“Our eyes grow accustomed”: artisanal fishermen with casting nets and Lahille’s bottlenose dolphin in the landscapes of the Tramandaí River inlet

Abstract

A landscape is a unit that dialogues with the geographical idea of space, either of a territory or region, and is a multifaceted concept that assists in the understanding of interactions between different animal groups and expressions of human culture. Studies on the relationships between people and nature act as instruments to comprehend the affections and perceptions that envelop complex networks, which allows us to find relational nexus between humans and non-humans, such that we are able to reflect on a dynamic unit considering both. A peculiar interaction between humans and non-humans takes place along the coast of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil: cooperative fishing. A traditional and ritualized practice, the Tramandaí River inlet is one of only two places in the world where this occurs. Lahille's bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops gephyreus, and artisanal fishermen with casting nets cooperate in the mullet (Mugil liza) fisheries. Dolphins signal the appropriate moment for fishers to throw their nets in the water, optimizing the fishing activity and the energy spent by both groups. The study area is the Tramandaí River inlet, an estuarine environment in the northern coast of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. This study aimed to link biological and anthropological fields in the pursuit to understand biocultural manifestations of these interactions, from the familiarity with the artisanal fishermen community, who are part of the cooperative fishing. We aimed to understand how the fishers recognize the landscape they compose and the way they cooperatively coexist with these cetaceans. In addition to participant observation, a semi-structured and open questionnaire was applied. Results were analyzed taking on a qualitative approach. The landscape is perceived by these workers through (and based on) their meaningful experiences, which reverberate in their individual views about the space where they act and the affection they have over their practice and relationship with the dolphins.