The Status and Trends of the Inland Fisheries in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean is a region with abundant inland water resources and associated ecosystems, which deliver a range of important ecosystem services, including inland fisheries which provides food and nutrition, to the riparian populations. Data and information about these fisheries are sparse and scattered in most of the countries. In this session an updated review of the characteristics and status of inland fisheries of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will be presented and discussed. The document analyzes the trends in the fisheries, the quality of the available information, the social and economic value of fisheries resources and their contribution to food security and nutrition and poverty alleviation. It also describes the legal and management frameworks for inland fisheries, the value chain, and the value of other fishing activities such as ornamental and sport-recreational fisheries.

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The Giant Fishes of LAC: Natural History, Management, and Conservation

Coastal bony fishes with a size greater than one meter in length play a key role in the ecosystem and are a valuable economic and cultural resource, however, most species are threatened by overfishing, habitat loss, and coastal pollution. The Latin American and Caribbean coastal waters are home to at least 32 species of giant fishes, half of these have been evaluated with a degree of vulnerability by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with eight species lacking data preventing their assessment. The IUCN’s Red List is a tool to inform and catalyze conservation actions; however, the IUCN’s recommendations are not integrated into national and regional fisheries management programs. This symposium seeks to bring together academics, civil organizations, managers, and stakeholders on the research and management of giant, commercially important fishes to discuss and generate an international and synergic effort toward new stewardship for these fish species.

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Recreational Fisheries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Opportunities and Challenges

Recreational fishing (RF) is a very popular activity worldwide, with at least 220 million people catching billions of fish each year. Lately there has been a growing recognition of its economic, socio-cultural and ecological relevance, as well as of the importance of recreational catches compared to commercial landings. The literature on RF in countries from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is scarce and scattered, with little connection between researchers working on different topics. The proposed Recreational Fisheries Symposium aims at sharing experiences about the state of the art for the study of RF in LAC, including topics (but not limited to) such as legal framework, governance, management and monitoring. Big pictures for the status of RF in each country are encouraged for oral presentations and panels. A plenary aimed to discuss the potential advantages of creating a network of stakeholders interested in RF in the region will be organized.

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Introduced Salmonids in South America: Distribution, Impacts, and Management

The introduction of non-native salmonids into South America has resulted in the establishment of multiple species. Today Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, and Chinook Salmon have the broadest distributions on the continent. Research on the ecology and impacts of non-native salmonids has developed during the last two decades. Yet, many questions remain about the future of salmonids in this region. This symposium aims to provide an update on the current knowledge about salmonids in South America, focusing on their biogeography, ecology, genetics, ecosystem impacts and effects, socioecology, and management options. We will end this session with a discussion panel about management methods of invasive salmonids and challenges in mitigating impacts.

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Improving Data-Limited, Coastal Fisheries: Realities, Challenges, and Innovation from Latin America Cases

The process of implementing effective, participatory coastal fisheries management measures that are durable and supported by  multiple stakeholders can be an enormous challenge, especially in data-limited situations. Management paralysis, or an inability to move forward, can often occur for multiple reasons and at multiple levels. Factors such as limited avenues for inclusive stakeholder participation, messy or disparate  data sources, limited capacity to assess and analyze, challenges in implementing data collection systems at faster time scales, and lack of community ownership of management decisions, contribute to this action impasse. During this session we will learn from different experiences across Latin America that have addressed and overcome this challenge through applying diverse tactics and methodologies.

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Fishery Improvement Projects as a Market-driven Tool to Improve Fisheries Sustainability

Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) are a multi-stakeholder effort that aims to address the challenges in a fishery, especially those towards environmental sustainability. However, FIPs are starting to include other issues. These projects use the power of the private sector to incentivize improvements in fisheries. FIPs are increasing worldwide and their goal is to improve the sustainability of the fisheries, while maintaining access to markets interested in sourcing more sustainable seafood. Although they do not necessarily pursue certification, FIPs use the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fishery Standard as a benchmark tool to track FIPs environmental performance. This session will consist of a brief FIP overview, followed by a plenary talk where several stakeholders will share their experience collaborating in a FIP and how their work is driving their fisheries to sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean region. Stakeholders will be answering questions such as, how are they collaborating within FIP? How FIPs are increasing fisheries knowledge? How FIPs are driving changes in fishery practices and management?

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Fisheries Sustainability Improvement Challenges and Solutions for Small-scale Fishery Communities

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasize a critical overhaul of current fishing practices and management in marine systems and aquatic ecosystems more generally. Specific targets such as support for small-scale fishers (14.9)increase economic benefits for marine resources (14.7), and end subsidies for overfishing (14.6) have made poor progress given the original 2030 deadline of achievement. Although a plethora of management approaches and economic strategies have become available in recent decades for catalyzing these changes, the understanding of available pathways for small-scale fisheries (SSF) to achieve SDG’s remains ambiguous. Under even the best circumstances, implementation of approaches common to industrial fishing can be excessively demanding for developing nation and SSF communities with fisheries being often data-poor and not able address local sustainability priorities. The proposed symposium will bring together speakers from the SSF and aquaculture communities who have implemented creative solutions to overcome barriers to achieve sustainable environmental and socio-economic goals.

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Fisheries Bycatch and Discards: RedCID an Iberoamérica and Caribe Network

Incidental catches and discards of unwanted species or sizes, especially of vulnerable species are a challenge for fisheries managers. With the aim of supporting the sustainable use of ecosystems, an interactive and virtual network was created in 2021 by a group of colleagues, partly motivated by the restrictions imposed by COVID19 and the change to virtual communication media. Since the network release, several web seminars were carried out on a monthly frequency, covering subjects of interest and needs of their participants. After two years or virtual functioning, we propose a workshop in order to present the status of the bycatch problem in different regions of Iberoamerica and Caribe, seek for ways to strengthen interactions through the network, and discuss measures and solutions for bycatch and discards management. We think it is a good time to have a workshop, receiving suggestions from the participants in the Congress to improve our activities in the future.

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Dispersal And Movement Behaviour of Young and Small-Bodied Freshwater Fish

This session is aimed at convening presentations that can shed light on our knowledge about the dispersal and movements of freshwater larvae and small-bodied fish. Fish larvae are the most threatened life stage of most species, and population persistence depends on larval survival. Amongst threatened species, small-bodied fish figure as those with the larger number of species under a certain level of threat. Yet, these species have been neglected or received very little attention in research, leaving considerable knowledge gaps about their ecology and behaviour. For both larvae and small-bodied fish, one aspect of their life-histories considerably understudied is their dispersal and movement abilities. We aim to bring together researchers from across the globe that have, most recently, devoted efforts to understanding and characterising movement behaviour and dispersal patterns in fish larvae and small-bodied species.

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