Artisanal fishing and local conflicts: the case of the ‘Pedras de Una’ fishing community, Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

Artisanal marine fishing is practiced throughout all the coastal cities in the southern region of the State of Bahia (Brazil); it provides an economic and cultural base of support for local families. Using action-research as an investigatory method while treating traditional knowledge from the actors in the region as an indispensable information source, this study aimed to identify the main socio-environmental conflicts that exist in an artisanal fishing community located in the south of Bahia, Brazil. The research methods used in this article, starting with the action-research that allows the researcher to have access to the community with a view to jointly look for solutions to specific problems, following a cycle where there is systematic oscillation between actions in the field of practice and its investigation. In this way, it was possible for the authors to provide educational assistance which included performing diagnostics, training initiatives, productive structuring, introducing new income sources and searching for markets for the fishermen's products, and at the same time, undertaking socioeconomic and environmental research at the heart of the community. Thus, the authors were able to verify that the local fishing environment is considered, by local fishermen and those from other regions, as one of the major fishing areas in southern Bahia. This characteristic means that the situation is dichotomous, because on the one side it is a matter of interest for artisanal fishermen in the local community, on the other hand, other fishermen from different regions of the country end up being attracted in order to catch fish, thereby generating conflict among local artisanal fishermen. The action-research method made it possible to verify six types of conflict: i) conflict with recreational amateur anglers; (ii) trawl fishing on the beach; (iii) using the net method for catching shellfish; (iv) picking up shellfish while they walk on the surface; (v) reluctance to using safety equipment; (vi) closed season for snook fishing. When focusing on the relationship with amateur fishermen it is possible to see, according to native fishermen, that these individuals can contribute to the local stock depletion due to the practices adopted by these fishermen; which therefore makes this conflict of primary importance among all the others that were analyzed. It was noticed that supervision and law enforcement by competent bodies is a rare thing in this analyzed fishing environment and thus, the fishermen seek partnerships through their association with various regional actors in order to find solutions to conflicts and to encourage community development.

Fisheries governance in the tropical archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar – opinions and strategies for sustainable management

“…Coordination between resource users and decision-makers is essential for fishery monitoring programmes (Andrade and Schiavetti 2015;Dorner et al 2015;Sampedro et al 2017;Michalena et al 2020). The importance of networking between scientists, administrators and stakeholders are discussed in .…”

Análise integrada de unidades geoecológicas relacionadas com as atividades pesqueiras no litoral sul do Espírito Santo, Brasil

“…Nos últimos anos, os municípios do litoral sul do Espírito Santo viram suas receitas municipais se ampliarem devido às cotas de royalties de petróleo (Bitencourt, 2013). Simultaneamente, os grandes empreendimentos nesta região têm gerado diversos impactos sobre o ambiente, as comunidades e seus territórios de uso, muitas vezes gerando fortes conflitos (Bodart & Marchiori, 2012;Bitencourt, 2013;Andrade & Schiavetti, 2015). De fato, verificou-se que as unidades geoecológicas identificadas carecem do suporte governamental e institucional para o fomento de programas de pesquisa e extensão voltados à conservação dos geoambientes explorados.…”

“…Dentre as diversas atividades sociais e econômicas desenvolvidas nas unidades geoecológicas costeiras, a pesca artesanal se apresenta como uma importante fonte de alimento e renda para centenas de comunidades. No entanto, ainda verifica-se ser objeto de menor atenção quando comparada ao montante de informações provenientes da pesca industrial (Santos et al, 2012;Andrade & Schiavetti, 2015). Por outro lado, o adequado manejo das atividades produtivas requer o conhecimento do contexto ambiental e socioeconômico mais amplo em que se integram os modos de vida dos pescadores artesanais de pequena escala (Garcez & Sánchez-Botero, 2005).…”

“…Por outro lado, o adequado manejo das atividades produtivas requer o conhecimento do contexto ambiental e socioeconômico mais amplo em que se integram os modos de vida dos pescadores artesanais de pequena escala (Garcez & Sánchez-Botero, 2005). Como exemplo, é comum que as comunidades pesqueiras costeiras estejam envolvidas em situações de conflitos socioambientais, decorrentes da especulação imobiliária, do uso e ocupação desordenada do espaço litorâneo, dos impactos de grandes empreendimentos portuários e petrolíferos, e da própria ilegalidade de algumas práticas de captura dos recursos pesqueiros (Silva & Sampaio, 2004;Bitencourt, 2013;Andrade & Schiavetti, 2015). Consoante ao exposto, este estudo apresenta uma análise integrada das unidades geoecológicas relacionadas às atividades pesqueiras artesanais no município de Piúma (Figura 1), litoral sul do Espírito Santo (Supporting Information I), com o intuito de apresentar informações específicas de cada ecossistema explorado para futuras ações de gestão compartilhada e/ou conservação dos recursos pesqueiros das regiões costeiras do sul do Estado.…”