Historical changes in conservation measurements on target, predictable bycatch and bycatch species caught by pelagic longline fisheries in Southwest Atlantic Ocean

The history of fishing in South Atlantic ocean begins with an exploratory approach involving tax incentives and leases from international fleets without a conservationist vision (as was the case in other areas), causing a gap in fishing data records. In the 1990s, species not commonly caught before were also exploited as bycatch due to change in targeted species from tunas to swordfishes to fulfill market demands and supply by-products. Some agencies for fisheries management were established throughout the years, but only in the 2000s, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture was created, promoting regulatory measures and recommendations to the country. However, conflicts with the industrial fisheries sector were constant due to competing commercial interests. International recommendations regarding pelagic fisheries for the Atlantic were followed by Brazil, but the scarcity of catch data remained a problem for many fleets operating in the region. Procedures to monitor and control catch and landings of overexploited species were incomplete, and several species are at some risk of extinction based on governance failure. This work aims to compile national and international management measures applied over the years to fleets operating horizontal longline catching targeted, predictable bycatch and bycatch species in Southwest Atlantic Ocean, and to outline the changes that have occurred during this period.