: Fishers’ ecological knowledge points to fishing-induced
changes in the Peruvian Amazon (2024). Ecological Applications Scientists
increasingly draw on fishers’ ecological knowledge (FEK) to gain a better
understanding of fish biology and ecology and inform options for fisheries
management. We report on a study of FEK among fishers along the Lower
Ucayali River in Peru, a region of exceptional productivity and diversity,
which is also a major supplier of fish to the largest city in the Peruvian
Amazon. Given a lack of available scientific information on
stocks status, we sought to identify temporal changes in the composition
and size of exploited species by interviewing fishers from 18 communities
who vary in years of fishing experience since the mid-1950s. We develop
four FEK-based indicators to assess changes in the fish assemblage and
compare findings with landings data.  We find an intensification
of fishing gear deployed over time, spatiotemporal shifts in the fish
assemblage, and reported declines in species weight, which point to a
fishing-down process with declines across multiple species. This finding
is reflected in a shifting baseline among our participants, whereby
younger generation of fishers have different expectations regarding the
distribution and size of species. Our study points to the importance of
spillover effects from the nearby Pacaya-Samira National Reserve and
community initiatives to support the regional fishery and the supply of
fish to city markets. Reference to fishers’ knowledge also suggests that
species decline is likely underreported in aggregated landings
data.  The dataset contains information derived from
fishers' interviews as well as a subset of socioeconomic information
gathered during follow-up household surveys. Additional information
gathered during household surveys conducted by the Peruvian Amazon Rural
Livelihoods and Poverty (PARLAP) project (https://parlap.geog.mcgill.ca)
between 2014 and 2016 is also included. Landings data included in this
study are restricted and not available publicly. The aggregated dataset of
landings in Loreto from 1984 to 2016 is the property of the Dirección
Regional de la Producción Loreto. Data are available to qualified
researchers from Dirección Regional de la Producción Loreto by contacting
the Director, whose contact information is available at
https://www.gob.pe/institucion/regionloreto/funcionarios.