Foto: acervo FAURG

The coast of Rio Grande do Sul is where franciscana mortality rates are highest due to the pressures of overfishing and habitat destruction. The project “Assessing the Efficiency of Interministerial Instructive Norm 12/2012 and Proposal for an Integrated Fisheries Management Plan for the Conservation of the Franciscana and its Ecosystem in Rio Grande do Sul” aims to assess the impact of gillnet fishing upon the state’s populations of franciscana and other endangered marine megafauna. The project will also examine spatiotemporal variations on the practice, and the local fishing community’s perception of its fishing activities, the existing legislation and ecosystem health. With this information, the intention is to propose, in a participative manner, new fisheries management measures that can reconcile these socioeconomic and environmental demands.

The project is executed by the University of Rio Grande do Sul Support Foundation, in partnership with the Marine Megafauna Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, the Demersal and Cephalopod Fisheries Laboratory, and the NGOs Environmental Education and Monitoring Center (NEMA), Kaosa, and the Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul – GEMARS.

The initiative is supported by the Franciscana Conservation Project, financially managed by Funbio.