398
Portuguese) since the beginning of its activities. Through partnerships, the researchers get not only scientific data, but also exchange experiences among various social
actors while sharing their views regarding the environment in which both human
beings and studied species belong together.
Because the research is based on a threatened species, and despite the fact the
investigators are covered by legal instruments to collect the fish, non-lethal methods
are growing in order to gather information in Brazil. Ethnobiology/ethnoecology,
under-water photography/video recording, and telemetry have been used as important tools to identify individuals, defining moving patterns, besides understanding
inter- and intra-relationships specifically observed in the species in a natural environment. Recently, other non-lethal technologies were added to the studies,
especially the molecular genetics, stable isotopes, and microchemistry, the later
used in individuals accidently captured by fishermen.
In Latin America, non-lethal methods normally involve large use of expensive
and inaccessible technologies for most countries, taking into consideration the economical instability faced by the domestic economies of the continent nowadays. In
order to overcome financial limitations, the use of international partnerships, consolidating a research network, has allowed to maximize financial resources and to
expand areas of operation of investigators. The partnerships not only promote an
exchange between institutions, but also enable that graduate researchers perform
their academic studies in different areas around the world.
In this sense, the Projeto Meros do Brasil has built and strengthened a vast network of collaborators, with projects related to the conservation of marine species in
Brazil and together with other countries in Latin America, such as Argentina, Chile,
Colombia and Mexico, and also with the United States of America, which has a vast
experience in the field of marine conservation.
Together, new technologies and the collaboration of researchers in a network
filled many gaps in the comprehension and in the struggle to preserve the Goliath
Grouper in the past 10 years in Brazil and in Latin America. The publication of
more than 12 scientific articles with a large number of partners is the main product
that shows that the Projeto Meros do Brasil is being successful.
In the end, the good news is that the development achieved and the good experiences in studying the species, considered internationally as an emblematic case in
marine conservation, has been applied to other species with similar ecological interest, however unknown by the general public. Based on so many innovations and
new technologies, the old saying can still be used here: “it is important to know in
order to protect”.
M. Hostim-Silva et al.
Portuguese) since the beginning of its activities. Through partnerships, the researchers get not only scientific data, but also exchange experiences among various social
actors while sharing their views regarding the environment in which both human
beings and studied species belong together.
Because the research is based on a threatened species, and despite the fact the
investigators are covered by legal instruments to collect the fish, non-lethal methods
are growing in order to gather information in Brazil. Ethnobiology/ethnoecology,
under-water photography/video recording, and telemetry have been used as important tools to identify individuals, defining moving patterns, besides understanding
inter- and intra-relationships specifically observed in the species in a natural environment. Recently, other non-lethal technologies were added to the studies,
especially the molecular genetics, stable isotopes, and microchemistry, the later
used in individuals accidently captured by fishermen.
In Latin America, non-lethal methods normally involve large use of expensive
and inaccessible technologies for most countries, taking into consideration the economical instability faced by the domestic economies of the continent nowadays. In
order to overcome financial limitations, the use of international partnerships, consolidating a research network, has allowed to maximize financial resources and to
expand areas of operation of investigators. The partnerships not only promote an
exchange between institutions, but also enable that graduate researchers perform
their academic studies in different areas around the world.
In this sense, the Projeto Meros do Brasil has built and strengthened a vast network of collaborators, with projects related to the conservation of marine species in
Brazil and together with other countries in Latin America, such as Argentina, Chile,
Colombia and Mexico, and also with the United States of America, which has a vast
experience in the field of marine conservation.
Together, new technologies and the collaboration of researchers in a network
filled many gaps in the comprehension and in the struggle to preserve the Goliath
Grouper in the past 10 years in Brazil and in Latin America. The publication of
more than 12 scientific articles with a large number of partners is the main product
that shows that the Projeto Meros do Brasil is being successful.
In the end, the good news is that the development achieved and the good experiences in studying the species, considered internationally as an emblematic case in
marine conservation, has been applied to other species with similar ecological interest, however unknown by the general public. Based on so many innovations and
new technologies, the old saying can still be used here: “it is important to know in
order to protect”.
M. Hostim-Silva et al.