Uma década de estocagem de peixes no Brasil

Abstract

Fish stocking consists of releasing fish into waterways where their populations are in decline or extinction. However, despite appearing to be a technique that does not offer risks, in fact, it can cause serious damage to the environment where it is performed, from problems of failure, introduction of species and pathogens, genetic problems in native populations, problems of environmental quality, water quality and resulting social problems. The objective of this study was to search information available online about the performance of fish stocking in the last ten years in Brazil. Additional analysis included regional differences, richness and diversity of species, release environment and responsible agent. We found 906 reports of fish stocks performed from 2010 to 2019. Analysis showed an annual increasing pattern of stocking cases, where 2010 presented the lowest number of stocks, with 27 stocks and 2017 presented the highest number of stocks (175) in the analyzed period. The region with the highest average of stocked fish was the Northeast and the lowest occurred on the border between Minas Gerais and Goiás states. In the Northeast region, were registered 71% of stocks, and the lowest percentage was reported in the North region (1%). Among the environments, reservoirs stood out with the highest number of events (501). Rivers had 251 events and were followed by lakes, with 130 events. From agent analysis we detected that government was responsible for 766 events (85%), while private sector responded for 101 events (11%) and the partnership between the two sectors resulted in 37 events (4%). Regarding the species used, all regions registered the introduction of exotic species, such as African Ciclids and Eurasian Ciprinidae species. Fish stocking occurred four regions of Brazil, demonstrating that the practice has become more common along the last decade, while technical criteria is not followed in most of observed cases.