Between the Rocks and the Waves: Legislation and perceptions of the Exploitation of Perna perna from the Rocky Shores of Santa Catarina Island

The removal of shellfish (Perna perna) from de rocky shores for human consumption is a traditional activity in Santa Catarina Island (ISC), Florianopolis, Brazil, constituting a provisioning ecosystem service. This activity is originally linked to fishing and subsistence; however, it acquired commercial purpose after the 1980’s. After the 1990’s, shellfish started to be exploited as seeds for mariculture, increasing pressure on natural stocks. It is fundamental to know the aspects of the extraction of shellfish to manage this resource. This work sought to fill in the gaps in the knowledge on the extraction, the main points being the identity of the actors involved, the location of extraction sites and the legislation relating to the activity. As to describe the characteristics of this activity, a set of interviews took place with key members of the neighboring communities, experts in related fields, and with beach goers in eight locations in ISC. The legislation found covers several of the points required for the management of the activity; however, no indication of supervision by the competent bodies was found, nor the required licenses were issued. The stocks are located on the rocky stretches of the East side of the island and on the more exposed parts of the North shore. The purpose of the mussels affected the capture method: mussels intended for commercialization was extracted by diving while mussels for own consumption were extracted from subaerial shores. All the extractors located were male and lived in Florianopolis, who favor summer months and extract only occasionally. The extractors believe that the amount of available P. perna has decreased, but the change of the source of mariculture seeds from rocky shores to artificial collectors decreased the pressure on said shores, but their rotation methods used are rudimentary. Failures in management, in rotation, in the issuing licenses, lack of supervision, and pollution are the main threats in maintaining the provision of service represented by mussels. This research subsidizes the decision making and serves as bases for other studies on provisioning services of the natural rocky coasts. Keywords: Mussels, Coastal Management, Provisioning services.