Abstract

SANTOS, Everson Cardoso dos  and  SAMPAIO, Cláudio Luis Santos. The Artisanal Fisheries in the Community of Fernão Velho, Maceió (Alagoas, Brazil): From Traditional To Marginal. RGCI [online]. 2013, vol.13, n.4, pp.413-424. ISSN 1646-8872.  https://doi.org/10.5894/rgci428.

One of the major issues in ethnobiology is the quality of life of coastal communities who traditionally survive by artisanal fishing. Due to uncontrolled exploitation of fisheries resources and irregular urban sprawl, fishing in estuaries and mangroves is undergoing widespread decline. A good example is the Mundaú Lagoon, Alagoas state, northeast Brazil, part of a highly productive estuarine complex where fishing is a vital component of livelihoods of many communities, including the village of Fernão Velho. This lagoon has been affected by different anthropogenic activities that have reduced fish stocks and negatively impacted the social and economic conditions of the surrounding communities. The present study assesses the current state of fisheries in Fernão Velho. The study was conducted between June 2007 and November 2012, through open and semi-structured interviews, observations and photographic records. Fishermen were selected by a snowball sampling technique. The results indicate that about 95 % of the respondents have low levels of education. Young people do not aspire to become fishers, being enrolled in public schools or developing other activities. Thus, the culture of artisanal fishing is no longer being transmitted to the new generation, potentially leading to its eventual disappearance. Current fishing vessels include canoes, boats and vogue boats. Between fish attractor are the caiçaras e pitimbóias, little used today. Fishing methods includes gillnetting, casting net, shrimp traps and jereré, beyond reducho and fishing beat, classified as illegal methods. Despite the decline of fish stocks in the Mundaú lagoon, Fernão Velho still harbors a community of traditional fishermen with considerable knowledge about the construction and use of fishing gear, as well as detailed information about the ecological state of the local fish fauna.

Keywords : Traditional Knowledge; Ethnoecology; Mundaú Lagoon; Fisheries; northeast of Brazil.

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