Fishers' perception: An alternative source of information to assess the data-poor benthic small-scale artisanal fisheries of central Chile

Many artisanal fisheries lack of conventional scientific data for stock assessment and decision making, which might explain the overexploitation and collapse of many small-scale fish stocks. Fishers' perception has a great potential to be an alternative source of information as it is present in every fishery, is inexpensive and allows analysis at large spatial scales. However, fishers' perception is influenced by psychological factors that can generate bias. This study compares fishers' perception and direct assessment of current and historical abundances of two benthic species that are targeted in the artisanal fishery of Central Chile (the loco and the keyhole limpet), in order to assess the value of the method for artisanal fisheries. The analysis also considered different management regimes (open access areas and areas with territorial rights) and two periods of time (approximately 15 years apart) to determine the (a) the consistency of fishers' perception for assessment of current abundance and (b) the potential use for retrospective assessment. We also compared official landing reports with direct assessments in order to assess the reliability of fisheries data. Fishers' perception of loco abundance generally agreed with direct assessment in fishing villages, management regimes and periods of time. In the case of the keyhole limpet, fishers perceived abundances higher than those registered in direct assessments. The different patterns observed between resources can be related to the relative importance of each fishery. Fishers were not accurate in recalling past abundances retrospectively and official reports showed dramatic mismatches with direct assessment in catch abundance and composition. Fishers' perception is a potential source of information to assess the current abundance of targeted species. However, it requires case by case investigation and evaluation before it can be applied and the information properly integrated in fisheries management practices.