Photo: Maristela Colucci

Studies conducted in 2008/9 flagged a sharp reduction in franciscana numbers in Management Area II (FMA II), which straddles the states of São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina. An estimated 1,100 of the 6,200 franciscana recorded in the area in 2000 had been caught up in driftnets and killed as by-catch.

Even after the promulgation of Interministerial Norm 12/2012, in 2010, which regulated the use of driftnets along the southern/southeastern coast of Brazil, the number of franciscana deaths by by-catch did not decrease.

The project Franciscana Conservation in Management Area II aims to broker agreement between social agents, researchers and managers on the need for dialogue and an integrated-management approach to franciscana conservation. Toward that end, it proposes to:

– Spot for floating or beached franciscana carcasses in FMA II;

– Regulate and restrict fishing activity in FMA II and assess the views of fishing communities on the by-catch of endangered species, particularly the franciscana dolphin;

– Gauge the fishing communities’ receptivity to restrictions and the effectiveness and enforcement of INI MPA/MMA nº 12/2012;

– Assess the magnitude of franciscana mortality aboard fishing fleets operating in FMA II;

– Assess the distribution and abundance of franciscana pods in FMA II, and conduct fly-overs to identify the presence of driftnet trawlers;

– Integrate information and data collated from fishermen, fly-overs, and beachings in order to identify areas, periods and fishing modalities that pose the greatest risk of franciscana capture/mortality in FMA II;

– Draw up fisheries ordinance proposals geared towards the reduction of by-catch of endangered species in general and the franciscana in particular.