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"Participatory monitoring approaches for natural resources management are increasingly being proposed by researchers, Non-Governamental Organizations and some governments. In such proposals, different levels of participation and incorporation of local/traditional knowledge can be observed. Fishers' knowledge has been considered relevant for natural resources management and pertains to all the spheres of a social-ecological system, including the environmental, operational, institutional and cultural spheres. Studies on participatory monitoring are emerging in Brazil and the Southern Cone - a geographic region encompassing Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Some of these cases show encouraging results and have gained attention in small-scale fisheries management in recent years. In this paper, we review English, Portuguese and Spanish literature on fishers' participation and the use of fishers' knowledge, in artisanal fisheries monitoring programs in Brazil and the Southern Cone. We analyzed 14 case-studies exploring the types of information being collected, the sources of knowledge being used and the stages of management they inform, the level of fishers participation and the institutional arrangements in which participation and fishers' knowledge use occurs. We also discuss achievements and challenges of these iniciatives. In most cases, operational knowledge was incorporated, mainly as part of the data collection phase. Ecological knowledge was also considered in most cases, but in less degree. Cultural knowledge was poorly incorporated. The participation level ranges from cooperation to partnership, with only one case of community-based monitoring. Monitoring of fisheries is led mostly by managers or scientists that incorporate fishers as workforce for data collection. Despite the fact that human and ecological dimensions of fishing system are interconnected, the human sphere has been underestimated when it comes to fisheries management. Cases of monitoring rarely include cultural knowledge of users and/or socioeconomic variables. The success of fisheries involves, among many factors, harmonious adjustment between its various dimensions, which has not generally being addressed by monitoring programs. In addition, institutional arrangements are largely responsible for the way in which participation occurs or lacks to occur. It is important to be attentive when technical and scientific knowledge and interests overlap with the incorporation of local knowledge, especially in top-down initiatives presented as participatory but in practice the fishers merely have a data collection role. Despite the many challenges faced in the management of artisanal fisheries, South America is moving towards greater openness in management strategies, encouraging the participation of users with significant support from universities, research institutes and Non-Governmental Organizations." |
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