A pesca artesanal na costa da Paraíba: um enfoque etnoictiológico

Abstract

This study was conducted with a fishermen community in the shore of the Estuary of Paraíba do Norte River and in the coastline of Cabedelo, a town in Paraíba/Brazil, and aimed to characterize the socio-economic profile of fishermen, to describe the ways of catching fish and the use of fauna resources and to register the local ecological knowledge of fishermen of this community. To select the sample, it was used the snow-ball technique. In order to obtain the data, it was used the following techniques: direct observation, guided tours, interviews and structured and semistructured questionnaires. In data analysis, it was employed the usage value. Using the information obtained in the interviews with the fishermen, the screenplays were written for the semi-structured interviews in order to be applied with the most experienced fishermen, the key informants. Data collection occurred in the period of December 2010 to June 2011 in fortnightly visits to Cabedelo. The results obtained showed that the most fishermen are between 36 to 45 years, low educational attainment and low-income. 87 of these fishermen have fished in the above town and 90% of them have always been fishermen. 33 were reported as the most important species for household consumption and trade. The most representative families were Mugilidae, Lutjanidae, Carangidae and Scombridae. The most used families for marketing were Scombridae, Serranidae and Lutjanidae. Some techniques have been identified, including redes de espera and caçeio, tarrafa, facheado, siege, covo, espinhel, the hook and currais. The fishermen perceive the temporal distribution of resources and categorize them as: summer fish , winter fish and all year fish ; and concerning to the vertical distribution: bottom fish and surface fish . They also demonstrated extensive knowledge about the behavior and the trophic ecology and reproduction of the most exploited species. They relate the lunar cycles to the tides movement; recognize the types of winds and their directions. They also classified, identified and appointed the fish through morphological and behavioural criteria. The Cabedelo´s fishermen have presented detailed and consisted ethnoictiological knowledge with the scientific knowledge. The knowledge that these fishermen hold on the distribution of resources and its ecology is extremely important to the future management plans and by the cultural value that they represent.