Amazon Fisheries: Mapping Management and Monitoring Initiatives

Summary

The goal of this project was to map and characterize freshwater fisheries management and monitoring initiatives in Amazon. Understanding the location and characteristics of management and monitoring initiatives is critical for informing management decisions, identifying gaps in conservation or protection and strengthening conservation. It also allows for identifying opportunities for increasing or maintaining aquatic connectivity, which is key for healthy and resilient freshwater ecosystems and habitats.

These maps are intended to be shared among various actors and agencies to promote collaboration and equitable knowledge exchange. Environmental agencies can leverage this information to systematize conservation initiatives and effectively manage actions and metrics. The goal is to expand impact through collaborative policies and partnerships since the spatial distribution of initiatives can inform decisions strategically.

Maps generated from the collected data distinguish between two types of initiatives:

• Fisheries management initiatives are shown in red.
• Fisheries monitoring initiatives are represented by blue dots.

It should be emphasized that these maps represent an initial version of an evolving resource. In particular, informal or non-recognized efforts remain difficult to document due to limited available knowledge, and several areas may be underrepresented or inaccurately mapped as a result of incomplete geographic data or the absence of official or community-sourced information.

Citation

Silva, F., Barata, C., Rodrigues, V. et al. (2025). Amazon Fisheries: Mapping Management and Monitoring Initiatives. Arlington, VA, USA: The Nature Conservancy.