Public awareness of the economic potential and threats to sharks of a tropical oceanic archipelago in the western South Atlantic |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Post-graduate Program in Ecology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universitário, BR-101 s/no, 59078-970 Natal, RN, Brazil;2. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Depto de Ecologia e Zoologia, Campus Reitor João David Ferreira Lima, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil;3. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Depto de Botânica, Ecologia e Zoologia, Campus Universitário, BR-101 s/no, 59078-970, Natal, RN, Brazil;1. School of Animal Biology (M085), Faculty of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia;2. Business School, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia;3. School of Animal Biology and The UWA Institute of Agriculture, M085, Faculty of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia;1. CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Pólo dos Açores, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade dos Açores, Rua Mãe de Deus, 58, 9500-801 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal;2. CEEAplA, Centro de Estudos de Economia Aplicada do Atlântico, Departamento de Economia e Gestão, Universidade dos Açores, Rua Mãe de Deus, 58, 9500-801 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal;3. IVAR, Instituto de Investigação em Vulcanologia e Avaliação de Riscos, Universidade dos Açores, Apartado 1422, 9501-801 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal;1. Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada;2. eOceans, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 1T7, Canada;1. School of Communication and Creative Industries, Panorama Avenue, Bathurst, NSW, Australia;2. School of Management and Marketing, Panorama Avenue, Bathurst, NSW, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Conservation actions for sharks are hampered partly by the negative beliefs and inaccurate knowledge about them among the general public. This paper investigated the knowledge and attitude of residents and tourists towards shark species of Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, a marine protected area, and one of the major ecotourism destinations in Brazil. Findings showed that residents had a lower knowledge of sharks and less positive attitudes towards sharks than tourists. Even though residents did not see sharks as threats to humans and they were aware of the role of the archipelago as a shark nursery, they did not completely understand the sharks' ecological and economic importance. This distinction between residents' and tourists' perceptions of sharks demands different strategies to assure engagement in management and conservation policies relating to both groups. Management actions focusing on providing enjoyable experiences with sharks to residents and enhancing their participation in tourist activities related to sharks are presented. They would require innovative cooperation between scientific, management and environmental institutions to build initiatives aimed at increasing the knowledge and improving attitudes of residents towards shark conservation and to homogenise conservation values held by the entire public on the archipelago. |
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| Keywords: | Perception Knowledge Attitude Elasmobranch Marine protected area Conservation |
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