Borges, RebeccaEyzaguirre, Indira A. L.Barboza, Roberta Sá LeitãoBoos, KarinGlaser, MarionLopes, Priscila F. M.2025-10-062025-10-062021Borges R, Eyzaguirre IA, Barboza RSL, Boos K, Glaser M, Lopes PFM. Combining knowledge systems helps understand the spatial dynamics of data-limited small-scale fisheries systems in Brazil: a methods analysis. Front Mar Sci. 2021 Dec 1;8:760535. DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.7605352296-7745http://hdl.handle.net/10230/71369Mangrove habitats provide nursery, shelter, and feeding sites for many economically relevant fish, and invertebrates, such as crabs. Given the highly artisanal character and the patchy spatial distribution of small-scale fishing in mangroves, there is often little data available to inform management, potentially threatening the sustainability of this livelihood-supporting activity. This study assesses the combination of different data collection methods and of including published data in the analysis of the spatial dynamics. We examine crab fisheries in two sustainable-use protected areas as a case study to understand use patterns as indicated by a specific combination of mapping methods. Mangrove crab fishing grounds were mapped by overlaying crab gatherers’ tracked routes with maps produced during participatory-mapping-centered interviews. Information from the literature was used to spatialize crab carapace width and relate it to distance traveled by fishers. Results show that crabs tended to be larger if caught farther from the villages where fishers live. In terms of collection methods, even though GPS tracking is relatively time- and resource-consuming, incorporating some GPS tracking into participatory mapping helps overcome a downside of this type of mapping (e.g., lack of geographical precision) and identifies information that can be accessed through participatory techniques. This highlights the importance of linking different approaches in order to understand small-scale fisheries spatial dynamics.application/pdfeng© 2021 Borges, Eyzaguirre, Sá Leitão Barboza, Boos, Glaser and Lopes. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.760535Marine protected areasParticipatory mappingMangrovesFishing groundsFishers’ territoriesGPS trackingFisheries spatial managementinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess