The paraty artisanal fishery (southeastern Brazilian coast): ethnoecology and management of a social-ecological system (SES)

Abstract

This study intends to give recommendations to the management of Paraty fishery in Brazil through an interplay of local and scientific knowledge. In particular, the objectives are the following: 1) to describe the Paraty fishery; 2) to compare the fishermen’s local ecological knowledge with recorded fish landings and previous studies in Paraty; 3) to combine the data on local fishing and on local/Caiçara livelihoods with the SES (social-ecological systems) Model. The methods include a systematic survey of fishing in Tarituba and Praia Grande, which are located in the northern end and the central part of the Paraty municipality, respectively. For four days each month, systematic data on catches at landing points were collected, as well as macroscopic gonad analysis data for the fishes Centropomus parallelus and C. undecimalis (snook, robalo), Epinephelus marginatus (grouper, garoupa), Scomberomorus cavalla (King mackerel, cavala), and Lutjanus synagris (Lane snapper, vermelho). Spring and summer are important seasons during which some species reproduce, and the integration of fishing periods for some target species could assist in fishing management through the use of closed seasons. Fishermen could obtain complementary earnings from tourism and from the “defeso system” (closed season including a salary payment) to conserve fishing stocks. The SES model facilitates an understanding of the historical context of fishing, its economic importance for local livelihoods, the constraints from conservation measures that affect fishermen, and the management processes that already exist, such as the defeso. If used to integrate fishing with complementary activities (tourism), such a system could improve the responsibility of fishermen regarding the conservation of fish stocks.

Transboundary Socio-Ecological Effects of a Marine Protected Area in the Southwest Atlantic

“…Fishing yield was higher in the fishing community located furthest from the MPA (Trindade), although fishers' income specific from fisheries was higher in the fishing community that was closest to the MPA (Tarituba), but this specific result should be carefully interpreted (see below). Such elusive outcomes of the MPA may partially explain the reported conflicting and overall negative attitudes of fishing communities about this MPA, especially in Tarituba, the closest to the reserve (Begossi et al , 2012b, as fishers may not yet have reaped the benefits from this MPA in a visible way.…”

“…Some fishes were bought by the researchers or donated by the fishers for posterior identification in the laboratory. More details about this methodology can be found in Begossi et al (2012b).…”

Análise etnoictiológica da pesca artesanal nas bacias hidrográficas dos Rios Uruguai e Jacuí­­, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

“…A pesca artesanal exerce um papel importante no sustento, na economia e na segurança alimentar de muitas famílias em diversas comunidades de pescadores em todo o mundo (DIEGUES et al, 2000;SILVANO e BEGOSSI, 2005;CINNER et al, 2009;BEGOSSI et al, 2014), além de ser a principal fonte de renda dos pescadores que trabalham nesta atividade (DIEGUES, 1988;BEGOSSI et al, 2012).…”

Pescadores da Praia Grande, Paraty, RJ: aspectos da resiliência em seu sistema socioecológico

“…Estoques pesqueiros e comunidades pesqueiras, por estarem associados, representando sistemas socioecológicos (Begossi et al, 2012), devem fazer parte do manejo que objetiva a exploração sustentável dos recursos. Jentoft (2000, p. 54) enfatiza o papel fundamental das comunidades no manejo da pesca, ao assumir que "estoques pesqueiros viáveis necessitam de comunidades pesqueiras viáveis".…”