Multidimensional Evaluation of Brown Shrimp Trawling Fisheries on the Amazon Continental Shelf

Abstract

Brown shrimp (Penaeus subtilis) trawling in the northern coastal waters of Brazil is an industrial fishing activity with a share in the international market and an important resource in the fishery market. Due to the scarcity of updated information on this practice and owing to its complexity, it is difficult to have a measurement of all dimensions of the development of this fishery, whether they are ecological, economic, or social-institutional. The present paper uses an assessment tool focused on data-poor fishery systems, the Fishery Performance Indicators (FPIs), to assess the multidimensional conditions of this fishery. The indicators were assessed between 2019 and 2020, and the metrics were based on public official data, scientific publications, in loco consultations with production agents, and databases of research projects. Results showed that the critical points of this activity are primarily related to the ecological indicator (1.75), which obtained a lower score compared to other fisheries assessed using the same methodology. This is due to its low selectivity, which results in high by-catch volumes and discards. The limited participation of productive chain actors also restrains the efficacy of management measures, which hampers successful resource management. This issue maximizes other setbacks throughout the productive chain, such as economic and social factors.

Caribbean red snapper fishing performance indicators in Brazilian amazon shelf: Is it the beginning of the end of a fishing system?

“…Due to its flexibility, this tool has been used to examine fishery performance at global scales [ 26 ], can be applied in specific regions [ 27 ] and countries [ 28 ]. Furthermore, it can be effectively used in multi-species and single-species fisheries [ 29 – 31 ], in fisheries of developing countries [ 32 – 34 ], data-poor fisheries [ 35 ], investment projects [ 36 ], and can address, for example, the characteristics for effective management considering the three sectors of analysis [ 33 , 37 ].…”

Performance indicators for the large‐scale Acoupa weakfish fishery of the Amazon continental shelf

“…Associations, such as fisher colonies and cooperatives, existed but were mostly disorganized and weakly supported (Araújo et al, 2022; Doria et al, 2018), and in most cases, administrators only worked in favor of their own interests and those of supportive politicians (Jimenez et al, 2021). Participation in meetings and decision‐making tended to be dominated by entrepreneurs with the greatest economic and political power (Araújo et al, 2022).…”

“…Associations, such as fisher colonies and cooperatives, existed but were mostly disorganized and weakly supported (Araújo et al, 2022; Doria et al, 2018), and in most cases, administrators only worked in favor of their own interests and those of supportive politicians (Jimenez et al, 2021). Participation in meetings and decision‐making tended to be dominated by entrepreneurs with the greatest economic and political power (Araújo et al, 2022). Women had minimal participation in the C. acoupa fishery, and in Brazil, recruitment of men to the fishery and naval industries has long reinforced the invisibility of women in artisanal fisheries (Fonseca et al, 2016; Goes, 2008).…”

“…Women had minimal participation in the C. acoupa fishery, and in Brazil, recruitment of men to the fishery and naval industries has long reinforced the invisibility of women in artisanal fisheries (Fonseca et al, 2016; Goes, 2008). In addition, poor hygiene and sanitary conditions on fishing vessels, and the potential for gender‐based violence, reinforced this scenario (Araújo et al, 2022). In the post‐harvest sector, in contrast, women were involved in both fish processing and sale of fishery products, as in fishery processing plants near the region's major ports (Figure 1), including three plants in Belém, two in Bragança, and one in Vigia.…”

“…Catches were not monitored when landed, and fishery statistics have not been collected since 2007 (Isaac et al, 2009). This overall lack of minimum quantity of data on which to base catch projections was not unique to the C. acoupa fishery but is common to most artisanal and industrial fisheries of the northern Brazilian coast (Araújo et al, 2022; Freire et al, 2022).…”