Elsevier

Fisheries Research

Volume 238, June 2021, 105915
Fisheries Research

Insights into the ecology of sea turtles and the fisheries of eastern Guajira from the traditional knowledge of fishermen

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2021.105915Get rights and content

Abstract

The productive waters of the Guajira peninsula (Colombia) support unique marine ecosystems and fisheries with high levels of biodiversity upon which Wayuu indigenous communities rely for subsistence. However, climate change has affected local people’s livelihoods and dependence on fisheries has increased as a result in this area. Socio-ecological knowledge to understand the fisheries and the ecosystems of Guajira is necessary, however, acquiring such knowledge has been difficult in the past due to the remoteness and harsh environmental conditions of the peninsula that hinder corresponding scientific studies. In this study, we contacted local fishermen during a field expedition of three weeks, to collect their traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) about the local marine species, particularly of sea turtles, as well as the fisheries characteristics in eastern Guajira. Fishing practices in eastern Guajira were artisanal, for subsistence, from small wooden or fiberglass vessels. The types of fishing gear varied, the most common of which were chinchorros and entanglement nets. Catch included diverse taxonomic groups such as finned fish, cartilaginous fish, sea turtles and crustaceans. Four sea turtle species occurred at eastern Guajira, the most common of which is the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas. The sea turtles were mostly juveniles and subadults of both sexes, present year-round and with a peak in the months of May through September. After confirming the accuracy of collected TEK through field observations, we concluded these findings add knowledge to and can support fisheries and biodiversity management in Guajira, particularly in the face of regional climate-imposed challenges to human communities and marine ecosystems.

Introduction

Human communities traditionally settle along and rely upon coastal areas with enough food resources, jobs and recreational opportunities to satisfy their needs (Salas et al., 2011; Neumann et al., 2017). The Southern Caribbean Sea by the coasts of east Colombia and west Venezuela is characterized by seasonal, nutrient upwelling events that provide coastal waters with elevated levels of nutrients, greatly increasing primary productivity (Andrade and Barton, 2005; Rueda-Roa and Muller-Karger, 2013). The high biomass of producers attracts hundreds of consumer species including large-sized commercial and non-commercial fish, invertebrates and reptiles, among others (Criales-Hernández et al., 2006). These species constitute highly productive fisheries sustaining human communities along the easternmost coast of Colombia, such as the communities of Wayuu people in the Guajira peninsula (Corpoguajira and Invemar, 2012; Viloria-Maestre et al., 2016). These communities rely predominantly on the area’s marine resources for subsistence as well as income through traditional and commercial fishing (Corpoguajira and Invemar, 2012; Viloria-Maestre et al., 2016).

Similar to other Caribbean communities, Wayuu fishermen have made use of ocean resources along the Guajira peninsula for thousands of years (Guerra-Curvelo, 2004; Guerra-Curvelo et al., 2015; Rick and Erlandson, 2008). As a result of this long-term dependence and interaction with the natural environment, the Wayuu people have developed a rich culture around marine organisms and have extensive knowledge about the area’s marine resources and natural history (Guerra-Curvelo et al., 2015). One of the strongest interactions of the Wayuu fishermen is with sea turtles, which is dictated by the traditional community’s diet and traditional beliefs around these long-living animals. Since pre-Columbian times, indigenous peoples consumed sea turtles for their meat, particularly the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) (Rueda et al., 1992; Thorbjarnarson et al., 2000; Guerra-Curvelo, 2004). Also, there is still a market for the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) carapaces as ornamental products (Barrios-Garrido et al., 2018). Additionally, sea turtles play a role in Wayuu rituals and beliefs where they are considered a source of wellbeing and good luck for fishermen (Barrios-Garrido et al., 2018).

Guajira’s traditional fisheries, similarly to other fisheries in the Caribbean, are subject to exploitation and degradation from pollution, climate change, and other threats (Saavedra-Díaz et al., 2015; Barange et al., 2018). Anthropogenic demands pressure these fisheries through increased extraction, as the peninsula continues to experience an extended drought (of almost a decade already) correlated with climate change, causing soil problems and aquifer depletion (IDEAM, 2014, 2017). These environmental conditions have impeded other traditional economic activities for the Guajira’s communities, such as agriculture and cattle raising, making it difficult to diversify livelihoods and turning marine resources into the main source of subsistence (Sarmiento Avila, 2020). Intensified pressure upon this fishery, along with the effects of climate change and pollution, may cause its decline. Fishermen communities of eastern Guajira will most likely suffer the consequences of all these impacts with lower catch rates, less food security, and less nutritional value of food items.

