Data gathered for: Fishers’ ecological knowledge points to fishing-induced
changes in the Peruvian Amazon (2024). Ecological Applications Scientists
increasingly draw on fishers’ ecological knowledge (FEK) to gain a better
understanding of fish biology and ecology and inform options for fisheries
management. We report on a study of FEK among fishers along the Lower
Ucayali River in Peru, a region of exceptional productivity and diversity,
which is also a major supplier of fish to the largest city in the Peruvian
Amazon. Given a lack of available scientific information on stocks status,
we sought to identify temporal changes in the composition and size of
exploited species by interviewing fishers from 18 communities who vary in
years of fishing experience since the mid-1950s. We develop four FEK-based
indicators to assess changes in the fish assemblage and compare findings
with landings data. We find an intensification of fishing gear deployed
over time, spatiotemporal shifts in the fish assemblage, and reported
declines in species weight, which point to a fishing-down process with
declines across multiple species. This finding is reflected in a shifting
baseline among our participants, whereby younger generation of fishers
have different expectations regarding the distribution and size of
species. Our study points to the importance of spillover effects from the
nearby Pacaya-Samira National Reserve and community initiatives to support
the regional fishery and the supply of fish to city markets. Reference to
fishers’ knowledge also suggests that species decline is likely
underreported in aggregated landings data. The dataset contains
information derived from fishers' interviews as well as a subset of
socioeconomic information gathered during follow-up household surveys.
Additional information gathered during household surveys conducted by the
Peruvian Amazon Rural Livelihoods and Poverty (PARLAP) project
(https://parlap.geog.mcgill.ca) between 2014 and 2016 is also included.
Landings data included in this study are restricted and not available
publicly. The aggregated dataset of landings in Loreto from 1984 to 2016
is the property of the Dirección Regional de la Producción Loreto. Data
are available to qualified researchers from Dirección Regional de la
Producción Loreto by contacting the Director, whose contact information is
available at https://www.gob.pe/institucion/regionloreto/funcionarios.