Special Issue, ID es20240006 (01-06),
2024
Doi: https://doi.org/10.32435/envsmoke-2024-0006
Environmental Smoke, e-ISSN:
2595-5527
“A leading multidisciplinary
peer-reviewed journal”
Full
Article:
ROPE TO THE SEA:
OBSERVATION OF THE FISHING ROPE ACTING AS ARTIFICIAL SUBSTRATA TO FIXATION OF
CORAL Astrangia solitaria (Le SUEUR, 1817) COLLECTED IN THE GREAT AMAZON REEF
SYSTEM (GARS)
Flavio de Almeida Alves-Júnior 1,2* (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3002-6845); Déborah
Elena Galvão Martins2 (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3829-4388); Ana
Patrícia Barros Cordeiro³ (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4955-5405); Alex
Garcia Cavalleiro de Macedo Klautau4 (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0029-7639); Israel
Hidenburgo Aniceto Cintra2 (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5822-454X)
1Nucleus of Aquatic Science and Fisheries of Amazon (NEAP), Postgraduate programme in Aquatic Ecology and Fisheries
(PPGEAP), Federal University of Pará (UFPA), CEP: 66075-110, Belém, Pará, Brazil.
2Crustacean Laboratory (LABCRUS), Socio-Environmental and Water Resources
Institute (ISARH), Federal Rural University of Amazonia (UFRA), Avenida
Presidente Tancredo Neves, nº 2501, Terra Firme, CEP: 66077-830, Belém, Pará,
Brazil.
3Socio-Environmental and Water Resources Institute (ISARH), Federal Rural
University of Amazonia (UFRA), Presidente Tancredo Neves Avenue, nº 2501, Terra
Firme, CEP: 66077-830, Belém, Pará, Brazil.
4Chico Mendes Institute to Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), National
Center for Research and Conservation of Marine Biodiversity in Northern Brazil.
Avenida Presidente Tancredo Neves, nº 2501, Terra Firme, CEP: 66077-830, Belém,
Pará, Brazil.
*Corresponding author: bioflavio@hotmail.com
Submitted
on: 19 Jun. 2024
Accepted
on: 08 Jul. 2024
Published
on: 10 Jul. 2024
License:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Abstract
Herein, we report the first
observation of the coral Astrangia solitaria (Le Sueur, 1817) adhered on
the polypropylene fishing rope (artificial substrate), collected in the areas
of the Great Amazon Reef System (GARS). The specimens of A. solitaria
were collected adhered on the fishing rope abandoned in bottom areas associated
with the GARS, in the state of Amapá (Northern Brazil) (02°57'54"N;
048°27'50,4"W), during the commercial fishing operations of the red
snapper - Lutjanus purpureus (Poey, 1866) - in May 2024. We observed 226
m of lost rope from the illegal lobster trap “caçoeira”
adhered (wrapped) in the fish trap called “manzuá”,
where we accounted 63 colonies of A. solitaria covering 12.5 cm of this
rope. This observation can be associated with a wide range of marine
invertebrate adaptations for the use of these types of macroplastics in an
anthropized environment.
Keywords: Marine litter.
Ghost fishing. Amazon Reefs. Polypropylene rope. Environmental impact.
1 Introduction
Pollution promoted by plastic
debris is one of the main anthropogenic impacts carried out throughout the
marine environment, with different emitting sources and present in several
ecosystems, from continental waters to deep oceans (JAMBECK et al., 2015); these
wastes are composed by different chemical and polymer structures and
represented in the environment as femto, pico, nano, micro, meso and
macroplastics (UURASJÄRVI et al., 2020; BERMÚDEZ; SWARZENSKI, 2021). Worldwide,
the plastic is one of the main agents of degradation of wildlife, being present
in all scales of the marine food chains, including its presence in humans
(PRATA, 2023; LIU; YOU, 2023; JAGIELLO, DYLEWSKI; SZULKIN, 2024).
