Current situation and future perspectives of ethnoichthyology in Brazil

Ethnoichthyology has been highlighting in several regions of the world, due to the collaboration of studies that seek to understand the traditional or local ecological knowledge about different uses and meanings of fish among different human groups. Therefore, we present a systematic review of the literature concerning the current situation of ethnoichthyological studies in Brazil. We examine the temporal and spatial citation trends in Brazil, as well as who are the research actors and the thematic areas covered in the articles. In all, 177 published articles related to the topic were found in Brazil. The number of published articles increased significantly in time, with most studies concentrated in the Northeast Region of the country (44.4%), especially in the state of Bahia (16.8%). The types of aquatic environments include both marine and freshwater, such as sea (46.3%) and rivers (70.2%). The articles mainly rely on the collaboration of artisanal fisherman (74.3%). The topic most frequently addressed in the studies was bio-ecological aspects of fish (33.8%). On the other hand, studies on morphological aspects (2.7%) represented the less frequently among the thematic areas. We concluded that ethnoichthyology is increasing significantly in Brazil. However, some issues needed to be better understand, especially the knowledge of the recreational fishermen, the morphological aspects of the fish species by local fishermen and there are few studies in South and Midwest in Brazil, which will indicate the future efforts to improve the species conservation and the resource management.