Major plans and commitments to the protection and sustainable management of marine resources in the Caribbean region and in Colombia are in place (Invemar, 2013; Corpoguajira, 2018; United Nations, 2020). Examples of key interventions are the designation of marine protected areas (Zamora-Bornachera, 2016; Ban et al., 2019), diversification of livelihoods in highly vulnerable communities (Allison and Ellis, 2001), and the protection of endangered species and biodiversity within international agreement frameworks, among others (CITES, 1983; United Nations, 2020). These interventions can have powerful outcomes for marine species, the fishery, and human consumption rates (Ban et al., 2019). However, the election and planning of interventions on human-nature systems, such as the eastern Guajira's fisheries, requires knowledge and understanding of the ecosystems and the socioeconomic aspects of the communities interacting with these ecosystems; knowledge that for Guajira is incomplete (Saavedra-Diaz et al., 2015). This lack of information is probably due to the area's remoteness and harsh climate (Saavedra-Díaz et al., 2015). Northeastern Guajira is an arid, desert region due to strong prevailing Trade Winds (Corpoguajira and Invemar, 20122). Consequentially sandy, hot and windy conditions discourage development, transportation, visitors and communications; thus, the area lacks basic infrastructure and services such as water, gas and electricity, all of which are desirable for socio-ecological studies. For the same reasons, national governmental plans traditionally overlook Guajira (DANE, 2018). Such obstacles further impede the ability to gather information and increase knowledge on local marine ecosystems and fisheries through long-term studies.

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is the perception as well as understanding about the natural world that a human community accumulated from the direct experience with the subject matter for generations (Freeman, 1992; Drew, 2005). TEK encompasses everything from acknowledging, naming, or identifying organisms to explaining phenomena, including spatial and temporal interactions between humans and the physical environment (Freeman, 1992; Berkes et al., 2000; FAO, 2015). Fishing communities’ dependence on the marine environment generates significant knowledge about marine ecosystems, species and ecological networks, with the advantage of being readily available for consultation (Curran et al., 2002). When properly consulted and translated, TEK helps fill knowledge gaps for natural resource and fisheries management in Latin America and several other regions (Drew, 2005; Haggan et al., 2007; Hind, 2014; Wedemeyer-Strombel et al., 2019). The Wayuu fishermen’s long history of interaction with and dependence on marine species, particularly sea turtles, results in substantial indigenous knowledge about them. Consequently, these fishermen can differentiate species from one another even for pelagic individuals; identify preferred areas such as feeding vs. nesting grounds; as well as predict seasonal differences in the occurrence of sea turtles in the area. This knowledge has the potential to inform, educate and corroborate multiple applications aimed at the management and recovery of the fisheries.

The main objective of this paper was to learn about the marine species, specifically of sea turtles, in eastern Guajira’s remote ecosystems, from TEK that local indigenous fishermen in the area gained through cultural oral tradition and an ongoing artisanal fishery. Aspects of the ecology and behavior of these sea turtles, such as habitat areas and population demography, were of interest. Additionally, we aimed to confirm information collected from fishermen TEK survey through direct observations in the field. We wanted to translate this TEK into scientific terminology and contextualize it within current scientific knowledge in the field of ecology and fisheries sciences. We purposed to make TEK accessible for applications such as local fisheries management and monitoring and recovery of Guajira’s ecosystems, amid imminent threats such as drought, and increased pressure upon fisheries in the Caribbean region.

Section snippets

Study area

The study area included the northeastern coast of the Guajira peninsula (12°20′54.93″ N 71°18′46.13″ W), also called Upper Guajira (Alta Guajira), within the municipality of Uribia, Guajira, Colombia, in the Caribbean Sea (Fig. 1). The area is part of the Guajira-Tairona marine ecoregion (Ricaurte-Villota and Bastidas Salamanca, 2017) of Colombia and of the Southern Caribbean Upwelling System in the Caribbean Sea (Rueda-Roa and Muller-Karger, 2013). In Colombia, this system causes an annual

Small-scale fisheries of eastern Guajira generalities

A total of 48 participants (male, adult fishermen) from eleven communities along the study area answered the questions of the interview and we analyzed their answers for the characterization of the fisheries of eastern Guajira. All participants reported that they fished in small vessels, 51 % of them in non-motorized canoes (wooden, paddle driven) and 49 % in motorized boats. 14 % of the 49 % of participants using motorized boats employed wooden boats with internal small engines of 16 HP

The fisheries of eastern Guajira

The characteristics of the fisheries at eastern Guajira, Colombia are those of a small scale for subsistence in which fishermen are economically dependent. A little more than half of the boats used by fishermen are small, wooden and motorless boats, typically used in artisanal, small-scale fishing operations in the Caribbean Sea (FAO, 2012). The fishing gear employed, such as entanglement and seine nets like the chinchorro, are low-tech and designed for labor-intensive fishing methods such as

Conclusions

Traditional ecological knowledge collected in this exploratory study allowed researchers to overcome certain logistical limitations posed on long-term studies, such as capture-mark-recapture techniques, to obtain basic information about the species diversity and the fisheries in eastern Guajira. Despite the necessity of holistic approaches, research that integrates insights from local indigenous communities remains scarce, largely due to the harsh environmental conditions and remoteness of the

Funding sources

This work was supported by a National Geographic/Waitt Foundation program [grant #W441-16, 2016].

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Catalina Vásquez-Carrillo: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Formal analysis, Visualization, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Manuela Peláez-Ossa: Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all the Wayuu indigenous communities, families, leaders and fishermen of Puerto Estrella, Santa Cruz, and Chimare, Guajira for their incredible support participating in interviews and activities related to this study. We deeply appreciate their collaboration and help in so many forms during this study. We are thankful to our simultaneous Wayuunaiki translator and driver Lorenzo Arends. We also deeply thank the Wayuu biologist Kellys Iguaran for her collaboration and

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