Pressure postpones listing it has painted as an endangered species

The Ministry of the Environment postponed the start of the new list of endangered species in the country. The reason was the possible impact that would be caused by the measure, mainly due to the part that concerns fish, including the painted, a species that even took to the mobilization of the fishing sector and the government of Mato Grosso do Sul.

The postponement was published in an ordinance, on the 5th, and signed by Joaquim Leite, Minister of the Environment.

Initially, the new list of threatened species was published in June of this year, and went into effect at the same time.

However, a new ordinance, which came out in September, postponed to the 6th of this month the start of validity of annexes 1 and 2 of the list, which deal with flora and fauna at risk.

The validity of Annex 3, which is aimed at fish and aquatic invertebrates, was postponed to December 5th of this year. The painted (Pseudoplatystoma corruscans) is one of the animals that entered the new list — with the classification of vulnerable — and that has a relevant weight in the matter of postponement.

According to documents from the Ministry of the Environment to which the Sheet had access, there was an error in the publication of the first ordinance. The immediate validity (considering both the month of June and the current one) did not allow enough time for interested parties, such as the fishing and timber sectors, for example, to become aware of the new species included in the list.

The presence of animals on the list leads to the prohibition of capture, transport, storage and commercialization of specimens. Considering that hunting is already prohibited in the country, the biggest impact ends up being on the animals we “use”: fish and aquatic invertebrates. As a result, commercial interests come into play. The postponement is attributed to pressure from fishing associations.

The government of Mato Grosso do Sul asked the Ministry of the Environment to postpone the list. “This species [o pintado], in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, is not threatened. We need this time to present the technical defense to the ministry for withdrawal. If this does not happen, Mato Grosso do Sul will start its own list [de espécies ameaçadas]”, he said to SheetJaime Verruck, secretary of Semagro (Secretariat of Environment, Economic Development, Production and Family Agriculture of Mato Grosso do Sul).

According to Ana Paula Prates, a doctor in ecology and director of the Talanoa Institute, which discusses climate policy, one of the problems faced is that fishing is not always the greatest threat to some species of fish. This is even the case of the painted, which has its greatest existential tormentor in small hydroelectric plants.

In any case, points out the specialist, fishing for the Pintado should be prohibited in some areas where the threat to the species is considerably greater, such as in the São Francisco River basin. For other areas, a recovery plan for the species, considering the other threats besides fishing, would be the most indicated, in her evaluation.

“When you put it on the list of threatened species, fishing should not necessarily be banned immediately, as the species may be threatened by other vectors such as habitat loss, pollution, river interruptions, among others. Therefore, the ideal is provide for the elaboration and implementation of recovery plans for these species, as quickly as possible”, says Prates.

The specialist also cites the case of the guaiamum (guanhumi cardiomyoma) —vulnerable, according to the new list—, whose main threat is the loss of habitat (mangroves), and not necessarily fishing. “You end up harming the fishermen who use the species. The ideal, in these cases, is to have recovery plans, which will consider all the threats incident to the species, including fishing.”

The restrictions on the list of threatened fish, according to the legislation, do not apply to the situation of captivity licensed by environmental agencies.

Recently, the TCU (Union Court of Auditors) decided that endangered fish species are not susceptible to sustainable use, and only those classified as vulnerable could be managed in this way.

sharks

Fishing for some species of sharks was a reason for discussion when the list of threatened species was about to be finalized, at the end of last year, documents from the Ministry of the Environment to which the Sheet had access.

With an out-of-date request (considering the procedures for making the list), Jorge Seif Jr., then Secretary of Aquaculture and Fisheries, requested that some shark species not be included in the threatened list.

They were the shark popularly known as mako (isurus oxyrhynchus), the blue shark (Prionace glauca), black-nosed shark (Carcharhinus acronotus), the blacktip shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna)the silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) and the bull shark (carcharhinus leucas).

At the beginning of the year, the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government published an ordinance that authorized the export of the mako shark, a species that appears on international lists of endangered animals.

According to Seif Jr., the extemporaneous request occurred due to the wait, on the part of the Fisheries Department, for the conclusion of the ICCAT meeting (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, or, in Portuguese, International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna). , an international entity that, basically, brings data and regulates tuna fishing and its similar.

Brazil is part of ICCAT.

The then secretary stated that, without knowledge of ICCAT updates, there was no way for the secretariat to position itself on the issue of the sharks in question, which, Seif Jr. points out, have migratory behaviors.

Based on Seif Jr.’s request, a working group was created to recheck the situation of the sharks mentioned by the then secretary.

In case you’re wondering how important sharks are to the fishing market, think about dogfish. In Brazil, the meat of different shark species, including endangered animals, is sold under the generic name of dogfish. The country is considered the biggest consumer of shark meat in the world.

The Seif Jr. family, responsible for the company JS Captura e Comércio de Pescados Ltda, owns a fleet of vessels and is known in the national fishing universe. The former Secretary of Fisheries was active in the company before taking up the position in the Bolsonaro government.