A pesca artesanal do Amapá na foz do rio Amazônas, Amazônia, Brasil.

Abstract

The fishery activity in the Amazon region is one of the main occupations carried out by populations around the aquatic environment. Despite this, most of the fishery data refer to the industrial fleet, but the capture by artisanal fishing is very relevant to understand the complexity of the species and their interaction with the environment, in addition to highlighting the social aspects of fishery communities. The objective of this work is to characterize artisanal fishing at the mouth of the Amazon river in the fleet operating between the municipalities of Cutias, Ferreira Gomes, Itaubal, Macapá, Mazagão and Santana (state of Amapá), as well as to verify the locations unloading of fish and understand the commercial relations carried out in the state. The fishing vessels with the greatest average length were ice boats. Most of the fleet is motorized in tail boats powered with 6.5 HP and ice boats 18 HP. The gear most used by fishermen is the gillnet, which also use longline, hand line among other types. In estuaries and on the coast, the most prevalent species were the bagre Sciades couma (Valenciennes), pescada branca Plagioscion squamosissimus (Heckel, 1840), gurijuba Galeichthys parkeri (Trail, 1832), uritinga Sciades proops (Valenciennes, 1840), piramutaba Brachyplastytoma vaillantii (Valenciennes, 1840), dourada Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii (Castelnau, 1855), filhote Brachyplatystoma filamentosum (Lichtenstein, 1819) and tainha Mugil curema (Valenciennes, 1836). Fishermen reported a decrease in the amount of fish, normally associated with increased catches and the construction of dams. The main reason for fishing conflicts in the region is territoriality, mainly due to the presence of vessels from other states. The lading of fish occurs mostly in the state of Pará, part is in Amapá, but it is also destined for the Amazonas. The species of fish with the highest volume of landings is the dourada, with the filhote being the fish with the highest added value for sale. Usually the fish is sold chilled or salted, the unit being in kilos, arroba or tons. The price fluctuate according to seasonality and the way in which the fish is marketed. Most of the fish is sold to middlemen, who sometimes even pay with goods. This way, the work intends to collect information to generate subsidies for the sustainable use of fisheries resources.