Ethnozoological knowledge of traditional fishing villages about the anadromous sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in the Minho river, Portugal.

Fishers shared a vast informal knowledge of sea lamprey zoology and ecology typical of anadromous species of the Petromyzontidae family, in the central traditional Portuguese communities on the Minho river. This fisher's knowledge becomes essential to preserve cultural practices of the sea lamprey, which is currently highly susceptible to anthropogenic pressures. Given the real warning of population extinction in the Portuguese rivers (such as the Minho river) and a similar trend in Spanish territory, ethnozoological studies of sea lamprey in Spanish fishing communities may support our findings. Also, this study may assist in the adaptive participatory management of these anadromous fish, as well as in documentation of local ecological knowledge (LEK) and centuries-old fishing practices that are also vulnerable in modern times on the international frontier Minho river.