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Conflicts with fisheries and intentional killing of freshwater dolphins (Cetacea: Odontoceti) in the Western Brazilian Amazon

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Abstract

We report three cases of conflicts with fishing activities of freshwater dolphins Inia geoffrensis and Sotalia fluviatilis in the Western Brazilian Amazon. The animals presented several cuts produced by perforating and cutting objects, especially on the dorsum, sides and flukes. The wounds were probably caused by harpoons and machetes, gear commonly used by local inhabitants for fishing and agricultural practices in the Amazon. The carcasses had not been subsequently used in any way, which suggests that the animals were not killed for consumption. Conflicts with fishermen and persistent cultural taboos may have led to the deaths. These records are an indication of a growing situation of conflict with fishing activities that should be taken into consideration in the conservation policy planning of aquatic mammals in the Amazon.

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Abbreviations

AM:

Amazonas state

ASDR:

Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve

GIS:

Geographic information system

IDSM:

Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute

Ig:

Inia geoffrensis

Sf:

Sotalia fluviatilis

TL:

Total length

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are extended to the Programa Petrobras Ambiental and the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology for financial support, and to IDSM interns, local inhabitants of the ASDR and boat operators at Tefé Lake, for their help with carcass recovery. Two anonymous referees provided valuable comments that greatly improved our manuscript. We also wish to thank Mariane da Silva of IDSM GIS, who helped with the production of the map. PC Simões-Lopes acknowledges the CNPq/PQ Grant (Process 304698/2006-7).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos, Depto. de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário Trindade, Florianópolis, SC, CEP 88040-970, Brazil

    Carolina Loch & Paulo C. Simões-Lopes

  2. Grupo de Pesquisa em Mamíferos Aquáticos Amazônicos, Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá, Caixa Postal 38, Tefé, AM, CEP 69470-000, Brazil

    Carolina Loch & Miriam Marmontel

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  1. Carolina Loch
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  2. Miriam Marmontel
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  3. Paulo C. Simões-Lopes
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Correspondence to Carolina Loch.

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Loch, C., Marmontel, M. & Simões-Lopes, P.C. Conflicts with fisheries and intentional killing of freshwater dolphins (Cetacea: Odontoceti) in the Western Brazilian Amazon. Biodivers Conserv 18, 3979–3988 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9693-4

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