From Biological Baselines to Community Fisheries Agreements: A Participatory Model for Sustainable Amazonian Fisheries

Small-scale inland fisheries in the Amazon are critical for food security, yet their sustainability is increasingly threatened by overexploitation and environmental degradation. In data-limited contexts such as the northern Ecuadorian Amazon, the absence of continuous monitoring constrains the development of adaptive management strategies. This study develops an integrated socio-ecological baseline to support the establishment of fisheries agreements in five Indigenous communities of the Napo and Aguarico rivers. Through a participatory monitoring approach, we generated reproductive parameters (gonadosomatic index, fecundity, size at first maturity), population structure metrics, and length–weight relationships for key subsistence species across three hydrological phases. Reproductive investment exhibited marked seasonality, with peak gonadosomatic indices during rising waters in most species, identifying a critical period for protection. Life-history strategies ranged from high-fecundity periodic strategists to low-fecundity equilibrium species, implying differentiated vulnerability to harvesting. Community perceptions prioritized large migratory catfish and floodplain habitats, aligning with biological indicators of vulnerability. High performance in technical training demonstrated the feasibility of long-term local monitoring systems. By linking biological indicators with local ecological knowledge, this study proposes a pathway from baseline assessment to adaptive co-management. The framework presented here provides a transferable model for strengthening sustainability, governance, and food security in tropical small-scale fisheries facing persistent data limitations.