In Brazil, the fishing activity is widely practiced along the coastal
and continental shelf regions, especially on the northern coast, where it is
based one of the largest fishing fleets in the country (PRESTES et al., 2021;
COSTA et al., 2022). However, despite the wide range of species targeted (e.g.
fishes, lobsters, shrimps) and the different fishing gear used, this activity
has a strong impact on the environment, especially due to the overfishing and
the introduction of plastic materials, such as nets and lines, which end up impacting marine fauna even after fishing activities
through ghost fishing (VITORINO et al., 2022).
Despite the extensive record of
macroplastics in marine habitats, few studies report the behavioural
interactions and use of the surface of plastic performed by invertebrates
(ROSA, 2023).
In the northern region of Brazil,
the Great Amazon Reef System (GARS) is composed by an extensive coral and
rhodoliths beds (mesophotic reefs), occurring along the continental shelf
between Brazil (Maranhão state) and French Guyana (MOURA et al., 2016; VALE et
al., 2022), with a wide presence of coral species, being Astrangia solitaria (Le Sueur, 1817) one of the most representative
in the region, occurring associated with hard substrata from coastal zones to
depths of 573m (ALVES-JÚNIOR et al., 2023). Based on that, herein we report the
coral A. solitaria attached to the
polypropylene rope from the GARS.
2 Material
and Methods
The rope of the illegal lobster trap “caçoeira”
containing the coral specimens of A.
solitaria was manually collected adhered (wrapped) in the fish trap called
“manzuá”, during the commercial fishing operations of
the red snapper Lutjanus purpureus (Poey,
1866), performed in May 2024, between the depths of 70 and 100 m, in the GARS
area (02°57'54"N; 048°27'50,4"W), associated with the Amapá state
continental shelf (Figure 1), under the supervision of National Center for Research and Conservation of Northern Marine
Biodiversity (“Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação
da Biodiversidade Marinha do Norte – CEPNOR/ ICMBio”)
(“Autorização de Pesquisa nas
Unidades de Conservação
Federal” - SISBIO Number: 44915–3). The coral specimens adhered on the rope
were identified, photographed, fixed/stored in ethanol 70% and all colonies
were deposited, in the invertebrate collection of the Federal Rural University
of the Amazon (UFRA), under voucher number LABCRUS.CNDR001.
Figure
1. Map of the region where
the lobster trap rope (“caçoeira”) was collected
acting as ghost fishing in GARS areas (Black circle). Access on: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15nD7qDF4odB9RLcr7emcmem8-YMM0KGD/preview
3 Results
and Discussion
A total of 226 m of the lost rope was recovered wrapped in the “manzuá” trap during the commercial fishing operations of
the L. purpureus, where we observed
63 colonies of A. solitaria adhered
on the fishing rope containing 12.5 cm (Figure 2). Adhesion to the rope may
have probably taken place during the coral's larval stages, estimating from the size of the colonies, with the hypothesis of the
time adrift at sea between 3 and 6 months. In this observation, the plastic
rope can form an associated microbiota, serving as an attraction for other
invertebrates, increasing colonization by overlapping specimens/species as well
as attracting pelagic predators which can consume macro/microplastics during
the predation.
Figure 2. Lobster fishing rope
(“caçoeira”) composed of polypropylene A-B), found
abandoned at sea containing colonization of the coral Astrangia solitaria in
GARS areas (state of Amapá). Scale bar = 1 cm. Access on: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1644SNmeO2XhgYozIyMdXeq_JYvj2-ww3/preview
The rope collected belongs to the lobster trap called “caçoeira” (Figure 3a-c), which is illegally used along the
north and northeast Brazilian coast, however, despite the prohibition, it is
one of the main lobster fishing gears in the GARS areas (LIMA; MELO, SILVEIRA,
2013; SANTOS et al., 2020). This rope corresponds to the main part of the trap
called “filame” (Figure 3a), which is composed of one
rope (above 200 m), with one tip attached to the buoy (contain signal flags),
and the other side with a bottom hook called “garateias”
for fixing the trap to the hard substrata (Figure 3a) (more examples see SANTOS
et al., 2020).
