Bycatch fauna. A Chemical Universe to Be Explored:Rays

• Grant number: 14/00422-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: May 01, 2014
• End date: March 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Wagner Vilegas
• Grantee: Guilherme Rabelo Coelho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The waste of resources from biodiversity is huge in Brazil and worldwide. A wide variety of marine organisms (rays, algae, molluscs , sponges, corals , etc. ) that are fished in conjunction with fish and shrimp is completely ignored as a source of studies of new molecules . Due to the low value-added , fishermen despise them , because they are not marketable as food. The shrimp fishery is one of the most impacting marine ecosystems : the use of trawl systems seabed causes the destruction of the entire region where the technique is used , capturing up to 21kg of bycatch species / kg of shrimp. Several substances found in marine organisms are widely applied in different areas to improving the quality of life, including the food area, energy generation and medicine. Given this context, this study aims chemical species of by-catch of shrimp fishing on the coast , in an attempt to obtain molecules of potential economic interest, which can add value to this waste material.