INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF LAND BASED ACTIVITIES IN THE SAN FRANCISCO RIVER BASIN PROJECT GEF/ANA/OAS/UNEP Activity 1.3 – Reophylic Ichthyofauna Recuperation in the Lower São Francisco River Basin Executive Summary of the Final Report RECONSTITUTION OF THE REOPHYLIC ICHTHYOFAUNA OF THE LOWER SÃO FRANCISCO Instituto de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico de Xingó Canindé do São Francisco - SE INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF LAND BASED ACTIVITIES IN THE SAN FRANCISCO RIVER BASIN PROJECT GEF/ANA/OAS/UNEP Activity 1.3 – Reophylic Ichthyofauna Recuperation in the Lower São Francisco River Basin Executive Summary of the Final Report RECONSTITUTION OF THE REOPHYLIC ICHTHYOFAUNA OF THE LOWER SÃO FRANCISCO Coordination Fábio José Castelo Branco Costa Instituto de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico de Xingó Participants Enaide Marinho de Melo Magalhães LABMAR/UFAL Maria Célia de Andrade Lyra LABMAR/UFAL Manoel Messias dos Santos LABMAR/UFAL Rivaldo Couto dos Santos Júnior Instituto Xingó Sineide Correia Silva Montenegro UFAL April2003 RECONSTITUTION OF THE REOPHYLIC ICHTHYOFAUNA OF THE LOWER SÃO FRANCISCO Executive Summary INTRODUCTION Activity 1.3, “Reophylic Ichthyofauna Recuperation in the Lower São Francisco Basin”, is part of Component I (Environmental Assessment of the Basin) of the Integrated Management of Land Based Activities in the San Francisco River Basin Project, whose main objectives are the identification and assessment of the degree to which inland activities and the regulation of the River affect the hydrology, the water quality (particularly sediment and nutrient transportation), fishing and the aquatic environment in the Basin and in the adjacent coastal zone. Among the objectives there are: 1)Surveying fish species and limnologic characterization of the Xingó Reservoir and of the downstream stretch, up to the Ocean. 2)Identifying and selecting sites for releasing the fish, identifying the necessary procedures for maintaining the economically feasible populations of fish with commercial value. 3)Proposing a sustainable fishing management model, with a monitoring plan. 4)Evaluating historic and current data on limnology, Ichthyofauna and fishing in the Lower São Francisco, proposing measures for reconstitution of the reophylic ichthyofauna. The Activity also treats the etnoscience, studying the different practices and the context in which the resources are used by local populations, contributing to the management and conservation of ecosystems (Diegues, 2001). In this sense, the ethnoecology1 has shown that the fishermen’s knowledge on fish and on the environment is necessary and should be taken into consideration in the fishing planning and management (Thé, 1999; Marques, 1995). This work was carried out by a team of consultants, under the Coordination of the Xingó Scientific and Technologic Development Institute, from June 2001 to December 2002. The Report is divided into eight chapters covering since the area’s characterization, limnology, ethno ecology, fishing production and promotion of the production in the Xingó Reservoir and downstream sector. The endangered species and adverse environmental impacts on the ichthyofauna are emphasized. Additionally, current and past fishing strategies in the Lower São Francisco are presented and reasons for changes are discussed. 1. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SÃO FRANCISCO BASIN The São Francisco River’s regime is characterized by floods in the summer and no precipitation in the winter. Floods belong to two distinct types: The first one is related 1 Transdisciplinary field studying thoughts, feelings and behaviors intermediating the interactions between human populations and the other elements in the ecosystems, as well as the resulting environmental impacts. i to the great rainfalls at headwaters and the second is due to rains in the Lower Basin. Mean annual river discharge is 2,980 m3/s. The São Francisco Basin presents highly distinct natural sceneries, with great environmental diversity, including cerrado and caatinga biomes. There are regions with great water reserves and areas subject to frequent droughts. Chart 1 presents the Lower Basin’s main characteristics. Chart 1. Main characteristics of the São Francisco River Basin’s regions. Region Upper Middle Middle- Lower Lower Characteristics Nascente Pirapora - Remanso Paulo Afonso Pirapora Remanso P. Afonso - FOZ Altitude (m) 1.600 – 600 1.000 – 400 400 – 300 500 – 0 Mean annual temperature 18 27 27 25 (°C) Mean annual precipitation 1.500 – 1.400 – 800 800 – 400 400 – 1.300 (mm) 1.200 Rainy season Nov. – Apr. Nov. – Apr. Nov. – Apr. Mar. – Sep. Extension (km) 630 1.090 686 274 Rapid Highlands Practically Plain’s river, waters, cold river, slower River