O trabalho no mangue nas tramas do (des)envolvimento e da des(ilusão) com "esse furacão chamado carcinicultura": conflito socioambiental no Cumbe-Aracati-CE

Abstract

Shrimp farming is the main cause of the rapid growth observed in aquiculture around the world. The practice was introduced in Brazil in the 1970s, but it required appropriate farming technology based on the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), incentive through public policies and funding by state banks beginning in 1996/1997 to trigger the boom which lasted until 2004. Most shrimp farms in the state of Ceará are located in the municipality of Aracati, especially in Cumbe ― a community located in the vicinity of a mangrove swamp abundant with crabs. The objective of our study was to investigate how the native population of Cumbe experiences work in the mangrove and builds up resistance in the conflicting cultural scenario of subsistence fishery and shrimp farming. As methodological reference we used depth hermeneutics comprising the stages of socio-historical analysis, formal or discourse analysis, and interpretation/re-interpretation. The field work was carried out in Cumbe between December 2006 and February 2007 through participant observation and open interviews. The information collected revealed the existence of a socio-environmental conflict in Cumbe as mangrove land is increasingly appropriated by shrimp farmers justified by claims of progress, development, sustainability and efficiency. Local workers were initially attracted to the prospects of the new industry, but eventually felt deluded as life and work in the community, as well as the relation between community and ecosystem, became seriously compromised. Vast mangrove areas were cleared and fenced off to make room for shrimp ponds, making access to fishing grounds more difficult for the local population. Likewise, upon shrimp harvesting, waste water containing sodium metabisulfite was let out into the tributaries of the Jaguaribe river killing great numbers of fish and crabs. The latter became almost extinct locally for three years forcing many crab fishermen to move to mangrove swamps in the neighbor state Rio Grande do Norte or even to take menial jobs in the shrimp farming industry. Thus, the socio-environmental conflict in Cumbe involves both a power dispute over the mangrove ecosystem and a symbolic clash between shrimp farmers and subsistence fishermen regarding the concepts of development, sustainability and efficiency which justify the use and ownership of the disputed territories. Resistance towards shrimp farming originated with the community’s disappointment over unfulfilled promises of development and job generation, reinforced by the near-destruction of the local crab fauna. Thus, a counter-hegemonic environmental discourse has emerged from new scientific knowledge and socio-environmental movements presenting a critique of the concepts of development, sustainability and efficiency as defined by the advocates of the shrimp farming industry, strengthening the identity of the native population and valuing the traditional ways of life and work.