Characterization of the fishery in the south of environmental protection area of Costa dos Corais, Alagoas State, Brazil

Abstract

Northeastern region of marine coast have stocks of low abundance but high species richness and commercial value, however there is few published information about its characteristics in reef protected areas. The objective was to characterize the fishery in the southern region of the Costa dos Corais marine protected area (MPA), and evaluate the effect of the MPA existence in the fishery yield of the artisanal fishing fleet of Paripueira, Alagoas. Fishermen were interviewed from June to September 2007 about fishing grounds, yields and fisheries characteristics. Fishermen used 37 fishing grounds inside and 11 outside of the protected area. Gillnet and hook and line were the most frequent fishing gears. Fishermen cited 87 species and 41 families, predominantly pelagic species. The highest fishing yield estimated by Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) index was found to motorboats within the Costa dos Corais, using gillnet and line.