Shark catches have increased worldwide, threatening the survival of several species. This study describes historical trends concerning shark consumption and commercialization by artisanal fishers in northeastern Brazil. Semi-structured questionnaires were applied and respondents pointed out that sharks used to be locally regarded as low-quality fish in the past and rejected by fish consumers, with low fisher consumption frequency. However, this has changed in recent decades, as a total of 95.4% (n=62) of the questionnaire respondents reported currently consuming shark meat, while 61.5% (n=40) highlighted its high quality. In addition, most interviewees (90.8%; n=59) reported decreasing numbers of sharks caught over time, following worldwide trends, leading to decreased fisher access to shark meat. Because of this, most respondents (70.7%, n=46) now consider it more advantageous to sell the sharks they catch than to consume them. In addition, the local commercialization of these fish is currently based on immature coastal species (<1 m). Thus, economic and biological studies on local shark populations are suggested in order to preserve local fisher culture and ensure food security for artisanal fisher communities and a long-term sustainable fishery and conservation of exploited species.

中文翻译：

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全球富人热点地区的历史鲨鱼肉消费和贸易趋势

全世界鲨鱼的捕获量增加，威胁到几种物种的生存。这项研究描述了巴西东北部手工捕鱼者鲨鱼消费和商业化的历史趋势。应用了半结构化问卷，并且受访者指出，鲨鱼过去在当地过去被视为劣质鱼，并被鱼的消费者所拒绝，渔民的消费频率较低。但是，近几十年来情况发生了变化，总共有95.4％（n = 62）的受访者表示目前正在食用鲨鱼肉，而61.5％（n = 40）的受访者称其质量高。此外，大多数受访者（90.8％； n = 59）报告说，随着全球趋势的发展，随着时间的流逝，捕获的鲨鱼数量减少，导致渔民获取鲨鱼肉的机会减少。因此，大多数受访者（70.7％，（n = 46）现在认为卖掉捕获的鲨鱼比消耗掉鲨鱼更有利。此外，这些鱼的当地商业化目前基于不成熟的沿海物种（<1 m）。因此，建议对当地鲨鱼种群进行经济和生物学研究，以保护当地渔民的文化，并确保手工渔民社区的粮食安全，以及长期可持续的渔业和被开发物种的保护。