Avaliação da sustentabilidade das pescarias artesanais na área proposta para a criação da reserva extrativista de Tauá - Mirim, São Luís, Maranhão

Abstract

The fishing activity of subsistence, in small business or industrial scale, generates relationships that cover the exchange and integration of the fisherman to the market in processes involving trade relations. In the artisanal fishing activity, human beings accumulate knowledge passed on for generations, which constitutes a culture within a peculiar quotidian. This study identifies the socioeconomic profile and the capture practices of fishermen living in communities close to an estuarine area in the State of Maranhão, Brazil, proposed to become The Tauá-Mirim Extractive Reserve and where mangrove is the predominant ecosystem. In the region there is a popular desire for the area to become an Extractive Reserve (Resex), in order to preserve the history and culture of the communities, which are under pressure due to the advance of industrial and port enterprises. Between July/2014 and April/2016, 122 interviews were conducted through semi-structured questionnaires, with artisanal fishermen living in the region. The survey is registered on Plataforma Brasil and was approved by the UFC Ethics Committee. Fishing in these localities occurs in an artisanal way, practiced among relatives, friends and neighbors. There are about 2,200 families in the area involved, and its majority (85%) are fishermen. They have other activities to supplement their income, such as agriculture, small-animal farming and breeding and temporary services in the industries located nearby. Around 70% of the interviewed fishermen have not finished elementary school and their average wage is around U$ 270,00 which was the minimum wage in Brazil. Gill net (81%) used for fishing hake, “caçoeira” (type of driftnet) (70%) for mullet, and trap net (54%) for shrimp were the fishing gears most frequently used all through the year. Five geoecological units of major importance for the fishing activity in the study region were identified: estuarine channel, mangrove, beach strip, small coastal islands and estuarine region. In these units, eleven developed Fishery Production Systems were identified [gill net, “caçoeira”, trap net, longline, fish hook, trawl, manual collect, cast net, “tapagem”, “landruá” (type of landing net)] taking into account the fishing gear, target species and ecosystem explored. The approach was multidisciplinary, involving the social, ecological, economic, technological and management dimensions. From the Fishery Production Systems, manual collect and “tapagem” (type of fence trap with nets) presented index of 0.5, considered of low sustainability. The others presented the mentioned index in the value of 0.6, indicating average sustainability. According to the interviewees, industrial waste (65.57%) and dredging (21.41%) appear with the highest percentage related to causes of environmental impacts in the study region. Based on the perception of the residents, industrial mining enterprises and port activities promoted environmental damages and modifications from the beginning of their installation process in the 1970s, with direct consequences on current catches. Despite the existing problems, 94.26% of residents said they wanted to remain in the communities. The legalization of the Tauá-Mirim Extractive Reserve would be strategic for the Island of Maranhão, since it would form a kind of "link" or corridor of environmental protection areas (APAs), along with the APA of Baixada Maranhense, APA Upaon-Açú/Miritiba/Alto Preguiças, and APA of Maracanã, framed in the category of Sustainable Use, enabling the growth of biological connectivity, expanding environmental heterogeneity. In addition, it would attend to the community's longing, guaranteeing ways of managing natural resources and, consequently, cultural reproduction, maintaining the socio-environmental diversity of the Island of Maranhão.