characterization dammed slower, under and flows, subject river sea influence oxygened to floods 1.1. LIMNOLOGIC PARAMETERS Between Três Marias e Pirapora, water temperature in the river varies from 18 to 29°C (average around 24°C), electrical conductivity from 36 a 76 µS/cm (average between 47 and 52 µS/cm), pH from 6.3 to 8.2 and turbidity from 1 to 700 UNT, with the highest values in rainy season, except for the pH, which does not exceed 8.0 (Sato, 1999). In the stretch between the Municipalities of Belém do São Francisco (PE) and Paulo Afonso (BA), includind the Itaparica, Moxotó, PA-I, II, III and-IV Reservoirs, water temperature varied from 26,6 to 28.8°C, electrical conductivity from 58.6 to 74.9 µS/cm and dissolved oxygen from 5.46 to 10.69 mg/l (UFRPE; FADURPE; CHESF,1998). In the analysis in the Xingó Reservoir, water temperature varied from 23.7 to 31º C, electrical conductivity from 59.5 to 84 µS/cm, dissolved oxygen from 6.20 to 10.1 mg/l and total phosphor from 0.0002 to 0.0480 mg/l. In the downstream reach, close to the river’s mouth, water temperature varied from 24 to 30ºC, electrical conductivity from59.4 to 24.7 µS/cm, dissolved oxygen from 6.10 to 13.60 mg/l and total phosphor from 0.0002 to 0.0350 mg/l (UFAL; CHESF, 1999). 1.2. Ichthyofauna In the Middle São Francisco, the migratory fish start to breed in October, right after the driest month. With the arrival of the rains and beginning of the floods, those fish leave ii the marginal lagoons, migrating upstream. After the spawning, the breeding pairs return and the young fish enter the mentioned lagoons. The most important fish in the San Francisco River, regarding biological and fishing aspects, are the bozo, campineiro, croaker, curimatã-pacu, dorado, yellow mandi-açu, yellow mandi, matrinchão, pacamão, pacu, black-fish, piau, piracanjuba, pirambucu, black piranha, red piranha, sofia, sorubim and Tiger fish (Paiva & Campos, 1995). The known Basin’s ichthyofauna is composed of 133 species, including the 73 described for the Três Marias Region (MG), distributed into 65 characiforms, 56 siluriforms, 8 perciforms, two cyprinoids, one symbranchii and one clupeoid (Britski et al, 1984). Recentely, 14 other siluriforms and five characiforms were added (vide Chart 2). Chart 2. Fish species in the San Francisco Basin Clupeomorpha Superorder Clupeiformes Order Engraulidae Family Anchoviella vaillanti (Steindachner, 1908) Ostariophysi Superorder Caraciformes Order Characidae Family Tetragonopterinae Subfamily Astyanax bimaculatus lacustris (Reinhardt, 1874) Astyanax eigenmanniorum (Cope, 1894) Astyanax fasciatus (Cuvier, 1819) Astyanax scabripinnis intermedius (Eigenmann, 1908) Astyanax scabripinnis rivularis (Lutken, 1874) Astyanax taeniatus (Jenyns, 1842) Bryconamericus stramineus (Eigenmann, 1908) Creatochanes affinis (Gunther, 1864) Hasemania nana (Reinhardt, 1874) Hemigrammus brevis (Ellis, 1911) Hemigrammus marginatus (Ellis, 1911) Hemigrammus nanus (Reinhardt, 1874) Hyphessobrycon gr. bentosi (Durbin, 1908) Hyphessobrycon gracilis (Reinhardt, 1874) Hyphessobrycon santae (Eigenmann, 1907) Moenkhausia costae (Steindachner, 1907) Moenkhausia sanctae-filomenae (Steindachner, 1907) Phenacogaster franciscoensis (Eigenmann, 1911) Piabina argentea (Reinhardt, 1866) iii Psellogrammus kennedyi (Eigenmann, 1903) Tetragonopterus chalceus (Agassiz, 1829) Acestrorhynchinae Subfamily Acestrorhynchus britskii (Menezes, 1969) Acestrorhynchus lacustris (Reinhardt, 1874) Oligosarcus jenynsii (Gunther, 1891) Oligosarcus meadi (Menezes, 1969) Cynopotaminae Subfamily Galeocharax gulo (Cope, 1870) Characinae Subfamily Roeboides francisci (Steindachner, 1908) Roeboides xenodon (Reinhardt, 1849) Stethaprioninae Subfamily Brachychalcinus franciscoensis (Eigenmann, 1929) Glandulocaudinae Subfamily Hysteronotus megalostomus (Eigenmann, 1911) Cheirodontinae Subfamily Cheirodon piaba (Lutken, 1874) Compsura heterura (Eigenmann. 1917) Holoshestes heterodon (Eigenmann. 1915) Megalamphodus micropterus (Eigenmann, 1915) Odontostilbe sp. Characidiinae Subfamily Characidium fasciatum (Reinhardt, 1866) Jobertina sp. Triportheinae Subfamily Triportheus guentheri (Garman, 1890) Bryconinae Subfamily Brycon hilarii (Valenciennes, 1849) Brycon lundii (Reinhardt, 1874) Brycon reinhardti (Lutken, 1874) Salmininae Subfamily Salminus brasiliensis (Cuvier, 1817) Salminus hilarii (Valenciennes, 1849) Serrasalminae Subfamily Serrasalmus brandtii (Reinhardt, 1874) Serrasalmus piraya (Cuvier, 1820) Myleinae Subfamily Myleus altipinnis (Va1enciennes, 1849) Myleus micans (Reinhardt, 1874) iv Parodontidae Family Apareiodon hasemani (Eigenmann, 1916) Apareiodon sp. "A" Apareiodon sp. "B" Parodon hilarii (Reinhardt, 1866) Hcmiodontidae Family Hemiodopsis gracilis (Gunther, 1864) Hemiodopsis sp. Anostomidae Family Leporellus cartledgei (Fow1er, 1941) Leporellus