Figure 3. A) Schematic
illustration of the illegal lobster trap called “caçoeira”,
contain the fishing rope indicated as: a = “filame”
and b = “garateias” (modified from SANTOS et al.,
2020); B - C) Fishermen collecting 226 m of rope from an abandoned lobster trap
(“caçoeira”) acting as ghost fishing in GARS areas
(state of Amapá). Access on: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HbVg3Gg2v4QSIHCUQ8fvOIfgICwuGIJw/preview
In coastal and oceanic areas, ghost fishing is one of the main problems
for biodiversity security, once the gear released into the environment
(abandoned or lost), continues to capture individuals, leading to the death of
captured species by consumption of pieces of net, rope or hooks, strangulation
or drowning when wrapped in nets (e.g. echinoderms, molluscs, crustaceans,
fish, turtles, birds and marine mammals) (VITORINO et al., 2022). In addition,
the deterioration of fishing gears (e.g. rope, buoys, nets, tires, styrofoam, plastic bottles), increase the input of micro-
and macroplastic in all marine environments, acting
as a strong polluting agent by the emission of the plastic fragments for a long
time for the water column, including severe damage to biodiversity associated
with the mesophotic reefs (Northern Brazil).
For marine invertebrates, the adhesion in hard substrata favours to
carry out their biological activities (feeding, reproduction and growth)
(ALVES-JÚNIOR et al., 2023).
However, the adhesion in artificial substrata and consumption of
microplastics may change the animal's diet, as well as obstructing the
alimentary and excretory tract, which can lead to the animal's death (REISSER
et al., 2014; ROMAN et al., 2021). This case is widely observed in coastal zones, with hermit crabs as
one of the main groups that use micro- and macroplastics in their biological
behaviour; the presence of plastic in the environment affects negatively the
biology and feeding of these species (CRUMP et al., 2020; JAGIELLO, DYLEWSKI;
SZULKIN, 2024).
Studies performed by Morais et al. (2024), indicated that the large
population growth and intense fishing activities are one of the main agents of
degradation of the Amazon biome, acting as an emitter of micro- and
macroplastics into the continental aquatic environments and the marine adjacent
areas. The fishing gear abandoned in Amazon continental shelf areas, under the
influence of marine currents, may act as a disperser of species into new
biogeographical regions, promoting the introduction of invasive/exotic species
to other regions, as observed by Soares et al. (2023), who indicated the wide
distribution of the invasive corals Tubastraea spp.
being transported by marine litter between the South Atlantic and Caribbean
Sea.
Despite the deleterious effects of plastic on biodiversity, marine
litter may act on the colonization of this artificial substrate by a wide range
of sessile invertebrates (biofouling) such as corals, sponges, bryozoans,
molluscs, crustaceans, as well as vertebrates such as ascidians and small fish
(MANTELLATO et al., 2020; SOARES et al., 2023). This action may indicate the
adaptive process (survival strategy) of the species to colonize new artificial
substrates. This fact was related in studies performed by Rosa (2023), who
observed the plastic utilization by the benthic tube-building polychaete Diopatra cuprea (Bosc, 1802), indicating
the use of macroplastics in the dynamics and behaviour of invertebrate species.
4
Conclusions
Despite the severe impacts of plastic in the marine environment, the
polypropylene rope can act as a substrate for the settlement and dispersion of
fauna; which in this paper, we report the first observation of adhesion of the
coral A. solitaria in polypropylene
fishing rope (artificial substrata) in GARS areas.
Additionally, we warn about the presence and possible impacts of the
fishing waste on Amazonian mesophotic reefs in the northern region of Brazil.
CREDIT
AUTHORSHIP CONTRIBUTION STATEMENT
FAAJ, DEGM, IHAC conceived the research ideas,
designed the study and writing the manuscript; AGCMK and APBC performed the
first draft of this manuscript and revisions along the main text.
DECLARATION OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence this study.
FUNDING SOURCE
No financial contribution was used for the development
of this article.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the Brazilian National Center for Research and Conservation of Northern Marine
Biodiversity (CEPNOR) for the support in the laboratory; and to the anonymous
reviewers for their valuable comments throughout the manuscript.
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